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Hi, everyone.
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Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of the Inside Wiseetta podcast.
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We are joined by Meg Soltz, who is the Assistant Director of Safety and Emergency Management at Wiseetta School.
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She's in charge of all that for the district.
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Meg previously served as a paramedic school resource officer and most recently as a police officer with the city of Plymouth.
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And we're going to talk to her about all things school safety and security.
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Hi, Meg.
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Welcome to the Inside YZ podcast.
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Thanks for joining us.
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Thanks for having me.
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I appreciate it.
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All right.
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So you've been in the district for about a month now.
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How has your transition to YZ been?
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It's been awesome so far.
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All the staff have been super welcoming.
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Now that the students are back in, there's a lot of buzzing going around the school.
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So that's been fun to see the kids back in their environments.
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And uh it's been great.
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Okay.
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So before joining YZA, you spent years in public safety, all doing all sorts of things.
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So can you tell us a little bit about your background?
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Sure.
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Yeah.
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I started my career as a 19-year-old.
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I got my EMT certification while I was doing undergrad at DePaul University and started volunteering for the local ambulance service there.
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So that's where I started in public safety.
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What made you want to do that?
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What made me want to do that?
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Um, I think uh there were enough scenarios growing up where when there's an emergency or something's going on, one of the things that makes you feel most helpless is not knowing what to do or how to help.
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And I think having been in some of those circumstances, I was like, I don't ever want to feel like that again.
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If there's an emergency or there's something or someone needs help, I want to have the right skills to be able to help in that moment.
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So that's what really drove me towards public safety.
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So yeah.
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So then after that, how did your career evolve?
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Yeah.
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So I finished my undergrad.
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I stayed working as an EMT, did a graduate degree in biology, and uh got my paramedic license.
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So then I started teaching for the IU School of Medicine has an associate's degree program in paramedic science.
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So I started teaching in that paramedic science program, some anatomy and physiology and pathophys and that kind of stuff.
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And while I was working for the city of Indianapolis in that role, there was an opening for a tactical paramedic for the Indianapolis Metro SWAT team and bomb squad.
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And basically, that's just the medical professional that's attached to those teams.
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And that was a really great opportunity.
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I was fortunate enough to be selected for that team.
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And so that tied me directly into law enforcement.
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But there was still like a kind of a line in the sand because I was a paramedic and not a police officer.
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I still had to like wait outside.
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They had to say it was safe.
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I couldn't go deal with whatever it was directly.
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And I loved the camaraderie and the teamwork within law enforcement.
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So I thought, okay, well, I'll just go do both then.
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So I put in for the Carmel Police Department in Carmel, Indiana, and started working as a police officer there and have since just kept my paramedic license active since then.
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So that was kind of the transition from EMS into law enforcement.
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So and then you ended up in Minnesota.
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Then I ended up in Minnesota.
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I know.
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I followed a close friend of mine and her kids up here.
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They moved up here.
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And uh the last role that I held at the Carmel Police Department before I left was the sergeant over a school resource unit there.
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And so I'd had some experience already in uh school safety in that way, but from the law enforcement perspective.
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Um, so yeah.
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And most recently, prior to coming to the district, you were working for the Plymouth Police Department?
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That's right.
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Yep.
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When I first moved to Minnesota, I got hired by the Plymouth Police Department.
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And so that was my most recent job coming from there to the school district was working for the city of Plymouth.
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Yeah.
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And what drew you to the assistant director of security and emergency management position at YSATA?
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I obviously had a huge interest in school safety, having worked with the school resource unit there and really found value in making sure our students feel safe and the families feel good about dropping their kids off at school.
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And I had co-founded a company with a friend of mine too, um, working through bleeding control, basically.
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Some states require bleeding control kits in each of the schools.
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And there was a big gap in how we were doing that and how we were addressing that in a school setting instead of like a military or law enforcement setting.
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And so, as a part of that, outside of my work in law enforcement, I had been traveling around the country and doing presentations at uh school safety conferences and working with a lot of school safety groups, even outside of my law enforcement work.
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So I was kind of eating, sleeping, breathing, school safety, even outside of the police department.
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And so it it made great sense for me to transition to just working for the school district, like making being able to make a big impact from within the district.
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It's amazing.
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Okay, so when people hear security as it pertains to school safety, I think we often think of like hardware or enforcement, right?
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Like that's kind of the where our brands go to right away.
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But I think having had that experience as a in the school as a school resource officer, like how would you describe your personal approach to keeping school safe?
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That's a good question.
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Everybody tends to go to all of those physical safety and security, those hardware pieces, the infrastructure.
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And that stuff is really important, don't get me wrong.
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And that is a big piece of what we want to make sure that we develop as a school district.
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But there are lots of other elements that fall into school safety as well, and that fit into that framework, so to speak.
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And that is everything from how behavioral health fits in with school safety and how are we training our staff?
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There's a human element that's involved.
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You can have the best infrastructure in the world, and the best example I would give is you can have the best door locks that exist, but if somebody props a door open, they don't do any good.
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So building the buy-in in the community and understanding each of those other elements of health and safety and public policy and the relationships with law enforcement and the fire department and your EMS systems, each of those plays an individual role that's outside of just making sure the doors are locked.
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Um, and that's the piece too that can create that culture of safety so that we can balance that feeling of being really safe and secure, but wanting to provide a welcoming environment.
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Yeah, I think the culture, like that word culture, I think is really important in this conversation because I think like families, like we want our children to be safe, but like we also want school to feel joyful and welcoming and calm.
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So, like, how do you balance having a culture of safety that while maintaining like that warm educational environment?
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Yeah, that's that's tough when you're talking about like door locks and visitor check-ins and things like that.
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And I think what I would say my overall mantra or my my overall vision for what school safety should be is that we're prepared and not scared.
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Like we want our students and our staff to feel like if there is an emergency of some kind, they're prepared to respond to that.
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And we've done everything that we can to prevent something from happening because that's something that gets um talked about a lot is the response, or when this happens, this is what the response is.
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And again, that is super important.
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But then what are all of the preventative pieces that we're doing beforehand anyway?
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So I think that piece of looking at safety as a tool, like a life skill type of tool, instead of it being trying to build a fortress, we want to build a community that is thoughtful about school safety.
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And so some of the things that that we put in place that may seem restrictive in in some sense are really not meant to be restrictive for a parent to have access to their kid while they're at school.
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It's more so, I want to protect your kid from everyone else, you know.
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So I think building some of those elements in are important.
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And it's important for families to understand that's why those things are happening, or if you see changes happen, that's the purpose of them is to build that culture.
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But um, an example I would give is like a very common etiquette is to hold a door open for someone, right?
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And we have an environment where we want the doors locked in school.
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So how do you balance that?
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Like, oh, I feel really awkward just like closing a door and you know, and not not holding it for somebody.
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Um, but in my world, what I think would be awesome is if we're like cheering each other on or like closing the door to say, like, yes, we are like we love school safety, we value school safety here.
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So I'm okay waiting outside and I'm glad you, I'm glad you checked my ID um because that's that's the kind of culture that we want to build, not necessarily people feeling left out or excluded, but feel included into that school safety team, so to speak.
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Yeah, and it's probably not like a it's probably not a short answer to this, but when you were talking, I I kind of thought about like you know, it's been a number of years since you were in Indiana as a school resource officer.
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And to fast forward like where you are now, like what are kind of the big ways in which like school safety has evolved over that time?
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Because I assume it's changed a lot.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, I think um kind of that almost ties back to the other question that you were asking about like what are the layers?
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I think the layers have grown as to what we're looking at instead of it just being that response and having locked doors.
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Now we're looking at things like what are district policies surrounding this piece and that piece of school safety?
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And what are the digital elements?
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That's a huge thing that has changed over time.
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Technology, right?
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Yeah.
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Is that technology piece and not only the technology in a sense of what tools do we have available for us to use from a school safety perspective?
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But additionally, what are our students doing digitally that can help us keep them safe?
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When we see uh, you know, some events that go across the country, we're looking at those digital elements.
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And were there ways that we could have been told something or knew something or found out something in advance?
