Dear Members of the Natick Public Schools Community,
The tragic events in Florida last week and in other schools throughout this year remind us that, even in the safest communities, a crisis can occur at any moment. With that said, our thoughts are with the students, staff, and families of those lost and/or injured in these events.
As a district, we strive to build a connected community that builds upon trust and relationships with students as a foundation for our educational program. Supports like ensuring each student has a trusted adult, counseling availability, and systems to identify at-risk students are just a few of the many measures we have in place.
These events also remind us that we have to be vigilant in our planning and knowledge of our crisis procedures and protocols here in Natick if our preventative measures are not enough. Although these procedures are reviewed by staff annually, we have asked all of our staff to reacquaint themselves with our procedures to ensure we are prepared in the event that something as unfortunate were to occur within our community.
Below please find a non-exhaustive list of safety initiatives we have in place here in Natick.
Please note, that this is a general overview of the specific details of our plans must remain confidential to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and community members
- The district uses a comprehensive Crisis Planning Cycle that includes the following:
- Mitigation/Prevention which addresses what schools and districts can do to reduce or eliminate risk to life and property
- Preparedness focuses on the process of planning for the worst case scenario
- Response is devoted to the steps to take during a crisis
- Recovery deals with how to restore the learning and teaching environment after a crisis
- The district has a Safety Team that meets monthly, or more, to create and review policies and procedures regarding school safety. This team is made up of school, police, fire, and other town officials.
- Each school and/or building has a crisis team that is charged with assisting the Principal in ensuring specific building protocols, procedures, and training around crisis planning and intervention are in place. These teams meet on a regular basis and train and consult with other staff regarding crisis preparedness and response.
- The district, in collaboration with the Natick Police Department, has 3 School Resource Officers located in our schools that provide training, consultation, and crisis response as part of our School Safety Initiative.
- Each school and their staff is equipped with technology that allows for immediate communication with first responders in emergency situations.
- Several Lockdown/Safety Drills are held in each school building throughout the school year to ensure students and staff are prepared in case of emergency. "Principal Chats" are held with students prior to these drills to prepare them for what to expect in emergency situations.
- All Administrators are trained in the National Incident Command Management System for Schools. This system is used by Local, State and Federal Agencies in order to coordinate response efforts across agency and jurisdictional lines.
This district-wide safety team will meet shortly, as will the crisis teams in each of school, to review these events to ensure that our current protocols and procedures, school and district-wide, are at the ready to keep our students and staff safe.
Below please find a few articles that may be a helpful support for our students, staff, and families.
All the best,
The Natick Public Schools Administrative Team
