What are Ada Schools doing to keep all of those safe at the school? In light of the recent deadly shooting at a school in Florida, Ada Schools Superintendent Meri Skilliter recently posted a message on Facebook that describes efforts that have been undertaken in the past and more recently. She wrote:
“This is a bulleted list of things I came up with yesterday. I have to believe there are other things I didn’t think of. I also think that our administrators, teachers, counselors and our other staff really work to get to know students and know which students need extra love and attention, etc.
When I spoke to our Student Aspirations group a couple of weeks ago, and I asked them what do we do well at Ada, they mentioned that our staff takes the time to get to know everyone, and they are in the halls talking to them and encouraging them. All of this helps as well. Here are some of the things we do.
Alert, Lock Down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate
A.L.I.C.E. Training (Alert, Lock Down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), which is active shooter training, was provided to staff a few years ago, Threat Assessment Management training was offered to the internal and external teams (school folks, Sheriff, Ada PD, Hardin County EMA, and Mental Health), Threat Assessment Training was then taught to all staff, and a Threat Assessment Management policy was adopted just last year. Our recently updated (in collaboration with outside resources such as public safety) crisis plan was assessed and found to meet all of the new, more rigorous requirements set forth by the state.
We have a buzz in system and protocol. Some of our key staff were trained in Non Violent Crisis Intervention (NVCI) which includes prevention, learning triggers and signs, and implementing de-escalation techniques prior to a student becoming violent. We have cameras throughout the building and on the grounds (and are in the process of getting bids for some replacements that will go from analog to digital in nature, and additional cameras to put visuals on areas that might be out of range).
Mental health trained
All staff were trained in Mental Health First Aid (for Youth) during this school year. Middle School and High School students were presented with Project Sandy Hook program “Say Something,” talking to them about what signs they might see, especially with their saturation in social media apps, the difference between tattling and telling, how to tell and who to tell. Elementary students are working on a program called, “Start with Hello” which emphasizes the ideas of kindness and inclusion. The elementary also has “community meetings” where they talk about and learn social and emotional issues at their developmental level.
We have a new group in the high school based on a program called “Gatekeepers.” The program is an evidence based program for helping students contribute to a positive climate, erase the stigma around mental health issues, and raise awareness of mental health issues including suicide. The group is guided by a trained specialist out of the Partnership for Violence Free Families (PVFF) and is supervised by Nurse Vermillion. The Ada group calls itself, “Ada Mental Health Alliance.” They put positive notes of encouragement on every locker one day. They organized a “wear burgundy and or silver day” in honor and in memory of those affected by the Florida school shooting.
A mental health Navigator is available from Family Resource Center through the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize, and Hardin Counties. She is shared among five Hardin County schools. The Navigator is readily available when there is a student at risk or in crisis, and serves as a liaison between the school and/or family and a multitude of services, resources, and/or programs to help manage that child’s crisis. A counselor from Family Resource Center is on campus to bring FRC’s counseling services closer to Ada, for ease of students accessing counseling services when needed.
We are compliant with all drills required of the district. This year, though, we did a virtual or table/top drill, where we gathered members of our internal and external crisis and threat assessment teams, and we walked through a scenario and what each person, department, and agency would be doing throughout that event. We were blessed to have the Ada Police Chief, the Hardin County Sheriff, the Hardin County EMA Director, and Mental Health agencies all at the table with our internal team.
We are using new curriculum to talk to students about drug misuse and abuse and informing them about the dangers of misuse and abuse, including the serious addiction crisis we have going on in our state and country right now. This is now a requirement for all schools to offer something like this.
Teen Screen
We offer Teen Screen, an assessment that screens kids for potential issues that may not have been discovered or diagnosed. With the screen results, parents then receive a contact and a person to talk to about options, resources, etc., if the screen suggests further assessment and our some type of treatment might be necessary. We wish we had better participation on this screener, but that is a topic for another day. Parents must sign a permission form for their students to participate in Teen Screen.
The CISM Team of Western Ohio provides support, resources, and response after a crisis, but they also provided training to our key people in crisis response and have done preincident education for area schools.
We have been in the planning stages to do more security upgrades during the summer before the next school year, so we are always asking ourselves what are we doing and what more can we do? I am sure the list above is missing some things that have slipped my mind, as our administration, Board, teachers, and staff take school safety extremely seriously.
I believe that not all acts of violence can be eliminated, but many can, and many more can be minimized or mitigated with good plans in place. I ALSO believe that safety begins in the home. If we could all hold ourselves responsible to teach our students to be kind in all situations, and model that in all of our adult interactions, we could improve this world infinitely.
Yours in education,
Mrs. Skilliter, Superintendent