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So that digital space is really important for us to start to evaluate and look at.
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And, you know, then we look at all of the exterior perimeter type things, and then what are we doing inside the school?
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And then what are all the human elements that tie into each of those things?
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So, like I said, behind each piece of technology or behind each piece of infrastructure, there's a person that has to support it and be trained and know how to use that particular tool.
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And sometimes that gets missed.
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You know, you have all of these cool things, but the people are what make those things work.
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And really, honestly, in prevention, it's the students and families that are the relationships that you build with them that they're willing to tell you information that can be helpful to keep students and staff safe.
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Yeah, let's expand upon that a bit.
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Talk through that relationship piece among staff and students and how is that act as like kind of that first line of defense, so to speak.
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Yeah.
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The I think one of the biggest things that I wanted to do when I came in, having not been here for very long, is to start to form those relationships because you can't get information or have people buy in to the safety culture unless they trust who's behind it.
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And so I think one of those big things is really building those relationships with the staff members so that we can have those conversations and be really thoughtful with how we interact with one another to say, like somebody can bring something to me and we can really truly evaluate it because in the because deep down they know that that there's a trust there and they know the why behind it.
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It's not just someone saying, hey, we're gonna do this because of this and we have to do it this way, and then nobody understands each other because that relationship hasn't been built.
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But if you build that trust and that rapport, that's when you can have really valuable conversations and start to build that culture.
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And then additionally, when students feel that they have a say in their own safety, that we've empowered them to uh take action when they need to, and that they have trusted adults that they've built good relationships with, then those students are more willing to tell us stuff and report stuff to us that we can then look at and manage from different ways.
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And I think oftentimes school safety gets pegged mostly for something from the outside and there being a threat or a safety risk on the outside.
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And sometimes it's even students themselves within our within our district that just need help or they need a hand, or we have somebody that's really struggling with something, and that's a student that we can help in that in and of itself is part of school safety as well.
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So it's not just building that fortress to keep people out, it's really involving the people that are inside so that we can take care of each other.
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Yeah.
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So I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about I guess preparedness.
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Like, you know, we we touched on a little bit, but without going into specifics, what are some of the kind of the proactive everyday things that are happening behind the scenes to keep our schools and buildings safe?
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Yeah, I won't go into too much detail about all of the behind the scenes just for safety reasons.
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Um, but I think what people would want to know or want to have in the back of their minds is, you know, we have um visitor management systems that kind of help us figure out who's going in and out of our building so that we we know who's in contact with students every day is a really important element.
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Um we have policies and procedures surrounding visitors, which are obviously an important uh element of school safety.
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We have lots of digital tools and uh communication tools that we can use when there is an emergency of some kind, so that our communication is solid.
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Um, and so there's there's just lots of things from a threat assessment standpoint and uh a digital standpoint that we look at on a day-to-day basis to try to track what's going on and to make sure that we're all staying safe.
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And not only that, but then communicating those things with one another.
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So I think without providing too much detail, again, those are some of the the layers that we look at or those pieces of framework that we're interested in tracking to make sure that uh we're doing the best we can to keep people safe.
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Yeah.
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And I feel like every time I see you, you're coming back from somewhere and going somewhere else.
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So like is that part of that relationship building thing for you?
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Is like and getting out to our buildings and and to our schools to help with both the relationships and kind of the preparedness aspect?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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A huge piece of it to start with was just getting an idea of what did people feel like we were doing well as a district and where did people feel like we had room for improvement and identifying those things.
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And that kind of gave me a place to start of what should we be doing right now before the kids get in the building in this coming school year.
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But then another piece of that too is again having great access to tools, but if staff don't know how to use them, then it's really difficult.
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So a lot of what I do is not only traveling around and making sure people know who I am, because I don't want an emergency to be the first time somebody has met me.
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But another piece of that is making sure people are trained and that they feel like they're prepared to act, regardless of what the tool is that we have.
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So that's part of what I do in traveling around to the schools is doing training in everything from our communication tools to our cardiac emergency response training and teaming up with our health services staff to do that.
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That's a piece of school safety as well, that I think sometimes people don't think about.
