Eli Whitney Elementary School
Safety Procedures and
Practices
School Year 2012-2013
Meeting Outline

Overview of current procedures and
practices

Recent changes to improve security

How parents can help keep students safe

Q & A (share concerns)
Current Procedures &
Practices
Arrival—School doors open at 8:30 a.m.
 Students who are front walkers or who ride the
bus or van access the building through the
front entrance.
 Students who are dropped off or who are
back walkers access the building through the
back entrance.
 Front & back entrances to the building are
covered by staff members in the morning and
in the afternoon.
Current Procedures &
Practices
Dismissal
 Van students are called first around 3:10 p.m., to report to
their van. Van students in the primary grades (K-1) are
escorted by a staff member. Staff members are located
outside for duty as students load onto the vans and busses.
Student Safety Patrols report to duty at this time.
 Walkers are called at 3:15 p.m. Parents wait outside either
in the front or back of the building. Students in the primary
grades (K-3) are released directly to their parent or
guardian.
 Once walkers clear out, we call bus students.
 Bus students are escorted directly to their bus by a
classroom teacher.
Current Procedures &
Practices
Early Dismissal
 If parents or guardians plan to dismiss their child
before the school’s regular dismissal time, they
must provide the school with prior written notice.
 Parent, guardian or designee must produce photo
identification. We keep a Photostat copy of the
picture identification on file.
 We cross check the Emergency Form on file to be
sure that parent, guardian or designee is
authorized to pick up the student.
 The parent, guardian or designee must sign out
the student in the Early Dismissal Log.
Sample Change in Dismissal
Note
ELI WHITNEY SCHOOL
CHANGE IN DISMISSAL NOTE
CHILD’S NAME: _____________________________________________ DATE: ______________________
(Please Print)
TEACHER: __________________________________________________
TODAY, MY CHILD:
IS A FRONT WALKER
IS A BACK WALKER
IS STAYING AFTER SCHOOL FOR _______________________________________________________
WILL NOT BE STAYING AFTERSCHOOL FOR _____________________________________________
WILL BE DISMISSED AT _______________ AM/PM (NO DISMISSALS AFTER 3:00 PM)
WILL BE PICKED UP BY: _______________________________________________________________
(NAME MUST BE ON EMERGENCY FORM)
PHONE # OF PERSON PICKING UP STUDENT: ____________________________________________
OTHER: ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PARENT/GUARDIAN SIGNATURE: ________________________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER: __________________________________________________________
Current Procedures &
Practices
Visitors
 We screen all visitors using a monitoring
system. When visitors ring the bell, we ask
“How can we help you?” Visitors can briefly
state their business with the school.
 Visitors are buzzed into the school and
directed to report to the main office.
 If visit requires a stay, then visitor’s must sign
the Visitor’s Log indicating their destination.
 All visitors must wear a visitor’s badge.
Current Procedures &
Practices
School Safety Committee
Eli Whitney School has a Safety Committee. The
committee oversees the following:
 Student Safety Patrols
 Assist with Safety Drills as indicated in our Crisis
Manual
 Go Kits
 Traffic Patterns
 Troubleshoot general problems regarding
safety
Current Procedures &
Practices
Stratford Public Schools Crisis Manual
 All classrooms and other ancillary staff have
the Crisis Manual issued by the Stratford Public
Schools. The Crisis Manual outlines the
procedures to be followed in the case of
various emergency situations and describes
the roles and responsibilities of various staff.
 The manual is reviewed annually with the
faculty and staff with strong emphasis placed
on the Fire Drill, Lockdown Drill and Stay Put
Procedure.
Current Procedures and
Practices
The Lockdown Drill
Primarily used in the event we have an intruder
inside or outside of the building.
 We will practice the lockdown drill monthly.
 Parents will get advanced notice of all
lockdown drills.
 Lockdown drills will be scheduled at different
times during the school day to create
different scenarios.
Current Procedures &
Practices
Fire Drill
We are mandated to conduct at least 10
fire drills in a school year.
Stay Put Procedure
We use this procedure in an event we have
a special transport (ambulance) or if there is
a potential danger in one part of the
building, i.e. Leak.
Current Procedures &
Practices




All Faculty & Staff must wear a school ID badge.
All doors leading to the outside are locked. The
administration conducts routine checks. If we have a
delivery, an adult will man the door.
All classroom doors will remain in the lock position.
Teachers have their classroom key. In the event there is a
substitute, the key is left in the main office for the substitute.
Moreover, substitutes will have a copy of our school’s Crisis
Manual. Teachers will direct substitutes to familiarize
themselves with the Fire and Lockdown Drills.
We use walkie-talkies to communicate. The administrators,
nurse, head custodian and main office staff are reachable
anytime. Moreover, teachers are required to have a
walkie-talkie with them during outdoor recess.
Recent Changes to Improve
Security
Arrival
 All side entrances to the school will remain locked so that
students can only access the front or back entrances.
Screening
 We stepped up our efforts in regards to screening visitors.
Classroom
 Classroom doors will be in the locked position in the event
we have to go into a lockdown.
Lockdowns
 We will increase the number of times that we practice this
particular drill.
Safety Committee
 Will meet monthly. A member of the committee will join the
Central Office Safety Committee.
Recent Changes to Improve
Security
The District will…
 train new substitutes on school safety procedures.
 purchase a new emergency notification system, which will
provide both email and phone notification in the event of
an emergency.
 currently reassess each school’s evacuation route to be
sure it’s appropriate.
work with town officials:
 Stratford Police Department will increase police presence in
and around schools.
 The Mayor and Department of Public Works will assess all
schools to put together a list of needed repairs as it relates
to security.
 The Mayor has created a Task force.
How Parents Can Help
Keep Students Safe
Arrival
 Please do not drop off your son or daughter before 8:30
a.m. There is no supervision before 8:30.
 Please use drop off circle in back of school when dropping
off your son or daughter.
Early Dismissal
 Please send in a note if picking up your child early. Early
notification is helpful and we can anticipate that you will
visit the school. Early notification will allow us to get your
child ready in advance.
 Please try not to pick up your child 15 minutes before we
are ready to dismiss the student body.
 Consider not taking your child home after a school
concert.
How Parents Can Help
Keep Students Safe
Information

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
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Please make sure your information on your Emergency
Form is current, i.e. telephone numbers, etc.
Log onto the American Red Cross Website to get helpful
tips on how to keep your child safe.
In the event of an emergency, Visit the Stratford Board
of Education Website at http://www.stratfordk12.org
Tune into the following radio stations for up to minute
information on schools—WICC 600 AM; WEBE 108 FM;
WELI 960 AM and WEZN 99.9 FM
Television Stations—News 12; Channel 8 & Channel 3
How Parents Can Help Keep
Students Safe
Parents, you may feel that some of our safety procedures
and practices are somewhat of an inconvenience.
However, they are designed to keep students, staff and
the entire
Eli Whitney School learning community safe.
We thank you for your continued support.
Parents: Your Voice
You are invited to share any suggestions
that you may have regarding security by
emailing me at [email protected]
We will compile all suggestions and share
them with the Central Office Safety
Committee.
Thank you.
Q&A
We will now open the floor for questions or
share concerns.