Dr. Nate Schurman, (right) Greenwood Elementary Principal and District Safety Director, spoke to the club about how the district is responding to the changing concept of school safety.
Dr. Nate Schurman, Greenwood Elementary Principal and District Safety Director, spoke to the club about how the district is responding to the changing concept of school safety.
In a more deliberate approach to school safety, the school district created a belief statement which outlined its responsibility to ensure the physical and emotional safety of all students and staff, consider the potential trauma that preparation measures can create and strive to take a balanced and age-appropriate steps in meeting safety goals.
"We balance this with the hope of maintaining a community feel in all of our schools," said Nate. "This requires precautions and preparation, helping teachers through professional development and education, and considering that the needs of many of our kids are unique. How we respond creates a bridge to educate all kids, but especially those with dysfunctional homes or mental health issues."
Nate said that the more we can educate, the safer it will be.
As part of the plan, the school employs secure entryways and a threat detection product, Securly, that helps monitor for threats over the school's computer systems and devices.
Key to the plan is the school's two resource officers. Nate stressed that they are not security guards, but police officers who are relationship builders, who connect with students and will be on the front line of threat detection.
Beyond intrusion
School safety is about more than intruder drills.
Staff are trained in several safety-related areas, including:
- Evacuation (in case of severe weather or other environmental factors)
- Medical drills
- Lockdowns
- First aid and CPR
- Nonviolent crisis intervention
The school uses the nationally-known ALICE protocol, which is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.
"We think it provides the community and schools with a consistent approach system, and it is supported by national agencies like the FBI, Dept. of Justice and FEMA, to name a few."
Nate stressed that ALICE is an options-based response and not a playbook. The schools will be doing everything they can to involve students in an age-appropriate manner. In some instances the instructions and emphasis will be on just doing what the teacher says without question.
"We also want kids to recognize what's going on around them," said Nate. "We are building relationships, between the students and teachers, and staff and the district crisis team. Eighty percent of the time, dangerous situations are known about before they occur. We are providing ways to have students report anonymously if they notice or hear something.
The school also works with the District Mental Health Task Force, in partnership with Marriage and Family Health Services in Hudson, to provide on site help for students from licensed counselors. Topics include character education, social emotional education and trauma informed care training for teachers.