Announcing Safe Schools Week

Dear Berkley Schools Community,

As you know, safety is a top priority for the Berkley Schools. As a District, we are committed to providing safe physical spaces as well as a safe community of belonging for each of our students and staff. We work hard to lift up, encourage and support each and every child to make sure everyone feels loved. It also means we have no tolerance for hate. We denounce any acts of ableism, anti-semitism, homophobia, racism, and any other forms of discrimination or harassment. We hope our students, staff and community know that if they experience any acts of hate, to bring it to the attention of a trusted adult.

It’s also important for us to keep you, our community, informed of our updated safety practices and resources. As we have done in years past, we are hosting a District-wide Safe Schools Week, October 16-20. Safe Schools Week is planned in collaboration with our three local public safety departments and will include sharing information about our safety practices and systems in addition to practicing drills in our schools. We also will be testing our communications system to ensure we can reach all of you in the event of a real emergency - you can expect a test call and text next Wednesday at 6 pm. Every day during Safe Schools Week we will send an email communication to families about a component of our safety plans and protocols. You can expect these emails at 6 pm every day. Please see details below to learn all about Safe Schools Week.

Safety Drills

During Safe Schools Week the Berkley School District will practice a variety of school safety drills.

• The District will practice a drill with public safety. This drill will have an “incident” taking place at Angell Elementary School which will help school, District and public safety teams practice responding to a crisis in real time. Students and families will receive more details about the scenario at Angell from Mr. Gigliotti. You will receive email notifications while this is taking place.
• Each school will also participate in an ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) drill during the week. During the ALICE drill, teachers will talk to students about the components of ALICE and reinforce any changes from years past. The message will differ according to the age level of the students. Our intent is to let students know that in the event of an emergency they should follow the direction of their teacher.
• Schools may also practice a fire or tornado drill during Safe Schools Week.

Communications System Test

On Wednesday, October 18, we will test our communications system, SchoolMessenger®. We will send a test phone call, text message and email to all primary contacts in MISTAR. If you have signed up for text messages, phone calls and/or emails from us, you can expect to get these messages on Wednesday, October 18, around 6 pm. It is not necessary to call us to tell us you got the messages.

Don’t Forget to Opt-In to Text Messages

In order to receive text messages from the District or your school, you must opt in. Text messages will be sent out when the District closes or there is an emergency situation. Texts may also be sent from the District and schools for reminder messages during the day that are not urgent. In order to receive text messages, every parent/guardian must opt-in each cell phone listed in MISTAR. SchoolMessenger® is compliant with the Student Privacy PledgeTM, so you can rest assured that your information is safe and will never be given or sold to anyone. To Opt-In: Text the word YES (in the Message field) to the phone number 67587 (in the To field). If you’ve done this in past years, you don’t need to do it again.

The Berkley School District is always evaluating the safety measures we have in place to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep our students and staff safe. I am very confident in saying that our schools have never been safer, but please know that as members of the community we all have a role to play in school and student safety.

As always, I am grateful for our school community and to be a part of the community.

Sincerely,

Scott Francis
Superintendent
Berkley Schools