Partnerships with the community are key to student safety, and the Grandview School District, according to Assistant Superintendent Ann Marie Cook, has a great relationship with the Grandview Police Department. Recently, as part of PREP-KC’s career day activities, Grandview Police Officer Monica Romero talked with students at Martin City Elementary School.
by Mary Wilson, mwilson@jcadvocate.com
With the tragedies in Parkland, Florida, still fresh in the
minds of community members, administration from the Grandview School District
provided a timely discussion to the Board of Education regarding safety in
schools during their regular meeting on Thursday, February 22.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Operations and
Finance Ann Marie Cook, the district is still working to utilize bond funding
to complete safety enhancement upgrades throughout the district. In the last
two years, there have been parking lot improvements and fire alarm system
upgrades.
“We have Martin City slated for this summer, which will be
the final upgrade or replacement of all the fire alarm systems,” said Cook.
“This has been a multi-year project that includes camera systems and intercom
upgrades. We’ve done a lot, but we still need to do a lot of things as it
relates to safety.”
Over the last year or so, the district has maintained a
focus on student reporting, and has implemented security scans and completed
staff, student and parent surveys regarding safety.
“Probably the thing I’m most excited about is that the
safety committee has really evolved over the years,” said Cook. “It was focused
more on doing walkabouts to make sure we didn’t have slip trip hazards and
those sort of things, and it really has changed in where we are focusing our
efforts. It is now much broader.”
The district is currently in the process of reframing the
safety committee, creating what they refer to as “safety silos,” which include
physical safety, student safety and staff safety. While there may be some
overlap, according to Cook, the intent and desire is to share ideas and
implement programs that will ensure safety while students and staff are in the
district’s buildings.
“I think this will provide us an opportunity to dig a little
deeper and improve some of our practices,” said Cook. “I think we’ve made a lot
of improvements over the last several years, but there’s always more that we
can and should be doing.”
The district has a strong partnership with the Grandview
Police Department and the Grandview Fire Department, which are both part of the
district’s safety meetings and conduct various trainings throughout the year.
Every year during spring break, Grandview Fire Marshal Lew Austin does a
walk-through in all school buildings to ensure their safety.
“We are extremely fortunate to have those partnerships
because they help us create and keep a safe environment for our staff and our
kiddos,” said Cook.
Grandview also continues to work on updating its crisis
plans, looking for consistency and alignment with safety standards. While
physical safety is important, the district continues to look for ways to
increase the feeling of safety for students and staff in the buildings.
“Student reporting is critical in helping minimize or
eliminate threats to the schools and other students,” said Cook.
Since becoming superintendent, Dr. Kenny Rodrequez has
worked to implement a change in the way staff thinks about safety.
“As superintendent, I’m taking matters of student safety
very seriously,” said Rodrequez. “I think we pushed the envelope quite a bit
over the last year with things that we’re doing. I’m not a big fan of us
constantly having to be reactive. I want to be as proactive as possible. We
can’t resolve everything and we can’t stop everything; however, there are a lot
of things that we can prevent.”
While he says that the district is on a good path, Rodrequez
added that the district isn’t anywhere near where they should be. In a
conference he recently attended, safety was a widely-discussed topic. One
session focused on the importance of a relationship with the first responders
in the community, which Rodrequez said is strong in Grandview.
“I’m very proud of the work that we have done,” said
Rodrequez. “We will continue to do everything we can to make sure everyone is
as safe as possible.”
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