At Burlington Township Schools we remain committed to ensuring the safety of our students, staff and visitors. Each school district in the state is required to conduct at least one fire drill and one emergency drill per month. We have complied with this requirement consistently and try to learn from each drill. It is understandable that in this heightened climate everyone may be more anxious than in the past. We must continue to move forward and not let our fear impede our precautions and therefore, we will continue to practice the protocols established. No one can predict how any emergency event may unfold. Preparing our students and staff allows for familiarity with the basics of staying safe. These concepts can be used in the unfortunate chance of a real life event.
For the remainder of the school year, we will communicate at the conclusion of lockdown drills once they are complete in all buildings. As our students can tell you, a lockdown is when the police come to each classroom and release the room. We do not communicate at the conclusion of the other drills. We also do not communicate each time we need to hold a Shelter-in-place. These are situations during which we must keep the halls clear of activity. Teaching and learning continues during these times.
Burlington Township Schools remains committed to safety. Our schools will continue to work with our police department and other first responders. We are open to listening and learning as a means to ensure safety and take the input from all stakeholders.
As a reminder, we need all visitors to our school to follow our visitor protocols. Remember that you must bring photo identification when picking up a child. You are also reminded that you must use the intercom system located outside each school before entering the building. Our main office staff will ask visitors to state their business before making a determination to open the door and allow entry into the secure vestibule. We ask our visitors not to hold the doors for others. Every visitor should ring the bell and state their reason for their visit. This is a very important part of our safety protocols.
We encourage our community to report anything that appears strange. It takes all of us working together to keep our students safe. More information for parents may be found on our safety information website for parents.
With sincerest thoughts of safety,
Mary Ann Bell
Mary Ann Bell Superintendent of Schools Burlington Township
Resources for parents shared in previous safety communication: