The safety and
security of our students and staff is our most important priority.
There has been a
significant amount of media coverage over the past few weeks about potential
terrorist threats that has led to increased anxiety in our community about
the safety and security of our schools.
It is very
important that you know that according to law enforcement agencies both
locally and nationally, that there is no specific threat to our schools and
students here in San Diego.
The FBI has
notified San Diego City Schools that a disk with a publicly available U.S.
Department of Education report on crisis planning was found in the
possession of a man arrested by U.S. authorities in Iraq. The report does
NOT include the District’s nor individual school crisis plans. The report
(available at
www.ed.gov/emergencyplan) is a guide for districts and schools and it
highlights our district’s approach to crisis planning as a model to follow
but does not provide any specifics about our emergency procedures or other
crisis response plans. We have confirmed with the FBI San Diego office,
that the disk contained no floor plans, school safety plans nor photos of
schools located in San Diego.
For your
information, San Diego City Schools Police continues to work closely with
local law enforcement agencies, including the anti-terrorism task force, to
ensure that our schools are safe. We have both a District emergency
preparedness plan and each school has a school safety plan. In addition,
schools conduct various emergency drills on a regular basis throughout the
school year.
The federal
Department of Education issued a letter to education leaders earlier this
week, providing general information and guidance on enhancing safety at
schools. While we have many of the suggestions already in place in San
Diego, San Diego City Schools Police are reviewing the document to determine
what, if any, additional measures should be taken.
While we have
not received any specific threat and do not want to create any unnecessary
concern in our community, we are calling upon all City Schools students,
parents, teachers, staff and community members to assist us in keeping our
schools safe.
We ask for
your continued collaboration and support. Here are some actions you can
take to assist us in ensuring the safety of all of our students and school
communities.
·
All schools have procedures for parents/volunteers/community members
visiting school sites, which include signing in at the front office and
wearing badges. We ask all people visiting schools to follow the
school’s procedure.
·
We
will follow our safety procedures related to locking of gates and fences
during school hours to reduce the number of points of access to the school
site.
·
As
law enforcement officials have asked in the past, we ask that you please
contact the school, San Diego City Schools Police Services or the San Diego
Police Department if you notice any activities or individuals in your area
that appear to be out of the ordinary.
·
Please visit our school safety section on the District’s website (www.sandi.net)
that provides parents and staff information about school safety. This
website contains information that may be made available to the public and
community including fact sheets on School Police Services, programs and
services provided in our District, as well as resources and tips for parents
to assist in talking with children about these issues. If you do not have
access to the internet, please visit the main school office and ask that a
copy be provided to you.
Again, we want
to emphasize that according to law enforcement agencies both locally and
nationally, there is no specific threat to our schools and students here in San
Diego.
Another
important issue is the traffic around the school. Dropping and picking-up
your children before and after school has always been a major concern of
mine. Please do not double park and ask your children to run across the
street or park in private driveways across the street from the school. In
the 3-minute loading zone in front of the school you can not leave your car
unattended. Any unattended vehicle may receive a parking violation. Use
either the staff parking lot to drop off your children in the morning or
park your car in a legal parking space near the school and walk the children
to and from the school. I realize that parking is a premium around most
schools and we are no exception. The San Diego Police Department has been
studying a more comprehensive plan for the ingress and regress of students
and as details become finalized I will share them.
Instructional
time is very important to the teachers and children. Interruption to
instructional time has become a concern. Phone calls and parents coming
during school to talk to the teacher are eroding instructional minutes.
Phone calls will not be passed to the classrooms during the school day.
Phone messages will be taken and the teachers have been asked to check for
messages in their boxes throughout the day.
We ask for your
support in maintaining a calm learning environment for our children.
