School Safety Update from Superintendent Francis

Dear Berkley Schools Community,

I would like to begin by thanking you for your support as we continue to navigate the challenges we have faced this school year. I am so proud of our staff and how they maintain their focus on our students and their needs. 

Our messages lately have been related to the ongoing pandemic and adjustments and recommendations from public health officials. This message switches gears to provide you with an update on our school safety plans for physical and emotional safety. Many community members had questions about our school safety plans after the tragedy in Oxford and I have updates and reminders for you today.

School safety and keeping our students and staff safe have always been our number one priority. We also know that revisiting our plans and continuing our relationships with our public safety officials is key to ensuring we have the best practices in place. Last week, several Berkley Schools Administrators met with the chiefs of public safety: Matt Koehn (Berkley), Andrew Pazuchowski (Huntington Woods), and Steve Cooper (Oak Park). Several other officers joined us as well. The focus of the meeting was to revisit school safety. We talked through things we are doing well and things we could be doing better. We talked about what we learned from Oxford and what changes we might need to make. And we talked about some of the strengths we have as a District in terms of safety.

Here are some important details to know about our relationship with the public safety departments:

• We have a long standing and excellent relationship with all three departments. We are in communication with officers and the chiefs on a regular basis.
• Each department has access to our security cameras to use in case of an emergency
• We asked officers to resume regular walks through our facilities to establish relationships with our students and staff as well as become familiar with our buildings
• Berkley Public Safety officers led a tour of Berkley High School along with officers from surrounding communities during Winter Break to familiarize themselves with the building
• The local response time to an emergency is less than 3 minutes
• The chiefs assured us that in an emergency the first officer on the scene will go directly to the site of the incident - they will not wait for the rest of their team to arrive before taking action
• We have begun doing safety analysis walkthroughs in our buildings with public safety officers to identify any additional updates we may need to make to ensure student and staff safety
• We will continue to meet with the public safety departments on a regular basis

In addition to these key points, public safety representatives did have suggestions for us to improve our safety plan. Those items include:

• Labeling our external doors so officers can easily communicate the location of an incident with any responding officer
• Completing our reunification plans and reviewing those plans with the local departments. We are currently creating a comprehensive reunification plan to engage local community partners to host our schools if an evacuation is needed. We will consult with public safety before finalizing all of the plan details and then sharing them with staff.

In addition to our meeting with public safety officials, our administrative team has been reviewing our crisis response plans throughout this year. After reflecting on the Oxford tragedy, here are the items that are new to our plan that will be funded with pandemic relief dollars:

• The District has purchased a new Nightlock door locking device for every interior door in all buildings. This additional locking system will be installed in all classrooms, office areas, media centers, locker rooms and conference rooms in the District and we will work with Ferndale Schools to determine their plans for our two Adult Transition Program classrooms housed at CASA. The door security devices will not be installed on emergency exit doors or exterior building doors in the District. Similar locking devices were used in Oxford High School and were credited with saving lives.
• The District has purchased “classroom lockdown kits” or “go buckets” as they are commonly referred, for each school in the District and our Adult Transitions Program at CASA, to be placed in each classroom, media center, computer lab, office, conference room and similar spaces. These kits would be used to accommodate a scenario should a classroom(s) or school(s) be in lockdown for an extended period of time, or forced to evacuate to designated reunification locations. The kits are filled with essential supplies such as hand sanitizer, wet wipes, toilet paper, first aid kit, snacks and water purification tablets.

Staff and student training have also been the source of many questions over the last few weeks. We are an ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) trained district. During the 2018-19 school year, Berkley Public Safety provided hands-on ALICE training to all staff. All staff also undergo annual ALICE recertification training through an online training program. On February 18 (a half day for students) in the afternoon, all staff will undergo an ALICE training refresher with public safety. Staff will train in their own classrooms using scenarios that public safety provides. They will also have time to debrief their response with public safety as part of this afternoon. After staff undergo their refresher training, we will make time for students to also learn about the ALICE protocols using age appropriate lessons. We feel it is time to empower our students with knowledge on how to respond in case of an emergency. Our Teaching and Learning team along with our building administrators are creating consistent messaging for students. When we are ready to take these next steps we will share information with parents/guardians, too, so you can support the learning at home.

One of our best safety measures is our relationships with our staff and students. We cultivate relationships with the goal of having our students feel a sense of belonging. We have many mental health professionals in our District and we’re in the process of hiring additional elementary school counselors and additional social workers for the secondary level. We also recognize the mental health of our staff is critically important. We are happy to announce that in the coming weeks, we will be able to offer our staff counseling support through the Easter Seals, free of charge. Staff will be able to sign up for 15 minute appointments during work breaks and after school as needed.

Students, you are a part of our safety plan, too. Please do not open doors for anyone at your school. We have safe entry points with a buzzer and camera system to allow people into our buildings. Report anything suspicious or anything you are worried about to a trusted adult. Be kind to your peers. Your kindness and concern for others will create a safe space in our buildings and will foster a sense of belonging for all.

Finally, we continue to encourage all community members, especially our students, to say something if they hear something. The state-wide tip line, OK2SAY is available for anyone to use. OK2SAY encourages confidential tips on potential harm or criminal activities directed at students, school employees or schools. Their phone number is 855-565-2729 (8-555-OK2SAY). Their text number is 652729 (OK2SAY) and their email is OK2SAY@MI.GOV. Speaking up can make a difference.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns with us regarding school safety over the last weeks. We will continue to prioritize staff and student safety and transparency in our communication with the community.

Sincerely,

Scott Francis

Superintendent
Berkley Schools