Local schools discuss safety

Panel members at the Monroe County Community School Corporation school safety communication conversation stressed the importance of communication about possible emergency situations.

Superintendent Judy DeMuth said this conversation was the third of a series, the previous two focusing on digital learning and bullying.

“I think it’s part of being transparent as a school corporation,” said Beverly Smith, director of school and community services.

DeMuth and the other four panelists, Chief Mike Diekhoff of the Bloomington Police Department, Russ Skiba, professor of Counseling and Educational Psychology at IU, David Pillar, principal of Jackson Creek Middle School, and John Carter, director of planning for MCCSC, answered questions posed by moderator and Herald-Times editor Bob Zaltsberg and the audience.

Tom Bunger, chair of the Foundation of the Monroe County Community Schools, said safety has always been at the forefront of the corporation’s mission.

“This is not a timely topic because of what happened in Connecticut,” he said.

DeMuth said tragedies are on the news every day, which makes school officials work more to be prepared and stress communication.

“If you hear something, if you see something, you need to talk to an adult,”
DeMuth said.

Carter said the corporation is in the process of revising emergency preparedness plans. He said they were able to train more than 200 staff members in emergency preparedness, including teacher aids and custodians.

“It’s truly a school-wide discussion,” Pillar said.

DeMuth said these teams are also trained in AED and CPR.

Pillar said all schools in the MCCSC now have a buzz-in system, where the visitor has
to state the purpose for their visit. Carter said they must also sign a form and wear a nametag.

“If kids don’t feel safe, they can’t learn,” Pillar said.

In September 2011, Jackson Creek had a shooting threat written on a bathroom wall.

“We did the total opposite of keeping it hushed,” he said, noting the importance of telling people what is going on.

Within 20 minutes, police officers had showed up. He said about 170 students did not come to school the day the supposed shooting was to happen. He said it was probably one of their safest days, though, because of the increased police presence.

“The climate is so vital to their feeling of safety and their ability to learn,” he said.

Sikba said many school shooting situations have resulted from bullying and said it is important for students to learn how to resolve conflicts between themselves.

She said GPS systems might eventually be put on buses so their positions can be tracked, along with a sound mechanism so officials can hear what is happening.

“When you work in a school environment, you want to be proactive,” she said.