Dear LNC Families,
At Lake Norman Charter, our first and foremost responsibility is to keep our students and staff safe. Lately, staying safe from the virus has dominated our thoughts and our communications to you. However, it is our annual practice to communicate to our families our physical safety procedures at both of our campuses.
The following are the proactive steps that we are or have taken to keep our schools safe, followed by measures that we are asking you, our parents, to take at home. Please either print this communication or electronically file it where you can easily find and refer to it.
- For the 4th consecutive year, we are funding the safety resource officer position so HPD Officer Bononno (Officer Bo) may remain dedicated to our school, where he can get to know our school and students through initiatives like the D.A.R.E. program, student mentorship initiatives and everyday interactions with them. Most recently, Officer Bo created a video for our students on cyber safety, considering we are needing to spend more time than ever online. We also hear that he is working on a book to share soon with our youngest Knights! We are fortunate to have both this position and the continuity of Officer Bo.
- Thanks to the support of many of our families through the Elevate LNC project, over the summer we were able to redesign our MS office to include a secure vestibule with a second set of locked doors and a sliding window. This allows the great majority of our parents who are on campus for a quick transaction to do so efficiently and prevents anyone who should not gain access to our school from getting in.
- We upgraded both internal and external cameras at our main campus.
- We are continuing our relationship with the Huntersville Police Department, including its K-9 unit, to keep our schools free of drugs and weapons and collaborating with them on our school safety plan.
- We hold regular drills so students and staff know what to do in true crisis situations, including some at unexpected and unconventional times, so students and staff practice in various scenarios.
- Because of our smaller school size, we are able to know our students, including their social circles, mental state and emotional circumstances, well enough to recognize a problem or negative change.
- We encourage our students to “See Something, Say Something” if they have concerns about themselves or their friends or become aware of important information so they feel comfortable and empowered to tell a trusted adult or utilize the Say Something app (find link here).
Parents, please:
- Respect our safety procedures and policies when on our campuses, including giving your undivided attention to staff during carpool.
- Foster open and ongoing dialog with your students so that you are aware of their daily interactions, how they are coping in this heath crisis, etc. and reinforce “see something, say something” by encouraging them to reach out to their counselor if they need support or guidance.
- Know who your students’ counselors are and reach out to those individuals if you have concerns regarding your students or their peers.
While prevention is our goal, we must also plan and prepare for a true threat on our campuses. A Code Red lockdown ensues if a serious and immediate threat is identified at our school. If this situation occurred, here is what you need to know:
- All interior doors are locked with students and staff sheltered inside and absolutely no one other than first responders permitted to enter or leave the building. This will remain the case until the managing law enforcement agency lifts the lockdown.
- As soon as we are able, LNC will communicate information through all communications channels including text, email, Schoology post, Twitter and our website, assuming all of these are available for use .
- If you become aware of a lockdown on campus DO NOT dial 911 as it is crucial that phone lines remain open for emergency communications.
- Do NOT come to the school – it is vital that roadways near and on campus remain open for emergency vehicles.
- If we had a serious safety incident, parents would be directed to either the Huntersville Business Park or to an alternative designated area that we communicate. Students will be transported to this staging area once the lockdown has been lifted.
- If there were an incident at either the HS or MS, our entire main campus would go on lockdown, however the ES campus would not. Conversely, if there were an incident at the ES campus causing a lockdown, the main campus would not go on lockdown.
- All of our families will be notified, regardless of the campus their student is on, should either of our campuses go on lockdown.
A Code Yellow status occurs if there is police activity is in the area, however not on campus. If this situation occurred, here is what you need to know:
- Regular instruction continues, but students remain inside the building (no outside activity).
- No visitors are permitted to enter or leave the building. This will remain the case until the managing law enforcement agency lifts the Code Yellow status.
- LNC will communicate the Code Yellow status through all communications channels including text, email, Schoology post, Twitter and our website, assuming all of these are available for use.
- All of our families will be notified, regardless of the campus their student is on, should either of our campuses go on a Code Yellow status.
- If there were an incident that triggered a Code Yellow status near the HS or MS, our entire main campus would go on the Code Yellow, however the ES campus would not. Conversely, if there were an incident near the ES campus causing a Code Yellow, the main campus would not go on this status.
- If you become aware of a Code Yellow status DO NOT dial 911 or come to school as it is important that phone lines and roadways remain open for emergency purposes.
We will resume our safety drills when students return to campus and will continue to adjust our safety processes to align with best practices. We appreciate your cooperation and support of our procedures intended to keep all LNC students and staff safe.
|
|
