Published in the April 6, 2018 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – “I will tell you unequivocally your schools are safe,” Police Chief Rick Smith told about 70 parents and other local residents who attended a School Safety Summit in the Galvin Middle School Auditorium on Wednesday evening.
While he noted that nothing can ever be guaranteed 100 percent, he assured parents, “Your kids are in the safest place they can be during the school day.”
The School Safety Summit was hosted by School Superintendent Dr. Kim Smith, with Police Chief Rick Smith and Fire Chief Michael Sullivan joining her on stage. Also in attendance were School Resource Officers Jason Skillings and Kelly Tobyne. Deputy Police Chief Craig Calabrese was also on hand as was Lt. Steven Skory. Members of the district-wide school crisis teams also attended.
Superintendent Smith asked Chief Smith to recount a recent situation that occurred at Northeast Metro Tech.
Chief Smith described the response to the report of a threat at the school. He said that after a student reported a social media threat, school officials and police conferred and decided to lock down Northeast Metro Tech. Nearby Wakefield Memorial High School and the Woodville School went into “shelter in place” mode.
Eventually, it turned out that the threat was directed at a school in Maryland with a very similar name. But Smith said that the incident provided “a live drill” and “a good case study.” He said that everyone involved performed exceedingly well.
Chief Smith stressed the need for residents and especially parents to make sure that information they are getting is coming from official sources and that it is real.
“Parents need to know that you can trust us and that we know what we are doing,” he said. “We are going to do everything we can to make sure your children are safe and they go home safe at the end of the day.”
Chief Smith talked about the regional resources available through the town’s membership in the Northeast Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC), which also has specially trained response teams for threats to schools.
Superintendent Smith and Fire Chief Sullivan talked about the different levels of evacuation and what they involve. Sullivan said that evacuation drills are practiced yearly.
Dr. Smith talked about the “ALICE” program, which stands for “Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate.” She said that it enhances the available options in a threat situation. She said drills are practiced regularly and that the training is age appropriate for students at all levels.
She stressed that the most important thing is to create a good school culture where students trust teachers and will tell them if something is wrong.
Chief Smith echoed that sentiment, emphasising the importance of communications between students, staff and police.
“If a student sees something, we want the student to go to staff so that we can start our threat assessment,” he said.
Security features at school buildings were also discussed, as well as the importance of the School Resource Officers’ role in getting to know the students and building trust. It was noted that staff are stationed at school entrances to monitor student arrival and schools are locked when school is in session. Visitors must be identified and buzzed in.
Members of the district-wide crisis team spoke briefly about their role. They meet regularly to evaluate plans and communication methods. Crisis teams in individual schools also meet monthly. The crisis teams partner with local mental health agencies, allowing for quick evaluation and support when needed.
There was also discussion of communication in the age of social media. Superintendent Smith said that the ubiquity of cell phones has made communications that much more complex. Sometimes inaccurate information gets out and spreads before officials have had a chance to assess a situation.
“We want to make sure that everything we communicate out is factual,” she said. She noted that in the emails and texts that she sends out to parents and the community she always stresses that she wants people to contact her directly. She said that she can usually provide more information in a one-on-one phone conversation than she can in a mass email or text.
Chief Smith warned parents in any situation involving the schools to be wary of information unless it comes from a trusted source at the schools, the Police or Fire Department.
A brief question and answer session followed the main presentation. Attendees were then encouraged to break into smaller groups for more discussion.