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Um, so a lot of training, a lot of talking with people, a lot of getting in front of people.
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And I tend to spend a lot of time at schools because then when people see me, then they might bring something to my attention that they wouldn't have maybe sent an email about or something later.
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Yeah.
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And so that gives me opportunities to follow up on things that I wouldn't have ordinarily known about.
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Um, and try to connect the dots for them.
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So yeah, building that trust as you as you talked about.
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Uh so speaking of being prepared, we practice safety drills throughout the school year.
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Um and I know that's evolved from like a legislative standpoint too, right?
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So from an emergency management perspective, how do these exercises help build kind of calm second nature routines for students and staff?
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Yeah, the purpose of the drills, I think um, that pendulum has swung far and wide as we've developed in school safety.
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Uh, as you mentioned, things have changed from year to year.
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And the purpose of those drills is to give the people tools that they need to be able to act effectively if there's an emergency.
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And well, you talked about it with your uh your EMT.
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Yeah.
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You know, you were in situations where like you've felt like you didn't have the tools to help, right?
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So is that kind of the same concept?
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Yeah, and that's where we start to see that panic kind of set in is like I don't know what to do.
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And when you don't know that, then you feel like you should be doing something or you feel bad for not doing something, but giving people, not just staff, but the students the tools that they need.
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And in a the purpose of those drills is not to create drama or anxiety.
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Um, kind of the phrase that gets used is no trauma, no drama.
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Like that's that's how we want to do those drills, um, is so that they've got the muscle memory and the skill and have maybe thought through a couple of scenarios.
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It's really difficult under stress to solve a problem that you've never encountered before.
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And so, what I would like for those drills to start to serve as is also some critical thinking time to think, okay, let me think through what a potential emergency could look like.
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And then what are some of the potential responses that I have as a result of that?
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So we provide a really strong, clear framework for our response through standard response protocol and through the I Love You Guys Foundation.
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And that really clear language prevents any confusion during an emergency.
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Um, but there's still steps that need to be taken, and each scenario isn't identical to the last one.
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And so to kind of have the ability to be thoughtful about how we're going to respond, that's kind of the purpose of those drills.
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Um and it's it's interesting when we when we look at drills or we look at preparedness and we think about it in a school safety setting.
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And people get really nervous or taken aback by that.
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And the example I would give is, you know, we get on an airplane and there's an automatic safety discussion that happens on an airplane, and nobody really bats an eye at that discussion.
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And everybody wants to hear it and wants to know what's going to happen if there is an emergency.
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Just because we're talking about it doesn't mean that that thing is gonna happen.
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Um, but we really want to know what to do if it does.
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And so I kind of think of school safety in that same way too.
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We we just want to be prepared.
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We want to do the absolute best we can to prevent anything from happening.
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However, we also have to be prepared in the event that something does happen.
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And again, that something isn't always uh an outside assailant that gets publicized.
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I mean, you think of things like natural disasters, um, fires, things like that, like that can just happen and it It not be something that uh gets publicized in the news or that we see in the media.
00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:13.680
So I think that's why the drills are important is to build that muscle memory for people to feel like they're empowered to act if they need to act.
00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:19.680
And then that's where we find that success is having practiced those things while we're not under immense stress.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:29.119
Yeah, I think in the other place my brain went to right away is like when it's part of being prepared, is part of that emergency response.
00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:33.200
Like, you know, the relationship with staff and students is so helpful.
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:38.960
But like, can you speak to like the relationship with law enforcement and first responders?
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:44.160
And obviously, like your background is helpful in that regard, but what is that relationship like?
00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:49.680
And how often is there dialogue about being prepared for things like this?
00:22:50.000 --> 00:23:03.920
Yeah, that that dialogue is pretty constant for the most part, especially because we have a school resource unit that we work with, both the Plymouth Police Department and the YZA Police Department to provide police officers to several of our schools.
00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:10.559
And so that dialogue is is constant, especially because those those folks are in the schools every day.
00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:17.440
Um, and one of my hopes is to continue to allow that to evolve and and to strengthen those relationships.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:19.279
They're already fantastic.
