Safe Schools Week Starts Today
Today is the beginning of Safe Schools Week.
As we shared yesterday, this week is focused on all aspects of safety in our schools. 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. Our current safety measures include ALICE training, trauma kits, Stop The Bleed training, all secretaries, custodians, coaches, campus monitors and administrators have up to date training in CPR/AED, regular and random police visits, locked doors at all times during the school day, security cameras, secure entrances, social and emotional wellness programs, calming spaces in our buildings and classrooms, and, most importantly, getting to know and love all our students. Some of the recent safety updates the District has made over the last three years, many of which are a direct impact of the State’s Mental Health & School Safety funding, includes:
- (NEW) Notice. Talk. Act. training for secondary staff. Notice. Talk. Act. equips all adults who work in schools with the right tools to make a difference in the mental health of students: Notice when students show early warning signs of mental health concerns. Talk to students about mental health to engage and support them. Act to refer students to the right kinds of resources.
- (NEW) Communications System. Finalsite, the District’s new communications system, has the ability to text all family members and secondary students who have phone numbers listed in MISTAR. This system is an opt-out system rather than an opt-in, and will reach more families than the previous software during an emergency.
- (NEW) District IDs. The District implemented universal Berkley Schools staff IDs and require staff to wear them at all times. Students can expect that all adults in their buildings will have identification visible.
- (NEW) AED Machines. The District purchased all new automated external defibrillator (AED) machines for all buildings. Additional AEDs were added to buildings with second floors and to Hurley Field. An AED is a medical device designed to analyze the heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to victims of ventricular fibrillation to restore the heart rhythm to normal. It is a critical step to saving someone’s life when they are in cardiac distress.
- NightLock door security systems on every room in every building. These provide an extra layer of security during a lockdown and assist with barricading doors.
- Equipping each classroom with a Go-Bucket. These buckets contain various useful materials, including a first aid kit, in the event of a longer term lockdown in a classroom.
- Emergency call buttons in every classroom. These are a direct line from every classroom to the front office. We test these buttons annually.
- School reunification partners and procedure for pickup for all schools in the event of an evacuation. See additional details, below.
- Vape sensors in all bathrooms at Anderson, Norup and Berkley High School. Vape sensors detect if vape smoke is present in our restrooms. The sensors alert administrators and allow them to respond quickly.
- School Safety Committees at each school and District Safety Committee. The purpose of the committees is to bring together a broad range of perspectives, thoughts and ideas as they pertain to keeping our schools a safe place.
- Signage inside and outside our buildings to allow easy access for public safety to find any emergency.
- Established a critical incident mapping tool to create detailed floor plans for public safety to see and use during training and emergencies.
- Full coverage security cameras. The District has purchased and installed new cameras in all our schools to allow full access to all common areas, inside and out. Our office staff and public safety have a full view of the buildings.
- Heart Smart Designation. Berkley High School and Anderson Middle School have been designated a MI Heart Safe School with a newly formed cardiac arrest response team.
- School Resource Officer. A School Resource Officer adds to our increased collaboration with the three public safety departments that serve the Berkley School District.
- School Nurse. Our School Nurse focuses on health and wellness. She assists families with illness related questions, stays up to date on the latest health department recommendations and works with our administrative team to be proactive on emerging concerns.
- Established Behavior Threat Assessment Management (BTAM): Our mental health staff and administrators have been trained at the county and state level, to manage and address threats. If a threat of any kind is made, an administrator is notified. The administrator will consult with the core team to review the threat and determine if a full analysis is needed by following a flowchart and the BTAM protocol. If the threat is deemed transient or not substantive, the process is complete. If not, a deeper investigation is completed.
- Raptor Visitor & Emergency Management: The District implemented Raptor Visitor Management to screen and check in visitors every time they enter our buildings. In addition, Raptor Emergency Management was established to assist staff during a crisis. It is the tool we use to reunify families and for our staff to receive emergency alerts.
Reunification Sites
Once a year, elementary and Norup K-8 students walk to their reunification sites in the community to practice their evacuation route. This site visit allows staff and students to familiarize themselves with the walking route and the site itself.
If we were to require an evacuation from any of our schools due to a crisis situation or a building emergency, we have a full plan in place. Students will walk with teachers to the sites while staff from the Administrative Offices will head to the sites to assist with the reunification process. We have reunification kits in place at our partner locations and have practiced the protocols with our staff. If a reunification is necessary, emergency contacts will receive detailed messages from the District on what to do, where to go and how to pick up their children. The best thing you can do as a caregiver during an evacuation is to wait for instructions on when and where to pick up your children. Waiting to arrive until after you receive notifications from Berkley Schools will allow us to have an orderly process for reunifying all students.
Our partner sites are as follows:
- Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park: Norup, Berkley Building Blocks and the Administrative Offices building
- Huntington Woods Lutheran Church: Burton Elementary School
- Our Lady of La Salette Church: Rogers Elementary, Berkley High School, Anderson Middle School
- Berkley First Church: Angell & Pattengill Elementary Schools
- Pattengill Elementary School: Adult Transition Program (currently housed at Berkley First)
ALICE Information
During this week, students will spend time with their teachers practicing an ALICE drill which includes talking about building evacuations, lockdowns (if necessary) and reinforcing that school is a safe space. During this discussion with their teachers, students will watch a video from Superintendent Francis on all the ways we work to keep kids safe every day.
If you’d like to watch the videos, the links are below.
Tomorrow, our Safe Schools Week message will be focused on our School Resource Officer & Nurse Rose.
