1. TCPS Safe School Audit 2012-2013 School Year

2. Commendations Consistent procedures for visitors Good Access Control “If somebody is in here without a badge, we escort them to the office.” “We teach our kids that they should never open the doors to the school for anyone.” Buses and cars were unloaded in separate areas. TCPS is the beneficiary of excellent district support Nurse: “She does a great job.” Bright Arrow: Communication with parents SRO: Available at short notice Bullying Hotline: proactive approach dealing with parents Staff badges

3. Commendations cont. Drills – have been conducted this year. “We know the lock down procedure – Ms. Taylor tries to get into the rooms to make sure the doors are locked and secured. At the end of lockdown, Ms. Taylor goes room to room and announces end of the drill to each class.” Afternoon dismissal was orderly and well supervised. Car dismissal has a numbering system so that each student can be quickly and safely paired up with a responsible adult.

4. Recommendations Quicker method of signing in and issuing visitor badges More visible morning badges To encourage signing out – consider asking for their keys or driver’s license when signing into the building. Script for front door: Welcome to Trigg County Primary School May we help you? Building is a maze – consider having custodian check doors throughout the day. Any door found left opened or propped open should be reported immediately. Tunnel Doors – 84% of staff reported that unauthorized visitors and unlocked doors were not a safety issue. However 16% of the staff reported that these were a safety issue, the tunnel may be the reason for these responses.

5. Recommendation Cont. May consider staff wearing the badges to school functions – sporting and after school activities Identification badges should be worn by other adults who may be in the building on the regular basis. Concerns about walkers being paired up with responsible adults. - Consider using a numbering system Crossing road in the afternoon – meet with district personnel and local police to determine if an adult needs to be stationed at the crosswalk

6. Areas of Mutual Concern School Climate 44% of teachers reported that the school was not clean, 21% of the teachers reported that they do not feel safe at school, 23% of the teachers reported that the school rules are not enforced fairly or consistently, 41% of the teachers reported that the principal handles discipline issues ineffectively, 13% of the teachers reported being physically attacked at the school this year It is to the credit of TCPS staff that the problems they are experiencing do not seem to have affected the parents’ view of the school. There were some exceptions, but overall, the survey seems to reflect a positive attitude about the school from the parents. Other items on the survey were inconsistent – 23% of the teachers and 29% of parents reported bullying as the top safety and discipline issue but the results of the survey may be the result of not understanding the difference between an incident that occurs once and bullying

7. Mutual Concerns cont. Supervision – significant number of teachers reported ineffective supervision in several areas of the school. Throughout the day, the team observed effective supervision. “We do a great job with supervision. Everyone knows their place and is there to supervise.” Buses – several parents reported a variety of misbehaviors on the buses yet during the interviews bus discipline did not appear to be a significant discipline problem. “There are not any issues on the buses” stated one parent. Principal (Administration) – needs to support the staff and solve discipline problems consistently and fairly.

8. Considerations Staff meeting with board attorney and the superintendent in attendance to clarify what can and cannot be discussed with faculty members who do not have direct contact with special needs students – including disciplinary decisions. Discuss how an IEP is created – how much data, what kind of documentation, the difficulty in doing this with very young students and how it can be amended if goals are not met. Ask staff for a massive “do-over” that past issues remain in the past. Then problem solving can begin. How to talk to students about the extreme behaviors that they may witness from time to time – this can include discussions on why some students need a different set of rules when they come to school. Create a teacher committee to address the issues raised in this report – “Communication Committee” or “Culture/Climate Committee.”