Central Bucks is committed to keeping our schools and our students safe.
Here are additional safety measures which are in place in our schools:
Every school has an emergency plan which has been coordinated with local law enforcement. This plan includes a procedure to lock classrooms to keep students safe in the event of a crisis and a procedure for safe evacuation of the building, should that become necessary.
At the beginning of first period and until dismissal, exterior doors are locked to the outside, with the exception of the main entrance which is monitored. If another door needs to remain unlocked in large schools in order to provide access to the building, such a door can be selected only if there is direct supervision of those who might be entering the door.
Cameras have been added to many buildings, and safety procedures have been put in place for access to the main building from temporary classrooms.
Staff members and visitors are required to wear identification badges.
Measures which are specifically designed for situations which may involve student attacks include the following:
All schools have crisis prevention and intervention plans. Central Bucks has a policy of direct intervention for students who threaten or are heard to threaten harm to others or themselves. Any threats of this kind are taken very seriously. The district has a cooperative arrangement with Lenape Valley Mental Health Foundation to provide assistance to students and families. Teams of professional staff members are in place in each school to offer intervention and referral for students deemed to be at risk. Student counselors, psychologists, and others on staff provide direct intervention. School personnel have been trained in conflict resolution and peer mediation, most recently from Yale Medical School.
Central Bucks is part of the Forty Assets Project, a community-wide effort to create a healthier and more loving community for children and teenagers. Parents and educators must join forces to help our youngsters to have confidence in themselves, to accept responsibility for their own actions, and to accept others with differing views, interests, or backgrounds. We must continue to set standards of acceptable behavior. I urge all parents and community members to join in the Forty Assets Project with us. For further information about Forty Assets, call (215) 489-9120.
While there can be no guarantee that a tragedy such as the ones that occurred at other schools will not happen here, we are doing everything we can to make sure that our buildings are safe, that we have a system in place to identify youngsters who may have the potential for violence to themselves or others, and that we continue to build a positive climate in our schools so that all children feel valued and recognized as individuals.
N. Robert Laws, Superintendent