The following report was distributed to School Committee members and was made by School Superintendent Roy Belson at the Committee of the Whole meeting on school security on February 10. That meeting is currently replaying on our Educational Access Channel (15 Comcast or 45 Verizon) at 8:00 am and 6:00 pm daily.
Medford School Committee
Medford, Massachusetts
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
7:00 p.m.
Superintendent’s Report
The safety, security, and protection of our students, families, faculty, staff, and citizens is our most fundamental and highest priority. This is not a new topic and we have discussed it on multiple occasions throughout the years.
We have both systemwide and individual school plans, protocols, and practices that have been developed and refined over the years in collaboration with our public safety officials. Regular drills are performed at each location each year to help the school community prepare for an effective response to multi-hazard situations.
The Medford Public Schools takes school security very seriously. We continuously collaborate with the NEMLEC/STARS Regional Program; The District Attorney’s Middlesex Partnership for Youth; The Community Based Justice Program and the Fire Safety Program with the Medford Fire Department. We recently participated in a two day multi-hazard workshop sponsored by DESE. We had police, fire, and school representation at those sessions
All personnel, contractors and volunteers are CORI checked. Employees are also checked through the federal fingerprint system (SAFIS).
All our school buildings have the following:
- Documented security emergency plans. Periodic drills are conducted at each.
- CD Rom and hard copy floor plans connected to computers in squad cars
- Surveillance cameras
- Door monitoring and main door buzzer systems.
- Raptor ID and Picture ID systems for students, staff and guests
- Uniformed door monitor staff
- Shared police resource officers
- Walkie talkie and cell phones
- New enhanced phone systems
- 911 access
- Emergency Medical Plans and building based medical staff and equipment
- NEMLEC/STARS response capacity
- Our school buses have cameras and communication devices.
- Various school committee approved policies to guide action
We are prepared to deal with a wide range of emergences.
The range of emergencies can include:
– Violence
– Medical
– Pupil Services
– Building Equipment Failure
– Weather or Natural Disaster
There can be multiple variations of the above and simultaneous occurrences.
The above mentioned situations can be
a. life threatening
b. severe trauma
c. moderate
d. pending
The level of threat and nature of the situation determines the required response.
Security plans involve six elements:
1. Prevention – Deterrence
2. Assessment
3. Intervention
4. Treatment
5. Communication
6. Re-Assessment
At all times we must remain calm, strategic, and resourceful. We must endeavor to maintain an environment that is conducive for learning and not create a culture of fear. No institution in today’s society can guarantee freedom from unpleasant, threatening situations. We can, however, maintain a preparedness that enables us to respond quickly and effectively to unwelcome situations.
In the age of social media we do not control all information that emerges from situations. Too often social media misinforms and influences our obligation to do whatever is necessary to protect persons and property.
When the safety and wellbeing of all students and staff is at stake, we cannot allow individual preferences to dictate and compromise our response. When parents send their children and youth to school, they entrust us with their care and custody. This simple everyday act removes children and youth from the physical control of their parents. Essentially within limits the school takes on the prerogatives normally reserved for parents. “In Loco Parentis” is not just a descriptive term but a legal one as well. We take this responsibility very seriously. In an emergency everyone counts, but decisions must be made for the greater good and the general wellbeing of the total group.
We can and will notify parents and other involved persons at an appropriate time when the threat assessment is complete and an appropriate intervention has occurred. To do otherwise is to add a dimension of complication that could impair our ability to implement a successful intervention and or treatment.
School safety and security in its various forms is not just a Medford issue. It is a topic for all school systems across the Commonwealth and the Nation. We talk frequently with our colleagues and regularly share ideas. The news is filled with faux bomb threats.
Tonight we are privileged to have the Medford Chief of Police here to meet with us and to explain in detail how we prevent, prepare, and respond to threats in our school environments. Chief Sacco is a leader in the field and has been a founder and driving force behind the NEMLEC STARS program. We work closely together on all matters of school security.
We also have our school principals here to answer any questions you may have about their individual plans and practices regarding school security
I have attached a number of questions to this report that should help you address the key issues before us this evening.
In your packet you will find additional informative materials to aid in your analysis and decision-making. They include the following:
- February 1, 2016, Report to School Committee on Bomb Threat
- State Police Bomb Squad Response Guidance
- November 16, 2015, Report on School Security
- Report of State School Safety and Security Task Force
- DESE Workshop Training Tool
- Select Newspaper Articles
It would be appropriate at this time to ask Chief Sacco to provide you with his positions and recommendations regarding school safety and security.
REB