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:26.319
Um, but it's important for the first responders to kind of know what to expect from the school.
00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:30.400
And it's important for the school to understand what an emergency response looks like.
00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:42.559
And so now, kind of being on both sides of that, it's really helpful to collaborate in those ways and to continue to build those types of relationships.
00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:50.160
Um, and I think it's also important that the officers know that they can come in our schools and say hi to the kids.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:57.200
And I want, I want our staff members and our students to feel really comfortable around our first responders.
00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:05.440
So oftentimes what tends to happen is you see a police car or something in the school, and everybody wants to know what's going on, what's the emergency?
00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:19.839
And it may just be that we've got a police officer over there saying hi and reading a book to a kindergarten class and just letting the kids get to know their uh community helpers, so to speak, and let those relationships build themselves.
00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:28.160
So when there is an emergency, our students feel like those are people that they can go to to ask for help and that they feel safe around them.
00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:36.960
So for families, you know, when an unexpected situation happens, like the number number one thing they're gonna want is to be informed.
00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:37.440
Right.
00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:44.480
So what can families expect from the district regarding communication?
00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:54.960
Um, and then how can on the flip side, how can families partner um with us at home to kind of reinforce that culture of safety we've talked about?
00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.960
Yeah, this is a fantastic point because families need information.
00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:05.680
When there's something going on at your kids' school, you want to know every detail down to the second.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:07.680
And I totally understand that.
00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:19.599
And one of the things our communications team works really hard at is figuring out how to send out really fast but also accurate information.
00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:29.519
And so I think one thing I would want families to know is um we are gonna give you as much information as we can give you.
00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:37.839
And if you don't hear something or we're quiet for a period of time, we're doing taking really good care of your kids.
00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:43.359
And that's what we're working really hard at in that moment is making sure that your students are safe.
00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:47.119
And as soon as we're able to communicate out that information, we will.
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:57.279
So I think number one thing is um to be patient if there is an incident that's going on, because we want to make sure that we're dealing with the incident itself.
00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:11.759
And then as soon as we can get information out to you, we want to make sure that we've got enough that you know that it's accurate so that we don't have to fix something later um or to to try to change what was said.
00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:28.160
Um, so those are the big pieces, I think, is if you don't hear something, trust that we're taking care of your kids and we're gonna give you as much as we can as soon as we can and as often as we we can from a communication standpoint.
00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:31.519
Okay, and then the at home.
00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:32.240
Yeah.
00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:37.359
How can families help in this process of reinforcing that culture we've talked about a few times?
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:48.400
I think just talking to their kids, ask them how the drills went, ask them, you know, how they felt during the drills, or if you know there was an incident at school, talking through that with them.
00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:55.839
Um, I also love the idea of part of what we try to build is obviously that safety at school.
00:26:55.920 --> 00:27:02.240
And so they know what to do if they're at school, but overwhelmingly, school is a really safe place for kids.
00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:06.000
And I think we lose sight of that sometimes because of what gets put on the news.
00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:13.039
But our kids are in a lot more precarious situations, usually outside of school than in school.
00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:23.359
And so part of what we would want is to build that as a life skill, not just what are you gonna do at the school, but what happens if you're at the mall or at the movie theater or out with your family.
00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:29.759
And so reinforcing those ideas from what we're trying to do with drills is important.
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:32.079
And honestly, do some family drills.
00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:52.720
Like that can be kind of a fun family night that sparks a great conversation is okay, as a family, what would we do if we had a fire, or what would we do if um there was a severe weather incident or something like that, is kind of talking through that as a family so that you get that sense of being prepared, not scared that I'm talking about.
00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:54.880
That's great.
00:27:55.519 --> 00:28:01.119
So in closing, you know, you're a little over a month in, about a month in.
00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:02.640
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:12.720
Looking ahead to the rest of the school year, if you could give one message or takeaway for families as we close this out, what would it be?
00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:38.000
Um I think I think the biggest takeaway for families is that there's not been a single person at the school district that I've met in the month that I've been here that's not interested in school safety and that doesn't really value the effect that a student's feeling of safety and well-being has on their education.
