LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — There is just one more week until students are back in the classroom and with a new school year comes new safety measures for students and staff.
Back in July, I told you about changes in protocol when it comes to emergency drills in schools that aim to reduce mental health impacts and are trauma-informed.
The changes included how schools would have to notify parents, students and staff ahead of lockdown drills and ensure that the drills do not mimic a school shooting or another incident of violence. You can watch our previous report below.
Tuesday, I headed out to the Lockport City School District as they laid out how these new regulations are being put into place. This year's focal point for the district is "strong parent communication."
"With the right training, with the right support in place, our staff does really well in terms of meeting the needs of our students. So, I feel very confident. I think our staff will do very well. Even though this is a transition year, I think we will be just fine," Superintendent Dr. Mathis Calvin said.
Dr. Calvin is approaching this transition year with confidence as school districts adjust to the new requirement for emergency drills.
"We will walk them through the drills that they're going to be participating in so that there's no surprises and we will make sure that we follow the protocols that the state has outlined which says there's no surprises when we're drilling with our students. We don't have people popping up out of spaces that they didn't expect. We don't create scenarios that could traumatize them or bring about fear in any way fashion or form," Dr. Calvin said.
Another new thing this year: parents will be notified one week before any drills.
"We will be sending out emails, we will be sending out new information through our new app that we have, and also through our new communications system," Dr. Calvin said.
All drills must be recorded, and students and staff must be notified before starting the lockdown drill.
Districts are still required to conduct 13 drills per school year:
- 8 evacuation drills (fire drills)
- 4 lockdown drills
- 1 early dismissal drill
The district's public relations specialist Denyel Beiter said using these drills is also a great way to test out the district's new two-way communication tool, "Rooms."
"Teachers can use 'Rooms' to talk directly to parents either one-on-one or one-way messaging out to the class, parents and guardians," said Beiter
The district has also rolled out a new app with its upgraded website, ensuring as much communication as possible for parents.
"In case of an emergency, if it ever happens, all of our students are going to be prepared and all of our students and all of our parents are going to know how to react," Beiter said.
Next week, all district staff will go through training during Superintendent Conference Day which should take over 30 minutes.
