School Safety Information
The safety and security of all students and staff at Salisbury Elementary School is one of our most important priorities. Families trust schools to keep children safe during each and every school day as well as during all school sponsored events. Communities expect schools to be safe havens for children to learn and school employees to work. School buildings are key centers in each community: on any given school day in our country, over twenty percent of the United States population is attending a public or private school as a student or an employee. Children of all ages rely on and look to adults for protection from harm. Teachers and school staff must know what to do during an emergency to protect children so they can be safety returned to their families. Every school in our country is receiving information, guidance and resources on being prepared – in advance – for the possibility of a variety of potential school emergencies.
You should be reassured to know our School Safety Committee has been working diligently for the past five years to make our school as safe and secure as possible. Keeping your child and your school safe and secure is a total team effort with active, ongoing participation from each and every member of our School Safety Committee. Our goal is to ensure each and every child here can learn in a school environment that is safe and secure. We hope the following information will help you understand our serious commitment to the safety and security programs.
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What are some examples of school emergencies?
Emergencies are unexpected, unpredictable and can take many forms. Emergencies can vary in severity and whether they directly or indirectly impact students and their schools. Emergencies can happen before, during or after school and either on or off campus. There are many examples of emergencies which are a serious concern for a school. Here are some examples of community emergencies which can have a major impact on our school: Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods and severe thunderstorms can strike a community with little or no advanced warning. Other emergencies, such as a chemical or hazardous material release in an adjoining community, may pose a threat to our school and may continue to escalate over the course of several hours or days. Medical emergencies involving students or school staff can have a tremendous impact on the entire school community. Catastrophic events including acts of terror or war, bomb threats and school shootings are extremely traumatic events for all children. The impact of media reporting for these catastrophic events on children’s understanding is profound. As communities across our country work to increase safety and security, we need to remember the needs of children to feel safe, secure and protected by their families, school staff and other adults in their lives.
Emergency response plans need to address a range of events and hazards created by nature and/or people. Each of us who works at Salisbury Elementary School and in the Town of Salisbury Police, Fire and Emergency Management Departments need to prepare for the possibility of an emergency well in advance of an actual emergency.
What has Salisbury Elementary School done to increase safety and security for students, employees and school visitors?
Five years ago, our school began meeting regularly with members of the Town of 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 this committee was to strengthen school safety and security on the entire Salisbury Elementary School campus. This committee meets monthly to determine how a core team of our staff will work with police, fire and emergency management personnel to manage and respond to a variety of school emergencies.
Members of the Salisbury Elementary School “School Safety Committee” have continued to meet monthly. We have implemented many new safety and security procedures at our school:
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 Triton staff have employee identification badges. In addition, school volunteers, substitute teachers and contract service providers are issued visitor badges. 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.
Safety Drills - The District is following the iloveuguys Standard Response Protocols and we have received training in these protocols. The safety of your child and all children in our schools, as well as the safety of the school staff and support personnel is very important to us. In order to maintain a safe environment for our children to learn and grow, it is necessary that we practice our emergency response protocols by having drills to exercise our procedures. By practicing, we will know what to do and how to do it.
Community Members
Tim Hunter, Salisbury Police Dept.
Andrew Murphy, Salisbury Fire Department