Dear MTUESD Community,
Session 2 of summer school began this week! Thank you to the families and staff that are sending their students for this opportunity for academics, enrichment, and fun. We appreciate your partnership. Again, this is paid for out of restricted ELOP money, so we are able to staff and do things that normally would not be possible during the school year. Thank you for your partnership.
As we prepare for school start, I want to touch on a very serious note of school security. I would like to take a moment to thank the Calaveras County Sheriff' s Office and Lieutenant Greg Stark for working with our staff on the active threat trainings last year. It is absolutely unthinkable to me that that’s where we are in society that we have to worry about that, but it is reality. The good news is the Sheriff's Office trains tactically on these matters continuously and their directive is clear. Their GOAL IS TO MOVE IN AND STOP THE THREAT. My staff’s job is to keep kids safe while they get there. One of the things that came up during the training is the abundance of “What if?” The reality is if there is a shooter event, being the rural district we are in, we are going to have parents show up at the school with weapons. That’s the kind of rural county where many folks hunt and shoot. What I want to relate to you is that for law enforcement in the craziness of the moment they won’t know that you’re there to protect your kid. They’re only going to see a person with a gun. Think about that please. I am very confident that between local PD, Sheriff, Fish and Game, Fire, and all the public agencies that would swarm an event, law enforcement will neutralize the threat. The presence of a parent with a weapon could result in extreme tragedy for your family because someone showing up on a site with a gun looks like a “bad guy”.
We also had a discussion about “What if…parents are on the phone telling their kids to leave.” I implore you, you are going to have to trust the adult in the room with the kid to decide what’s best with the information they have from the site on whether to leave or flee. Our staff are trained on responses to these types of events. Advising your kid to exit a room over the phone when you don’t know what’s going on could result in them getting killed and also allowing a breached door by their exiting to have all of the other students at risk. I don’t mean to bring these things up to scare you. What I’m doing is having these conversations in advance, so if the worst and unthinkable ever happens, we have a plan.
I also want to let you know that we’ve ordered additional security clips for the doors and we will be placing stop the bleed training kits into every classroom for wound packing. Not super fun things to think about, but I’d rather have it in there, than not. Is this totally unnerving as a parent? Yes, it is. Are we going to be prepared if the worst happens? You betcha. Help me, help your kid, and your family and don’t show up with a weapon or tell your kid to exit a room and breach the security for all of the other kids in the space.
This is a sobering message for sure, but I would rather say it ahead of an unlikely event. Kids are safe and protected at school. But if there ever WAS an event, having those protocols talked about ahead of time will increase our changes for a successful outcome.
Not talking about things is scarier than thinking and planning in advance of an unexpected event. We are very lucky to live in a place where law enforcement partnerships are close and responsive. In my last district, deputy response time was often 60 minutes away as the patrol territory was so large. We have many partnering agencies to help keep our kids safe.
I love you all and appreciate your amazing partnership this year. I am looking forward to an extraordinary year of growth and academic achievement ahead.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
650-996-3290