School Safety

TO: MSAD 15 Community
FROM: Craig King, Superintendent
DATE: September 13, 2024
RE: School Safety

Several families have contacted me about school safety this week. Our conversations have prompted me to write a letter to the MSAD 15 community regarding this topic. We are all aware of the headlines throughout the country regarding school violence. The school shooting phenomenon has taken root in our country and has changed our entire way of thinking about school safety.

I believe there is universal agreement:

• There is no room for violence in our schools.
• There is no room for threats of violence to our schools.
• There is no room for joking, “trolling,” or making light of violence in our schools through electronic devices or other means.

As a school district, we use four approaches to prevent and combat violence in our schools and do our best to create a safe space for our students and staff:

MSAD 15 School Board Policy. There are twelve specific school board policies designed to support school safety and protect students and staff. These policies guide the administration of our schools and inform our student handbooks and building-level procedures and protocols. These policies are derived from state law, professional ‘best practices’, school administrators and other personnel recommendations, and the Maine/National School Boards Association. These policies are available for your review on our district
website:
— Policy KI: Visitors to the Schools
— Policy JIC: System-Wide Student Code of Conduct
— Policy IJOC: Volunteers, Community Partners, and Visitors
— Policy JICIA: Weapons, Violence, and School Safety
— Policy KLG: Relations with Law Enforcement Authorities
— Policy KLG: Relations with Law Enforcement Administrative Procedures
— Policy JIH: Questioning and Searches of Students
— Policy JK: Student Discipline
— Policy JKD: Suspension of Students
— Policy JKE: Expulsion of Students
— Policy JLDBG: Reintegration of Students from Juvenile Correctional Facilities
— Policy EBCC: Bomb Threats

School-Level Training and Drills:

• Fire Drills are conducted ten times yearly at Russell, Dunn, and Memorial, eight times yearly at the Middle School, and six times yearly at the High School.
• Annual professional development time is dedicated to staff-wide training and review of each school’s emergency management plan. Periodic reminders and updates happen during the school year.
• The school emergency management plan defines explicit responsibilities for adults and students regarding (a) mitigation and prevention efforts, (b) emergency preparedness, (c) emergency response, and (d) emergency recovery.
• Each school, with assistance from the school resource officer, has simulated evacuation, lockout, and lockdown drills for staff and students.
• First responders, including Gray Fire & Rescue, New Gloucester Fire Department, and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office participate in safety training with students and staff.
• The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has used our schools for tactical training.
• Administrators and other personnel have participated in various training, including Behavioral Threat Assessment with the Maine School Safety Center, Standard Response Protocol Training with the Cumberland County Emergency Management Agency, and other training offered by FEMA and other agencies.
• The school buses have cameras and communication systems.
• We have a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Deputy assisting at Homecoming, sporting events, and other large-scale events.

Ten Common Protocols at All MSAD 15 Schools:

1. All doors are locked and securely closed during the school day.
2. Employees utilize an electronic badge entry system that verifies identity and access permission. Electronic access is terminated when the employee is no longer employed by the school district.
3. During the school day, staff must sign in and out of the building.
4. Every employee wears their assigned photo Identification badge during the school day.
5. Propping open doors with a wedge or other item is strictly forbidden.
6. During school hours, the main office secretary or administrator buzzes visitors in through the front doors of the school.
7. Before being granted entrance, unknown visitors must look into the camera, state their name, present identification, and describe the nature of their visit.
8. Upon signing in, visitors are overseen by a building employee.
9. When students are present during school hours, staff use only specific entrances in and out of the building.
10. With new and improved camera coverage, we can view the movements of every person in the building and entrances.

Law Enforcement. In the event of a threat of violence or danger in our schools, we immediately contact the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Their immediate and professional response has always been a reliable source of support. We also have a School Resource Officer (a Sheriff’s Deputy) who is present on our high school and middle school campuses every day. This daily presence underscores our ongoing commitment to safety. The SRO also dedicates time to the elementary schools, where they engage with students and assist in safety protocols and training.

I know the potential for school violence creates high levels of stress and anxiety for students, families, and staff. I hope this message gave you some valuable information. If you want to learn more about specifics at your child’s school, I encourage you to speak to the building principal or assistant principal. They can share more details about safety plans at their school with you.