00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:50.480
And so I think that would be the big takeaway is I might lead the security and emergency management team here, but the entire district is interested in the safety of the students and staff.
00:28:50.720 --> 00:29:06.079
And I think that parents can feel good about uh having an entire team of people that want to make sure that not only do their students get a really fantastic education at YZA, but they feel safe while they're doing it.
00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:14.559
Just to give an example, I suppose, of um an interaction I had that I loved when I first started here.
00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:24.400
Um I was at one of the elementary schools and I was just walking around checking out, you know, doors and windows and kind of the infrastructure and getting to know each of the buildings.
00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:30.880
And there was a staff member that had no idea who I was, and I had, you know, backpack on.
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:41.519
This is before students were in the building, and approached me and wanted to see my, wanted to see my identification badge because I was inside past a locked door and they couldn't see my badge.
00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:46.240
Like that's the kind of stuff that's going on in the school district that I love.
00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:48.799
This is the kind of culture that we need to build.
00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:54.559
And I want you guys to question if you if you feel like something doesn't look right or doesn't seem right.
00:29:54.799 --> 00:30:02.240
So big takeaways are I haven't had a single staff member that's not interested in school safety.
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:07.039
So much so that I've been questioned myself as to what I was doing in one of the schools.
00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:08.319
So that's amazing.
00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:09.359
I love that story.
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:09.680
All right.
00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:11.440
Well, Meg, thank you for joining us.
00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:11.759
Yeah.
00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:13.839
Good luck the rest of the school year.
00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:14.480
Thank you.
00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:15.599
Hopefully, we'll talk to you soon.
00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:16.480
Sounds good.
00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:29.359
Thanks, Mm.
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:00.640
Hi, everyone.
00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:05.040
Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of the Inside Wiseetta podcast.
00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:12.080
We are joined by Meg Soltz, who is the Assistant Director of Safety and Emergency Management at Wiseetta School.
00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:14.400
She's in charge of all that for the district.
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:21.760
Meg previously served as a paramedic school resource officer and most recently as a police officer with the city of Plymouth.
00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:26.480
And we're going to talk to her about all things school safety and security.
00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:30.879
Hi, Meg.
00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:32.799
Welcome to the Inside YZ podcast.
00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:33.600
Thanks for joining us.
00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:34.479
Thanks for having me.
00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:35.359
I appreciate it.
00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:35.840
All right.
00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:38.079
So you've been in the district for about a month now.
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:41.200
How has your transition to YZ been?
00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:42.880
It's been awesome so far.
00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:45.679
All the staff have been super welcoming.
00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:49.439
Now that the students are back in, there's a lot of buzzing going around the school.
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.640
So that's been fun to see the kids back in their environments.
00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:54.799
And uh it's been great.
00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:56.000
Okay.
00:00:56.159 --> 00:01:03.600
So before joining YZA, you spent years in public safety, all doing all sorts of things.
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:09.040
So can you tell us a little bit about your background?
00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:09.760
Sure.
00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:10.319
Yeah.
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I started my career as a 19-year-old.
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I got my EMT certification while I was doing undergrad at DePaul University and started volunteering for the local ambulance service there.
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So that's where I started in public safety.
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What made you want to do that?
00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:28.000
What made me want to do that?
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Um, I think uh there were enough scenarios growing up where when there's an emergency or something's going on, one of the things that makes you feel most helpless is not knowing what to do or how to help.
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And I think having been in some of those circumstances, I was like, I don't ever want to feel like that again.
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If there's an emergency or there's something or someone needs help, I want to have the right skills to be able to help in that moment.
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So that's what really drove me towards public safety.
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So yeah.
00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.879
So then after that, how did your career evolve?
00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:05.359
Yeah.
00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:07.760
So I finished my undergrad.
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I stayed working as an EMT, did a graduate degree in biology, and uh got my paramedic license.
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So then I started teaching for the IU School of Medicine has an associate's degree program in paramedic science.
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So I started teaching in that paramedic science program, some anatomy and physiology and pathophys and that kind of stuff.
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And while I was working for the city of Indianapolis in that role, there was an opening for a tactical paramedic for the Indianapolis Metro SWAT team and bomb squad.
