Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff,
As I reflect on the incident involving a trespasser inside C.W. Baker High School on Monday afternoon, I feel it is important to discuss what we learned with families and staff. This was an unprecedented incident for our district. We practice, plan and prepare for emergency situations, but until we are in them, it is nearly impossible to anticipate every decision that needs to be made.
We are all human. Making split-second decisions while under stress is a huge responsibility, but it is a responsibility that every staff member carries. This week I met with staff and sent out several communications regarding our safety protocols and reminders of our district’s policy and safety plan. No situation is ever perfect, but it is expected that we always look to improve -- we are doing this!
We are all in this together. Everyone needs to remain vigilant to ensure the safety and security of our district. Students, staff and community members play a role in keeping everyone safe. High school students were reminded on Tuesday morning about reporting suspicious activity on campus, alerting a staff member if someone enters the building without going through security, and to never open doors for anyone, including other students.
We also want to take this opportunity to remind families that the blue lights on our buildings flash during a lockdown. If you see the blue lights, please avoid the school and the area.
We learn from our mistakes. I’m extremely proud of the staff for the way they handled this incident, but that doesn’t mean we were flawless. There were missteps. I have reviewed the timeline and debriefed our response with law enforcement, our administrators and leadership team. We immediately put into action steps to improve our communication to families, including making sure every parent receives a phone call during a lockdown or lockout in the future. We will strive to have more communication during an incident to keep families updated as much as possible.
Changes were also made at Baker, including updating dismissal procedures. Students and staff are now restricted on where they can exit the building during dismissal. They are now permitted to use one of the four designated exits only. Baker is also changing its after school protocols. A bell will ring at about 2:30 p.m., at which time students are expected to be in study hall or with the teacher who they are meeting with until the late buses arrive.
Our athletic coaches and after school activity advisors have reviewed safety procedures with our athletes and club members.
All of our other schools have used this experience as a learning opportunity to make adjustments to entry/exit protocols and to review best practices for emergency and/or unexpected situations.
Our team continues to carefully analyze Monday's events and response, review all safety protocols, educate our staff and students, as well as make adjustments so that we learn, grow, and improve as an entire school community. We appreciate your continued support.
I have a few announcements to share with you today:
Registration on FamilyID for Winter I sports of boys modified basketball (grades 7-9) and girls modified volleyball (grades 7-9) opens on Saturday, October 5th. Registration will close on Monday, October 28th and the first day of tryouts will be Monday, November 4th.
Sectional action begins next week. Boys Golf sectionals are on Monday, October 7th at Drumlins Golf Course. We have 14 athletes who have qualified! Girls Tennis Team Sectional quarterfinals are on Monday, October 7th, The semifinals are on Tuesday, October 8th and the finals are on Wednesday, October 9th. Individual sectional play starts on October 14th. Good luck to all of our student-athletes who are in action this weekend! Go Bees!
Our District’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Community Committee’s final Halloween costume pickup will be held on Tuesday, October 8th. District elementary families can browse for their costumes between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the rear-side of the Student Services Office located in the District Operations Building on main campus.
Please continue to check ParentSquare, your email and our website at www.bville.org, for important updates. As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Have a great weekend! Go Bees!
Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Superintendent of Schools
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