Third in a series
Re “Comprehensive Is the Watchword for District’s Stepped-up Safety Umbrellas”
At tonight’s 7o’clock School Board meeting in Council Chambers at City Hall, where enhanced safety will be a theme, children need to know just as much as their parents, Supt. Dave LaRose will say, that critical safety steps have been enacted by the School District to discourage a potential xerox of Newtown.
Teachers, parents and students all need to be talking openly about the upgraded methods, he said.
“How do we support one another? Mr. LaRose asked. “It’s an emotional topic. It’s developmentally appropriate – everybody will play a role.
“In the event something tragic would happen, people need to be prepared to respond.
“That has been part of our work, too.
“I was at the Middle School (the day of the interview). They were conducting their second lockdown drill since the event.
“The way in which we practice, the intentionality and the vigilance certainly have been elevated. Part of that has been a message to the students, about the role they play.
“If we don’t take this seriously and we are goofing around, then that puts others at risk.
“So I think the students, in making sure the role we play in terms of practice and drill and what it means, is developmentally appropriate.
“The parents certainly play a role in that. As we get older, we actively engage them in what security looks like.
“Remember how we have talked about dual tracks, about strategy, structure and safety? Especially in terms of the culture, of relationships, communication and how we treat one another, and who you go to if you are not feeling safe.
“The children, our students,” Mr. LaRose said, “play a key role in that.”
Question: What of high school students? Do they have a unique responsibility?
“This brings me back to developmentally appropriate. As they get older, the level of conversation you can have with students, the level of responsibility they have about individual behavior and communicating the behavior of others, grows. The older they are, they can play a much more significant role.”
How has that been communicated?
“At our secondary buildings, the conversations – whether through classes, their morning announcements, through their Student Council – their principals (Dylan Farris at Culver City High School, Jon Pearson at the Middle School) believe deeply in the engagement of the students and their ownership for the learning and the place they learn. That means not necessarily within the safety arenas but within the culture, how we treat each other, tolerance and respect for one another, anti-bullying commitments, those kinds of things.”
(To be continued)
