The safety of our students is a group effort
Inside SD 271


October 23, 2006
by Harry Amend
Superintendent of Coeur d'Alene School District 271
Post Falls Press

Recent tragedies in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin schools have parents and communities again asking the question, "How safe are our schools?"

We would like to say, "Never fear, our schools are safe.” But, in all honesty, we can only say, "Safety of our students and staff is our top priority and something we continually work to improve."

School safety is much more than preventing the unthinkable school shooting that makes national headlines. It is a 24/7 effort that starts before students even arrive at school, either as they walk to school or ride the bus. It is a caring environment where bullying and harassment are not tolerated and where teachers and counselors are in-tune to children's emotional and physical needs. School safety means structurally sound buildings that have been reinforced against fire, earthquake and intruders. It also means equipping students with the knowledge on proper or improper touching, and on their personal rights and their own responsibility to alert an adult to any possible threat.

School safety is a partnership with health and environmental agencies that provide resources and expertise in times of infectious disease, tainted food or unsafe water. The partnership certainly extends to law enforcement agencies that help provide School Resource Officers and DARE instructors, to firefighters who train us in evacuations and safety, and to transportation agencies that help us decide when roads are too treacherous for travel. No school can foster a safe and caring climate without enlisting these important community resources.      

I am proud that District 271 has taken school safety a big step further over the past decade. Long before Columbine, teacher Chris Bain and elementary counselor Ronnie Semko attended a FEMA training that launched "SERP," our acronym for School Emergency Response Planning. SERP has helped us understand our roles and those of responders, it has given us a common language and command structure and taught us the stages of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. It has improved our communication with response partners and has prompted table top exercises on various emergency scenarios, regular lockdown and evacuation drills, standardized procedures and stricter policies.

Over the past year and a half, we have added two extra components to our safety program. We, along with Post Falls and Lakeland districts, purchased Raptor V Software to screen visitors and volunteers who come into our elementary schools, comparing their driver's license against a 43-state database of sex offenders. Last spring, we applied for and received a $247,000 federal grant to implement Rapid Responder, a database of every school's most vital information to help staff and responders act quickly and precisely in an emergency. Janet Feiler and Kelly Ostrom oversee this grant and are now sharing its significance with parent and community groups.

This column is just a snapshot of our school safety efforts. For more on what we are doing and what you can do to help, please visit our Web site at www.cdaschools.org. School safety is everybody's business, and we welcome your involvement.