Fair, Consistent, and Equal Application of Discipline Policies
All students, teachers, and staff should know what to expect regarding school district policies around safety and discipline. There should be consistent application of disciplinary policies and reporting on discipline statistics should be available to the public while concurrently protecting the privacy of students.
Improve staff safety by providing training that implements systems for the staff to protect themselves and students. Many educators in our district have been vocal about this concern with little response from the current board and/or administration regarding situations that have resulted in injury in the classroom. Some of these injuries have resulted in significantly negative outcomes for staff. Teachers should not have to worry about being physically harmed while working and school board members and administration need to collaborate to come up with solutions that produce real change. Our front-line educators are our most valuable asset and must be protected.
Not only is it essential to partner with educators and staff to improve safety, but students must also understand how to look for and report red flags without fear of retaliation from staff or other students. Instituting an age-appropriate safety education program may improve students’ understanding of what may designate a red flag. Creating a safe environment for all requires partnering with school board members, administrators, educators, and local law enforcement to develop the most influential safety education for our students and safety protocols for staff. Awareness and readiness may include instituting school-wide drills in case of outside intruders and establishing protocols for consistent checks of safety implementations such as locked doors and speaker systems. It is unfortunate that this is now an issue in our schools, but with recent trends, our students must be able to recognize threats, know how to report them and understand the best course of action in a dangerous situation to improve safety outcomes.