Enhancing School Safety
Source/Author: Mike Murphy, Headmaster
February 15, 2018
This week's devastating attack on a Florida high school strikes fear into the hearts of families everywhere. It is particularly jarring to those of us who spend so much of our lives at schools and feel safe and at home there.
While I cannot, in good conscience, promise that violence will never happen at our school, the systems we have in place strive for maximum safety and security without making the school feel like a prison in lockdown. Our School Protection Officers (SPO's) are essential in the identification and prevention of instances before they occur. The CIS SPO Program we use has been recognized as a model for school protection and safety by a peer review team from the John Jay College of Law Enforcement. While trained and prepared for medical emergencies and physical assaults, the primary role of the officers is to know the community and support all aspects of the school safety operations without disrupting normal school activities. We practice fire and lockdown drills regularly. Our officers consistently respond within 60 to 90 seconds. We keep a CIS police vehicle in front of campus regularly. We have admissions standards, an honor code, and disciplinary procedures that set the tone for what is required to be a positive member of our community. Butthe most important thing we do to ensure safety and security is to have teachers, staff, and SPO’s develop strong and safe relationships with students and their families.
I encourage you to ask your children and your adult friends the following questions:
- If you knew a peer was bringing a weapon on campus, would you report this behavior to an adult?
- If you read or heard a friend make a threat to commit an act of violence upon someone in our community, would you report the threat to an authority figure?
- If you knew that a peer was exhibiting a change in behavior that appeared dangerous to themselves or others, what would you do with your insight?
- Can you go to a CIS Officer, one of our SPO’s, and share a concern about safety?
- Do you have a trusted adult in your life at school or at home who you can go to about a safety concern?
- Is there anyone in your life who you think may be a safety risk to themselves or others?
If you hear answers you think we should know, please pass them on to one of the administrators or to a SPO.
Many of my colleagues may recall the outrage some faculty expressed when, during a security training a few years ago, the trainer said if we were to experience violence on campus it would most likely be from one of our own students. Regardless of the data, the idea offended a number of faculty and staff because we know our students and we trust our community. Yes, of the 12 school shootings since 1997, nine were committed by students ranging in ages 14 to 23. Two were committed by people related to staff members. One incident involved a total outsider. Knowing each other and having strong healthy relationships is the best safety and security plan we can have.
Our ability to maximize safety requires a community wide commitment to respect, courtesy, and open communication among members of our school and greater community. Our CIS-SPO’s, and our faculty and staff understand that the development and maintenance of trusting relationships is critical for the safety and protection of community members. We all have the responsibility to look out for signs of danger, and more importantly, to do all we can to develop a culture and community that is welcoming, safe, fair, and trustworthy. That positive culture and community is our best personal line of defense.
We grieve for the community affected by yesterday's horrific act of violence. Just as tragic events like this spur us to reevaluate our own safety and security messages, they also remind us to appreciate our own school community that we are so dedicated to protect.
