From Kelsey Bugarin, Asst. Principal
Every day I walk up to the school, I try to catch a glimpse of the progress on our new secure front entrance. I can’t help but anticipate the completion of the project and the positive impact it will make on the safety and security of our school. As construction advances, the safety of our students and staff will continue to be a top priority, and I would like to take this opportunity to share some steps we have taken to work toward this and the resources available to you.
Pius X has adopted the safety protocols from the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, which provides proven programs for schools nation-wide, including the Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method. There are five key actions for responding to emergency situations, including: hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter. The students are made aware of the safety plan in each of their classes, our staff is trained at responding to these commands, and we practice them throughout the year.
Along with emergency procedure drills, we keep all exterior doors locked during the school day, and every student and staff member must wear their lanyard/ID while in the building. During construction, all visitors and guests will enter through the commons entrance, where they will be greeted by a staff member before being allowed to travel to the main office.
We partner with our local emergency responders and allow them to familiarize themselves with our school in the event there is a crisis. Our communication system aligns with the incident command system they use so that we have a common language for responding to emergencies. We continue to take time to train our staff on threat assessment procedures, psychological first aid, reunification exercises and more.
In addition to partnering with our emergency responders, working closely with our families is critical to the success of our plans. Parents play a vital role in emergency situations, so I recommend taking a moment to check out our new resource page on our website to learn more about this! You can access it at https://www.piusx.net/safety/. There is also a form online where students and parents can report a school threat, bullying/harassment, or make a SCIP referral. Thank you for trusting us with the care of your students, for all of those who have made our new secure front entrance possible, and for your cooperation with our emergency protocols.
May God continue to bless us on our path and entrust us in His care.
