SCHOOL SAFETY
August 22, 2022
School Safety
Dear Rosa Parks School Students and Families,
The summer is quickly coming to a close and we are so excited to have our students and staff back for the school year. The beginning of the school year brings about excitement for new experiences, new friendships, reigniting old friendships, new school supplies, starting with a new teacher and a clean slate. With each new year, we have new opportunities to learn and grow. We are thrilled that each of our Pumas spend their early school years here with us at Rosa Parks Elementary School where each of you matters.
An essential part of starting a new school year is taking time to review the norms and rules around how we function as a school community. Following the tragic events at the end of the last school year in Texas, safety has been a significant topic of our administrative conversations this summer. You recently received a letter from Dr. Peterson, MAPS Superintendent, addressing school safety and our district's focus on protecting our students and staff, and providing for the well-being of all who enter our spaces. At Rosa, we take the responsibility of maintaining safety seriously. All of us play an essential role in protecting our school community.
Please take a few moments to read through the information regarding specific plans and practices we have in place to ensure safety for everyone in our building. If you have questions or concerns, please share them with me.
Safety Basics at Rosa Parks
SINGLE ENTRY
During our school day at Rosa Parks we are considered a single point of entry building. This means that between the hours of 8:00 am and 2:30 pm, all of our building doors are locked. The only place that anyone can enter our building after 8:00 am is through Door 1.
If you are planning to enter Rosa Parks after 8:00 am, you can expect the following:
Our secretary will ask you about your purpose for entering the building. This is to ensure that we can help get you to where you need to be, but also to make sure that it's absolutely necessary for you to be in the building at this time.
You will be "buzzed in" to the building and directed to the staff member or space you are looking for.
If you are dropping something off for your student, you will not be given access to the building. You may leave the items at the front desk and we will ensure they are delivered to your student.
Once you are in the building, please do not be offended if a staff member asks you where you are going and what you need. We encourage them to ask. Not only are they able to help you get what you need more quickly, but this is also a very important part of our safety plan. Every person in our building needs to be there for a purpose and be accounted for.
CAMERAS
Our building is monitored in many areas (hallways and common areas) by video cameras. We use these cameras to follow up on behavior, determine points of entry, monitor building flow, and investigate issues in the building.
DRILLS
Throughout the school year, we will practice safety drills for fires, lockdowns, and severe weather. Part of our building safety plan is that we have a reunification site in the event of a major emergency. Staff will bring students to the site and all parent pick up will take place from that site. This would all be communicated to you in the event such an emergency would happen.
Students and Exterior Side Doors
During the school day, all students and staff are expected to maintain exterior door safety.
How do students do this?
It's very simple. Do not open an exterior door for anyone, ever.
What if I know the person?
Even if you know the person, even if they are your very best friend, you still can not open an exterior door for them. If your friend left campus or exited the building, for whatever reason, they must return to the building through Door 1.
That's dumb! If I know the person, why should they have to walk all the way around the building when I can just let them in?
We get it. On the surface, letting someone in the closest door seems like a nice thing to do. However, by doing so, you are putting everyone at risk.
How does that put people at risk?
We need to be honest here about the latest research and data regarding school violence. Research shows that in situations of active weapons in school buildings, overwhelmingly those acts were committed by people who were connected to the school. Often these acts are carried out by former or current students. This means that in most cases of an active shooter, people in that school knew that person.
As difficult and uncomfortable as it is to have to talk about school violence, we have to be very open about the fact that acts of mass violence are increasing in frequency and are a potential reality that could impact all of us. The best way we protect ourselves and each other is to keep our school building secure. That means not letting anyone into the side doors because we don't know where they went when they left campus. We don't know what happened while they were off campus. And we don't know what they are bringing back with them into the building. All of those unknowns make the situation potentially unsafe for everyone else.
If all people entering our building are entering at Door 1, we automatically have a more secure entry point and an office staff monitoring those who are entering. That checkpoint is safer for everyone.
Supporting our School Community
When we think about school violence, not only do we consider large-scale situations involving weapons, but also individual situations of physical fighting, bullying, and harassment in schools. The students involved in these events require proactive and targeted support for social/emotional and mental health needs.
The adult members of our school community know full well the serious impact that bullying, harassment, and just outright meanness have on the mental health and wellbeing of our students. Once they reach high school age, bullying and harassment between teens can become more sophisticated, more subtle, and now often takes place on social media. At Rosa, our focus is on creating a culture of belonging for all of our students where every student and staff know that they Matter, and the work to Help Each Other Succeed. We will do everything that we can to combat the negative messaging that our students hear, read, and experience.
All students receive classroom lessons from our school counselor and have access to her and our social worker and school psychologist. In addition, we partner with community mental health and support services to provide our students with the care they need in order to experience success.
We know that things will not always go perfectly for each and every student. There are situations happening in students' lives that are often beyond our control. There are situations that happen between students that escalate quickly. Part of our job is to filter through these situations and solve the aspects that we can impact. We are here to surround our students with love and support. We know that the most important way we can combat school violence, physical fighting, harassment, and bullying is by creating strong school communities. That takes all of us. All staff, all students, and all parents/guardians.
We're In this Together!
The most important thing to remember about school safety at school is that we are all responsible for ensuring a safe school environment. There are rules and procedures around how we do things in our building to support and maintain safety and security for everyone.
Sometimes that means waiting to hear from us as we investigate situations. Sometimes that means swift and decisive action on our part to mitigate threats. Sometimes that means participating in meetings and phone calls to get to the bottom of issues. If you wonder about a process or how we have responded, reach out and ask. We are happy to explain what we're doing and the why behind it.
To make sure that our school is a safe and healthy place for all, we all need to do our part. Be active in anti-violence. Be active in anti-bullying. Be active in care and concern for your fellow students and school community members. Remember, we are all at Rosa together and it takes all of us to make this a great place to be.
Contact Us
Email: dkamph1@isd77.org
Website: rpe.isd77.org
Location: 1001 Heron Drive, Mankato, MN, USA
Phone: 507-387-7672