Minutes from the Safety Committee Meeting 11-15-07

Minutes of School Safety Committee Meeting
11/15/07
Room 123, 1:45 pm

Present:
K. Burton, SSA Level III
F. Palumbo, SSA
M. DiAngelo, Q811 Site Coordinator
E. Turner, Parent Coordinator
A. Abicca, Dean, Emerson
M. Shelton, Dean, Montessori
V. Jerome, Dean, Freire
M. Flynn, A.P.O.


Mr. Burton shared that an additional SSA Level III has been assigned to the Glen Oaks campus. Her name is Ms. Robles. She will work primarily with 208 and 266, but will be available to assist at QHST on an as needed basis.

Mr. Flynn debriefed our Lockdown Drill of 10/26/07. Mr. Abicca asked about procedures for P.E. classes that are outside the building during Lockdown situations. Mr. Flynn said that a walkie-talkie has been ordered for use by the P.E. teachers when they are outside the building. Mr. Shelton said that P.E. teachers usually carried their personal cell phones with them when they were outside of the building in case of emergency. Mr. Flynn said that if a Lockdown occurred in the QHST building only, students and teachers should be alerted via the walkie-talkie and should go to 266 or 208 depending on which was closer. If the entire campus were locked down, Committee members suggested P.E. classes go to the security booth by Commonwealth Blvd. Mr. Flynn said that he would discuss this suggestion with Mr. Pugh and write it into the school safety plan.

Mr. Abicca raised a concern about communication between Deans, APs, and SSAs via walkie-talkie. He referred to a recent incident during which he had called on the walkie-talkie for assistance and had not gotten a response. Mr. Shelton asked if, in the future, Deans could be programmed so that there were two Deans not teaching at all times. Mr. Flynn agreed to discuss this with APs and programmers. Based on suggestions from the Deans and SSA Palumbo, Mr. Flynn proposed the following protocols:
1. If an AP or Dean is going to turn off his or her walkie-talkie for a period of time because of a meeting or a class, he or she should announce this over the air and announce what room he or she can be found in if an emergency arises.
2. If an AP or Dean is calling for a specific AP or Dean on the walkie-talkie and gets no response, he or she should make an “AP/Dean needs assistance” call. This call should be responded to immediately by any and all available Deans and APs.
3. If a Dean or AP is in a meeting or class with their walkie-talkie on, they should respond with the location where they can be found in an emergency.

Mr. Flynn stated that a number of teachers had expressed concern over students leaving the building without permission and returning later. The school is trying to hire an additional school aide to help with safety and security. In addition, Mr. Flynn is extending the hours of one school aide so that the CAASS system can be left in place at the main entrance through the beginning of the Freire lunch period. The SSA at the main entrance should hold students who arrive after the Freire lunch period. Those students will only be admitted with the approval of a Dean or an AP. Mr. Flynn handed out a list that had been provided by Ms. Varriale of students in the T.I. program who have permission to go to different classrooms in the building or to go to 208 or 266 during their school day. This list will be kept by all Deans and a copy will be kept at the main security desk.

Mr. Flynn distributed a draft of the School Safety Plan. He asked that all Safety Committee members look the plan over and relay edits to him by Tuesday, Nov. 27th. Safety Committee members will sign off on the final draft soon thereafter.

Mr. Abicca asked about the possibility of placing the elevators on key control and giving keys to staff members to prevent students who should not be using elevators from using them. Mr. Flynn said that he would discuss this possibility with Leadership and John Pattay.

Finally, Mr. Abicca asked about blue emergency contact cards for students. He said that he had found that some of them have phone numbers that no longer work. Mr. Flynn said that he had school aides coming in this Saturday to determine which students have not submitted blue cards and to begin the process of verifying phone numbers on the blue cards we have.

The meeting was adjourned.