Dealing with school safety is always foremost in the minds of the adults who work in our schools.  Most often this concern focuses on the routine concerns of watching for possible  problems with playground equipment, storage of materials and safe use of equipment.  Other times attention is directed to student behavior such as running in the hall or playing safely.  Unfortunately and rarely, a school staff needs to deal with something that may present real danger to students.  

This past Wednesday an alert parent noticed bullets near the entrance to Mountain View School. She quickly reported this to the office staff.  This in turn triggered a chain of action that we rarely need to implement.  

        Each of our schools has a well-defined crisis response plan.  These plans are designed to assist us if we ever need to deal with a disaster or serious safety event in our schools.  Adults know the steps in the plan and should be prepared to follow the plan if it is ever needed.

        At Mountain View School the principal, teachers and support staff were able to deal with an unexpected situation very competently.  Because we did not know the source of the bullets or if any had been brought into the school it was essential to implement a ‘hold in place’ status, keeping all students in their classrooms with their teachers while the building was thoroughly searched.

Within minutes a team of more than a dozen administrators from all over the district gathered to assist in the search.  State police responded immediately and, aided by custodial staff, searched the perimeter of the building.  Inside, the administrative team combed the building looking for any signs of bullets and the possibility of a weapon.  

        Thankfully, nothing was found within the building.  But from this event we learned several things.  First and foremost, if and when a safety concern arises our plan to deal with it can be implemented quickly and effectively.  Our teachers, administrators and staff did an excellent job.

        Second, as a district with many schools we were able to pull together a large team of trained administrators to quickly address an issue in one school. At times like these the staff at the school need to be fully present to care for students and are not available to investigate or search. Having a dozen trained professionals in one place provided a level of expertise and assistance that was reassuring.

        Finally, and most importantly, after a complete and thorough search we had not found any dangerous or prohibited substances within our school.  This reaffirmed for us that our students are great kids who work hard to meet high expectations for behavior.  We are very proud of them.

Suzanne Lukas

Superintendent of Schools