School Safety: Update from NPS

Dear NPS Community,

As we welcome our students back, I am writing with our annual information on school safety and security planning. Creating a safe and supportive school environment continues to be our top priority.

With over 2200 students and 450 faculty and staff in our buildings daily, a number of systems are in place to address safety and security. This newsletter provides an overview of our multi-faceted safety approach.

We focus on school culture and climate so that every child and staff member can proudly say "I belong here." Research highlights the value of a preventative approach that fosters students' interpersonal skills and nurtures positive relationships with adults.

The work to create a belonging environment happens throughout the school day. Classroom structures, student behavior programs, advisory classes, and school wide assemblies allow us to intentionally focus on helping every child have a positive relationship with school. Clubs, teams, and extracurricular activities help young people connect with each other and our school community.

In addition, our operational plans address the complex security needs of a school district. This work includes protocols for maintaining the daily security of each building as well as responding to emergency situations. Technology, personnel, professional development and procedures all contribute to our comprehensive security plan.

I hope you and your family had a great first few days. We are looking forward to a safe and successful school year!

Respectfully,

Sean Gallagher
Superintendent of Schools

I speak often about our approach to school culture and climate and our vision around a culture of belonging. To effectively address school violence, we need to think about prevention and early intervention. Research on school safety clearly shows the power of a comprehensive approach to creating a positive school climate that helps young people develop skills and effectively solve problems.

There is no one activity that allows us to build this culture of belonging. It happens every day, a thousand times a day. From the start of school when a young person is welcomed into the building to the end of the day when they ride the bus home, their experiences are building their relationship to school and to learning.

Programs like Positive Behavior Intervention Systems and student advisories help us create shared expectations and approach daily rules and regulations as agreements among the whole community. Staff work collaboratively to establish and teach expectations that provide a predictable daily routine.

We encourage students and parents to connect to our schools outside of school hours. Through community events, clubs, athletics, music and performing arts, young people can pursue a variety of interests. Connections that young people make to each other and their schools on the stage, on the playing field, or in a robotics lab provide another preventative layer of safety.

Student voice continues to be an area of growth for the district. Expanded student council programs at the middle and high schools and a focus on dialogue techniques and skills are allowing us to cultivate a culture where every student can contribute.

Along with prevention, our schools also offer intervention programs to support students when they hit the inevitable hurdles. School counseling programs, trauma-informed systems, and restorative disciplinary practices contribute to our overall approach to building a culture of belonging. When we normalize support for mental health and provide positive approaches to discipline, young people learn to look to adults for support.

Finally, our professional development programs allow the adults in the system to develop skills in understanding and including all our students. Educators are always learning new strategies for teaching, developing new lessons to enhance engagement, and evaluating data to make sure every student can grow and learn.

I am proud of the progress we have made as a district to create a safe and supportive learning environment. We will continue to work with students, staff, and families to create new programs and collaboratively address problems.

Crisis Planning and Training

Mr. James Antonelli, District Safety and Security Liaison, and Mr. James McSweeney, Director of Facilities coordinate oversight of both safety and security planing and operations. Mr. Antonelli facilitates a collaborative safety process that includes state and local first responders and building administrators.

Medical emergency plans are overseen by our District Nurse Leader Katie Vozeolas. Along with our nursing team, Ms. Vozeolas ensures that staff know how to respond in the case of a medical emergency. This training ranges from EpiPen use to first aid and CPR training. All of our buildings are equipped with automated external defibrillators (AED).

All district staff participate in annual mandated training that includes responding to medical, fire, and active shooter emergencies. Through district crisis planning, staff training, and comprehensive drill management, we prepare for a range of possible emergencies. Our leaders continue to attend professional development programs to ensure NPS is implementing current best practices in every school.

Managing Building Access

Each building has an arrival and dismissal protocol. Doors are open during arrival and dismissal and locked for the rest of the day. All guests and students arriving late must access our buildings through the front door. Each school has a video doorbell where guests are asked to state their name and the name of the person they are visiting before being buzzed into the building.

Guests sign-in using the Verkada Visitor Management System. Visitors scan their IDs and complete a check-in process. Badges print instantly and are used for an easy check-out. This software allows us to effectively manage guest access to each building.

