Dear S-GI Families and Staff Members,
It is all too often that we receive word of a violent act taking place in a school building across our Nation. The tragic incident in Nashville, TN coupled with “swatting” incidents and bomb threats at schools across New York State in recent weeks has many of us on edge. As a parent, I share in the frustration that we all feel, simply wanting our children to come to school, to learn and to have meaningful experiences each and every day. With that, I wanted to reassure families that at Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District, school safety is our top priority. Our district has taken steps and will continue to evolve in order to ensure the safety of our students and staff. S-GI has also taken a proactive approach to school safety and has implemented initiatives in the past year to promote a safe school community.
When thinking of school safety, there are three main prongs that must exist. First is the securing and “hardening” of the outside of our buildings through practices and protocols. Second is the “softening” of the inside of our buildings through creating a supportive and inclusive culture, and third are our habits regarding what our school community does when there is a concern… “See something, say something.”
School districts have a vested interest in ensuring that firearms do not appear on school grounds and that students and staff are not negatively impacted by the effects of gun violence. During the November 15, 2022, Board of Education meeting, the Board unanimously passed a resolution in support of “Gun Sense” advocacy and the application of the Be SMART program in S-GI schools to further secure safe gun storage in homes with children. In Springville, firearms are a part of life for many, whether for hunting, sport or protection. But in all of these cases, safety is of the utmost importance. If there are guns in your home, it’s safer to store them securely. One study showed that households that locked both firearms and ammunition had an 85 percent lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries among children. The Be SMART Initiative brings awareness to safe gun storage and gives advice and resources. Learn more here.
Also earlier this year, S-GI rolled out the Say Something initiative and anonymous reporting system from Sandy Hook Promise. This involved training middle and high school staff and students on what to look out for and when to utilize the anonymous reporting tool. The tool generates a report that is sent to those who can respond to it best in the district, whether it is assessing a potential threat or assisting with the mental health of a student. Our building administrators and student services personnel in all four buildings are being trained in the C-STAG (Comprehensive Student Threat Assessment Guidelines). They will complete phase one of that training this spring with phase two being completed this summer.
If you have visited one of our school buildings in recent years, you know there is a procedure to being buzzed in and all visitors also need to have their license to enter the building. We use visitors’ state-issued identification with the Raptor Visitor Management System in order to check who is entering and manage who is in our buildings at any given time.
Alyssa’s Law requires district-wide safety teams to consider, as part of their review of the comprehensive district-wide safety plan, the installation of a panic alarm system to silently alert law enforcement in the event of a life-threatening or emergency situation. S-GI's Raptor System allows for the sending of a silent alarm per that recommendation.
The District has developed a Multi-Layered Emergency Management Operations Plan that is available for review on our website. The plan includes emergency cards in each classroom and clear language for drills and procedures for every situation from a fire to a lockdown or a hold in place. I will also note that we recognize the potential anxiety for our students when practicing these “drills” so we always make it a point to announce that, “this is a drill” when practicing lockdowns, hold in place, secure the building, or evacuations.
In addition to all of this, S-GI is proud to have a school resource officer from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office who is present on our campus five days a week. Officer Jeremy Pickering is our liaison with the sheriff’s office and also assists in emergencies. However, he also plays a proactive role in building relationships with students and staff and imparts important safety knowledge within our schools.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly is the work that we do each and every day to make sure that our students are connected to our schools and that they feel a sense of belonging. Of course, it is challenging to put several hundred students in one building and expect them to get along every day. But when conflict arises, we need to help students handle it from a restorative perspective, ensuring that any harm between students is addressed, and allowing students to work through conflict in a productive way.
Keeping schools safe in the face of new threats is something all school districts are facing. We would like to thank our community for supporting our efforts in keeping our schools safe.
James Bialasik, Superintendent of Springville Schools