Large problems require large-scale solutions. To that end, we have always taken a team approach to plan for any and all emergency situations across the district.

We established school-based safety committees many years ago, meeting regularly with members of the Towns of Newbury, Rowley, and Salisbury Police, Fire, and Emergency Management staff. We developed “emergency response plans” to help us determine in advance how to manage emergencies. The goal of these committees is to strengthen school safety and security across the entire District. These committees have met regularly to determine how a core team of school-based staff will work with their respective police, fire, and emergency management personnel to manage and respond to a variety of school emergencies.

Based on the work of this committee, we have developed coordinated emergency response plans for each school that is built on the Incident Command System (ICS), a nationally recognized organizational structure utilized by law enforcement, fire, and emergency response personnel. The ICS was adopted by our School Safety Committees as a team approach for how we will work with our police departments, fire departments, emergency management directors, town utility providers, and additional emergency response personnel to effectively respond to and manage a school emergency. A core group of district-wide staff has received extensive training on how to respond to a variety of emergencies.

Members of the “School Safety Committees” have and continue to meet monthly. We have implemented many new safety and security procedures in our schools:

• Members of our School Safety Committee have participated in comprehensive school emergency management training programs led by national school safety experts from the U.S. Secret Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and other nationally recognized consultants

• We have developed and trained all of our school staff on a “Safety Procedures for School Employees” (a printed reference packet of materials for what school staff should do during an emergency)

• Our School Safety Committee has practiced tabletop exercises and implemented “mock drills” involving staff and students based on realistic scenarios

• Our school district has expanded our communication network capabilities throughout our school campus and within our regional school district to increase inter-operability to rapidly respond to a school emergency

• Access Control – All after school and evening use of our school building is coordinated through a building use process. Unless there is a specific prescheduled program, our school building is locked during evening and weekend hours to prevent any unauthorized access

• Building Access – Our Main Entrances are monitored during school hours. All other outside perimeter doors are kept locked during school hours to prevent unauthorized entry into our school building. Outside perimeter doors are regularly checked throughout the school day and after hours to make sure they are not left open

• Identification Badges – All school staff have employee identification badges. In addition, school volunteers, substitute teachers, and contract service providers are issued visitor badges through the Raptor Technologies system that provides a background check (SORI) each time they check in. All visitors are directed to the main entrance where they sign in and receive their badge. School staff have been instructed to report anyone in the school building who does not follow these procedures.

• Staff Training – All staff have participated in School Safety Procedures training. SEE SIDE TAB FOR MORE DETAIL. All newly hired school employees are required to participate in this training. Additional training on safety procedures has been provided to members of the School Safety Committee, all teaching staff, custodial staff, and cafeteria staff.