Each school has protocols in place for student late arrival and dismissal, and district staff follow a sign in and out procedure so we know at any given time who is in our buildings.

Ensuring Building Security

Our security systems including locking devices, security cameras, and alarm systems are regularly evaluated and updated. A new state-of-the-art system was installed in every building over the summer. In addition, Mr. McSweeney works directly with Newburyport Fire and Police Departments to test and maintain all alarm and response systems.

Planning for a School Evacuation

Every school has a detailed plan in the event that students and staff need to be evacuated. The Hope Church is our designated reunification site. A reunification site is a location where parents/caregivers will go to be reunited with their student following an evacuation of a school. The Newburyport Tennis Club serves as a "rally point" for students from the Bresnahan School; they will be met there by buses and transported to the Hope Church.

Each school is prepared with portable kits so educators have student information on hand. Parents/caregivers will be asked to provide a photo ID when picking up their student. Any evacuation will come with some stress and will require patience and coordination among many people, including parents/caregivers. In the event of an evacuation, there will be an NPS team on site to manage student and staff safety.

Finally, in the event of an evacuation, it is extremely important that parents/caregivers go to the reunification site and not to the school where the incident has happened. The school where the incident has occurred will be blocked off to parents/caregivers.

Coordinating with the Newburyport Police Department

The NPS and NPD have a memorandum of understanding that allows us to work collaboratively to address safety and security concerns. Officer Kyle McElroy is the School Resource Officer assigned to the district. Officer McElroy is often in and out of the buildings, and as a part of his role, works to build strong relationships with our students.

All district staff take an annual ALICE Training Institute online workshop. Newburyport has used the ALICE model for active shooter preparation since 2017. In addition to annual staff training, each building administrator works collaboratively with Officer Kyle McElroy to plan age-appropriate discussions or drills for students.

Cross City Communication

In October 2023 the Newburyport Public Schools collaborated with local first responders to host a school safety drill at Newburyport High School. These drills allow us to build strong partnerships with all Newburyport's services (e.g., fire, police, ambulance, bus transportation, Department of Public works) so, in the event of an emergency, our teams are prepared.

Over the 2023-24 school year, NPS has invested in physical plant and technology upgrades to ensure a safe and secure learning environment. A few investments include:

• New security systems including locking devices, security cameras, and alarm systems in every school building
• Enhanced school signage and maps to ensure quick emergency response time
• Door magnets to keep doors locked while also allowing easy access to the room for students
• Upgraded radios for school principals to allow communication with the Newburyport Police and Fire Departments
• InForce 911 software which allows NPS staff to use their cell phones to connect directly with the Newburyport Police Department to receive and provide real time information to and from first responders during an emergency

Most importantly, our students, parents, and staff work together to create a culture of safety and security. Every member of our community is encouraged to “see something, say something.” If a door is open, a guest does not have a pass, or some other concern arises, please let our administrative teams know.

Newburyport Public School District is committed to empowering all students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, creators and innovators who advocate for themselves, our community, our nation and our world. We value a safe, inclusive school climate where every student can be their best self. While we work on all areas of safety, this resolution has a particular focus on gun violence prevention through the leadership of the district, information sharing, empowerment, and education of our school community.

The Newburyport Public School District is aware of the statistics surrounding gun violence in the US and the research that proves secure gun storage reduces firearm injuries among our youth.

Whereas, The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center recommends the importance of appropriate storage of weapons because many school attackers used firearms acquired from their homes;

Whereas, Keeping students, teachers and staff safe from the threat of gun violence should be the responsibility of all adult stakeholders at each of our school sites;

Whereas, Across the country, lawmakers, community members, and local leaders are working together to implement public awareness campaigns,

Whereas, State law requires adults to securely store their firearms;

Whereas, In order to continue with preventive measures to increase student and school safety we must act now; now therefore, be it:

Resolved, That the School Committee and the Superintendent will continue to work with local law enforcement and health agencies, as well as non-profit organizations to collaborate and increase efforts to inform District parents and guardians of their obligations regarding secure storage of firearms in their homes.

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Newburyport School Committee on this 21st day of March 2022.

NPS Security Upgrade Overview