Dear Parent(s) and Guardian(s):
I hope families had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and found an opportunity to slow down and spend time with friends and family. In this week’s update, I want to share two important reminders: 1) District safety and security protocols, and 2) School cancellation process.
District Safety and Security Protocols:
The school shooting that took place at a Michigan High School this week is an unfortunate reminder of the importance of our District’s continued commitment to students, faculty, and staff safety.
The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough places school safety and preparedness as its highest priority. The District takes a comprehensive approach to school safety by focusing on prevention, education, safe school facilities, and school disaster management. At the foundation of this approach is a belief that school safety and preparedness centers upon programs, policies, and practices that improve school safety and climate, focus on the school environment, and enhance educational and other outcomes for students and schools.
This work requires a community effort and collaboration with safety officials, mental health care organizations, parents and guardians, town officials, and citizens. Our District partners with Northborough and Southborough safety officials and participates in emergency management training and workshops offered at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), federal, state, and local levels. Our protocols and practices are based on research and recommendations from safety officials at multi-levels. We all play a role in ensuring students attending The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough are socially, emotionally, and physically safe.
District Safety Practices:
The District requires all visitors to our schools to identify themselves whenever they are requesting access to our school facilities. All visitors are required to sign in at the office and wear a school-issued visitor's badge. At this time, December 3, 2021, the District is not allowing visitors as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The District will reassess this policy on a month-to-month basis.
Our District partners with the Sandy Hook Promise Organization and its Say Something training and tools. Say Something is an education and awareness program that provides tools and practices for our middle and high school students to:
- Recognize the signs and signals of a potential threat, especially in social media;
- Educate and instill in students how to take action; and,
- Drive awareness and reinforce the need to Say Something.
Our District embraces Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate (ALICE) protocols as a means of maximizing school safety readiness. Members of our Safety Readiness Team are formal "Train the Trainers" and all students and staff participate in multiple drills to ensure that everyone is familiar with the ALICE options.
Mandatory training for all staff and students, which includes fire and safety, is conducted on an annual basis. We appreciate the partnership we enjoy with all safety officials, specifically our Police and Fire Departments in Northborough and Southborough. Our ongoing effective planning and collaboration on safety and multi-hazard issues support our focus on providing a safe and supportive school culture.
Our District implements both the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) background check on employees, including bus drivers, as required by the DESE, and also the legislative mandate that all school employees be fingerprinted as a condition of their employment. The CORI system is an intrastate monitoring system while the fingerprint-based check is a national, interstate Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) database verification. More information regarding both background checks is available on our District website.
Creating a safe school environment is also about creating an environment free from any form of harassment or bullying. Our Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan and a form for anonymous reporting of concerns are available on the District's website.
Working together, we can ensure students attending The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough are socially, emotionally, and physically safe.
School Closings and Cancellations:
Although I’m hopeful that inclement weather is not on the horizon, I’m also realistic that the winter months are rapidly approaching. I am asking families to review the protocols for school cancellations, which can be found by visiting the District’s School Closings and Cancellation FAQ.
Respectfully,
Gregory L. Martineau
Superintendent of Schools
