The Mequon-Thiensville School District hosted a community conversation in March 2018 on the topic of safety and security in our schools. Parents, employees, students, and community members provided feedback to inform our plans moving forward. The guidance from that meeting along with other inputs allowed us to establish the key areas of focus in our safety and security plans and implementations. The enhancements listed below are the result of that community collaboration and the district's prioritization of resources.
5 Key Areas of Focus Related to Safety & Security | Mequon-Thiensville School District Response or Plan of Action |
1. Control or manage building access, including access outside of the school day and on weekends |
- Established new position of safety officer to work primarily on evenings and weekends to deter, detect, report, and stop violations of the law and/or school board policies while building relationships across our schools, district programs, among visitors and guests, and with local law enforcement (2018-19).
- Fortified entryways at all schools.*
- Installed outer locked entrance to Homestead main entrance.
- Installed straightforward emergency evacuation signage at all schools.*
- Installed interior FOB security and door hardware upgrades at secondary school buildings (2018-19).**
- Installed live-feed video surveillance monitoring systems (2018-19).**
|
2. Providing resources to support student mental health |
- Provided easier access to reporting safety and human health or well-being concerns (with the option to report anonymously) through online Safety Reporting Form.
- Human social and emotional well-being was identified as a critical focus in our schools and district in our 2018-21 strategic plan and its corresponding action steps in social and emotional wellness. This is not a project that has an end date. It is ongoing and will remain a priority in our schools.
- Provided adolescent mental health training for student support staff members (2018-19).**
|
3. Intervening and equipping families with resources related to bullying and social media | - Identified social and emotional well-being as a focus area in 2018-21 strategic plan. There are a number of action steps to be implemented to grow student and family support as we move forward.
- Partnered with other local districts and organizations to present Social Media Wellness event in May, 2018.
|
4. Investing in deterrent measures | - Installed additional video surveillance systems.
- Increased awareness of 24-hour video surveillance through signage at six schools.
- Installed safety bollards at key locations.
- Protected outdoor playground areas at schools in need with institutional-grade gates, fencing, and bollards.**
- Added new and upgraded video surveillance systems (2018-19).**
|
5. Additional professional development for emergency preparedness
| - Equipped all classrooms at all schools with emergency kits.
- Purchased an improved districtwide two-way radio communication system to improve communication in emergencies.*
- Trained all employees in a comprehensive, all-hazards emergency preparedness and response system facilitated by SafePlans, experts in school and organizational security.*
- Provided adolescent mental health training for student support staff members (2018-19).**
- Installed classroom storage systems for emergency kits (2018-19).**
|
* Items above noted with * are funded fully or funded in part by a Wisconsin Department of Justice grant awarded to the Mequon-Thiensville School District worth $136,441.
** ITEMS ABOVE NOTED WITH ** ARE FUNDED FULLY OR FUNDED IN PART BY A second-round WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GRANT AWARDED TO THE MEQUON-THIENSVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT WORTH $214,699.
All other enhancements were funded through capital funding.