1. School Safety and Security Update
Board of Education Meeting -- December 2016
Dr. Scott Martzloff, Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Anna Cieri, Assistant Superintendent for Exceptional Education
and Student Services

2. SAVE Legislation
The “SAVE” (Safe Schools Against Violence in Education) Act was passed in 2000, subsequent to tragedy at Columbine, and requires school districts and BOCES to take a number of steps to ensure school safety, including but not limited to:
Develop all hazards district-wide school safety plan and building level emergency response plans focusing on crisis intervention and emergency response and management
Establishing district-wide and building emergency response safety teams
Coordinating with local law enforcement
Developing and implementing policies and procedures for annual school safety training for staff and students
Amended in 2016 to required annual violence prevention and mental health training for all staff.

3. District-Wide School Safety Plans
Plans are public and must include, among other things, policies and procedures for:
contacting law enforcement in the event of an emergency
contacting parents, guardians or persons in parental relation to students in the event of an emergency or an early dismissal;
the use of school safety officers and/or security devices or procedures, as appropriate;
the identification of appropriate responses to emergencies;
responding to acts of violence, implied or direct threats by students to others, faculty, staff or anyone else in the school building.
Notifying parents if their child is planning on doing harm to themselves or is thinking about suicide

4. Building Level Emergency Response Plans
Plans are confidential and are not subject to disclosure under article 6 of the Public Officers Law. These plans must include, among other things, policies and procedures for:
creating and maintaining an emergency response team at the school with clear chain of command
safely evacuating students, faculty, staff and anyone else in the school building during an emergency;
ensuring that first responders have access to interior floor plans and as well as school grounds plans and road maps of the immediate surrounding area
annual review of plans as well as conducting drills and other exercises to test components of emergency plans, in coordination with local and county emergency responders and preparedness officials.

5. Annually Review the District Emergency Response Guide
NYS Police & NYSED Recommended Emergency Response Terminology:
Five plain language responses to emergency situations:
Lockout
Shelter in Place
Hold in Place
Evacuation
Lockdown
Annually Review the District Emergency Response Guide

6. CALL 911 WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO
Hide, Run, Fight
If you are in a classroom or securable location, HIDE should be your primary response.
If you are in immediate danger, in a location that cannot be secured, or if a breach of your secured location is imminent, RUN - get out anyway possible
If an intruder enters the classroom, use WHATEVER means necessary to protect yourself and the students. You must be prepared to FIGHT for your life and use physical force to stop the intruder.
CALL 911 WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO

7. Violence Prevention
Statutes, regulations, policies and other violence preventative measures that work to develop a safe nonviolent school climate
2000 SAVE Legislation
District Wide Safety Plan
Building Level Emergency Response Plans
Code of Conduct
School Safety Policies
Anti-Bullying Programs
Dignity For All Students Act
Asset Development &Wellness Initiatives, Mental Health Services & Supports

8. Violence Prevention (continued)
Fingerprinting
Harassment Training
Court Notifications
Threat Assessments
Building Vulnerability Assessments
Utilizing Building Filters & Layers For Safety
Tabletop Exercises (simulated drills)
Drills (including large scale, coordinated, multi-agency efforts)

9. Violence Prevention (continued)
12 Fire and Emergency Drills required annually:
Four must be lockdown drills
6 fire drills & 2 lockdown drills between 9/1 and 12/31
2 fire drills & 2 lockdown drills after January 1
Four fire drills must be through fire escapes or alternate route
Districts must 1) instruct students on procedures to follow if a fire occurs during lunch or an assembly or 2) hold a drill during the regular school lunch period or an assembly
Drills must take place at different times throughout the school day

10. Current Status: Physical Safety
Building Safety Plans developed for every school in the District
Continued and annual updates of safety plans
Practice controlled safety and evacuation drills 12x per school year
Annual fire and emergency drills to be held (4 conducted in collaboration with the APD)
Threat assessment and active shooter overview presented to District Administration

11. Current Status: Physical Safety
Installation of additional security cameras (total of 276)
Installation of buzzer system with camera and intercom at every main entrance with established visitor greeting protocol at each building
Consistent implementation of locked classroom and office door protocol
Improved security locking mechanisms on classroom doors
Numbering of classroom windows to assist first responders
Numbering of internal doors (in progress)
Monitoring of the main entrances of our schools and hallways

12. Current Status: Physical Safety
Implementation of ID swipe card access system for all employees
Increased number of proximity card access points at building entrances (92 in total)
Provision of annual safety training for all employees
Continuation of District Safety Planning Committee comprised of a variety of stakeholders (1 representative per building) with quarterly meetings led by E1B risk management
Monitoring of the local, state, and national dialogue regarding school safety (e.g., co-authored letter recently released by Attorney General and Commissioner of Education)

13. Current Status: Physical Safety
Partnership with Amherst Police Department:
Implementation of the School Liaison Officer (SLO) program in collaboration with APD (Multiple, regular visits to each school on a weekly basis)
Collaboration in conducting drills, including large scale simulated drills (e.g., North HS multi-campus drill) and drug searches
Ongoing consultation with established points of contact between APD and WCSD
After-hours security coverage (3 hours per day at each high school for afterschool activities and athletics)
SRO considerations

14. Current Status: Emotional Safety
Wellness programming and asset development at all levels
Implementation of transition programs at Middle and High School levels
Implementation of mindfulness with focus upon social- emotional learning
Development of suicide assessment protocol and training of mental health staff; implementation of Sources of Strength at all three high schools
Embracing diversity, promoting multi-cultural awareness and understanding, fostering acceptance, culture of respect and belonging for all students

15. Current Status: Emotional Safety
Threat assessment protocol developed and in-service provided to all mental health staff
Counseling (individual and group)
Contacts, connections and referrals to community resources
Annual in-service for all employees (e.g., part of annual mandated safety training) to include responding to acts of violence, awareness of mental health needs and suicide prevention measures
Ongoing professional development

16. Board of Education Meeting -- December 2016
School Safety
and
Security Update
Board of Education Meeting -- December 2016