Safety

Above all, our students, staff, and parents should feel safe walking onto campus every day. Schools must be safe for our students to feel supported and engaged in an ideal learning environment. We need to increase security measures on every campus.

My faculty and I are the boots on the ground during emergency situations, which is why I helped create Pasco’s original Crisis Response Plan Flip Charts to keep our schools safe during threats, severe weather, fire, and lockdowns. I’m also proud to be leading the district’s first campuswide school radio frequency identification security badge program.

As superintendent, I’ll continue to work diligently making our schools safe for students and staff. We must expand the coverage areas of our cameras on campus to ensure there are no potential points of entry or blackout areas. Security badges are a good start, but we must require additional infrastructure and training to take place. Our school district needs a well-rounded approach to secure each unique campus, and the resources for staff to be effective.

Securing our campuses is often completed through drills that leave our primary students scared to attend school and leave our middle and high school students with growing apathy toward safety. The Active Threat Plan drills create real life scenarios that students learn to respond to and this creates more fear in our younger students. We need to evaluate the psychological impact of our ATP drills to ensure our kids are emotionally, mentally, and physically prepared when danger strikes. As a parent, this is an issue I care deeply about.

In addition to securing our campuses, our parents need to know their children can attend schools that are free from bullying. Parents must be able to trust we will address bullying of all types with diligence and accountability. Cyberbullying has been a growing concern and requires us to establish social media expectations and safety practices for our student body. We must teach our student body and hold them accountable when those practices are not followed. As superintendent, I will be vigilant in my efforts to keep all our kids safe regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, disability, creed, gender, orientation, or anything else. Every student deserves to be safe when they walk into school.

Related Professional Development & Recognitions:

Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training

Behavior Management Strategies

New Guidance Counselor Orientation

Standard First Aid, CPR, AED

Crisis Prevention and Intervention Refresher

National Incident Management System - Introduction to Incident Command System

National Incident Management System - Introduction to Management System

National Incident Management System - Initial Response

National Incident Management System - Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools

Youth Mental Health First Aid

Seizure Overview Training

Threat Assessment Team

Social Emotional Learning

Mental Health Awareness

School Environmental Incident Reporting

District Student Discipline Committee