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And basically, that's just the medical professional that's attached to those teams.
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And that was a really great opportunity.
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I was fortunate enough to be selected for that team.
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And so that tied me directly into law enforcement.
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But there was still like a kind of a line in the sand because I was a paramedic and not a police officer.
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I still had to like wait outside.
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They had to say it was safe.
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I couldn't go deal with whatever it was directly.
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And I loved the camaraderie and the teamwork within law enforcement.
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So I thought, okay, well, I'll just go do both then.
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So I put in for the Carmel Police Department in Carmel, Indiana, and started working as a police officer there and have since just kept my paramedic license active since then.
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So that was kind of the transition from EMS into law enforcement.
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So and then you ended up in Minnesota.
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Then I ended up in Minnesota.
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I know.
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I followed a close friend of mine and her kids up here.
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They moved up here.
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And uh the last role that I held at the Carmel Police Department before I left was the sergeant over a school resource unit there.
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And so I'd had some experience already in uh school safety in that way, but from the law enforcement perspective.
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Um, so yeah.
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And most recently, prior to coming to the district, you were working for the Plymouth Police Department?
00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:06.960
That's right.
00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:07.280
Yep.
00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:11.599
When I first moved to Minnesota, I got hired by the Plymouth Police Department.
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And so that was my most recent job coming from there to the school district was working for the city of Plymouth.
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Yeah.
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And what drew you to the assistant director of security and emergency management position at YSATA?
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I obviously had a huge interest in school safety, having worked with the school resource unit there and really found value in making sure our students feel safe and the families feel good about dropping their kids off at school.
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And I had co-founded a company with a friend of mine too, um, working through bleeding control, basically.
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Some states require bleeding control kits in each of the schools.
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And there was a big gap in how we were doing that and how we were addressing that in a school setting instead of like a military or law enforcement setting.
00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:16.720
And so, as a part of that, outside of my work in law enforcement, I had been traveling around the country and doing presentations at uh school safety conferences and working with a lot of school safety groups, even outside of my law enforcement work.
00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:22.720
So I was kind of eating, sleeping, breathing, school safety, even outside of the police department.
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And so it it made great sense for me to transition to just working for the school district, like making being able to make a big impact from within the district.
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It's amazing.
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Okay, so when people hear security as it pertains to school safety, I think we often think of like hardware or enforcement, right?
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Like that's kind of the where our brands go to right away.
00:05:48.160 --> 00:06:02.480
But I think having had that experience as a in the school as a school resource officer, like how would you describe your personal approach to keeping school safe?
00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:04.160
That's a good question.
00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:11.680
Everybody tends to go to all of those physical safety and security, those hardware pieces, the infrastructure.
00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:14.639
And that stuff is really important, don't get me wrong.
00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:19.839
And that is a big piece of what we want to make sure that we develop as a school district.
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But there are lots of other elements that fall into school safety as well, and that fit into that framework, so to speak.
00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:38.399
And that is everything from how behavioral health fits in with school safety and how are we training our staff?
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There's a human element that's involved.
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You can have the best infrastructure in the world, and the best example I would give is you can have the best door locks that exist, but if somebody props a door open, they don't do any good.
00:06:51.120 --> 00:07:13.120
So building the buy-in in the community and understanding each of those other elements of health and safety and public policy and the relationships with law enforcement and the fire department and your EMS systems, each of those plays an individual role that's outside of just making sure the doors are locked.
00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:24.399
Um, and that's the piece too that can create that culture of safety so that we can balance that feeling of being really safe and secure, but wanting to provide a welcoming environment.
00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:41.360
Yeah, I think the culture, like that word culture, I think is really important in this conversation because I think like families, like we want our children to be safe, but like we also want school to feel joyful and welcoming and calm.
00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:51.120
So, like, how do you balance having a culture of safety that while maintaining like that warm educational environment?
00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:57.439
Yeah, that's that's tough when you're talking about like door locks and visitor check-ins and things like that.
00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:06.480
And I think what I would say my overall mantra or my my overall vision for what school safety should be is that we're prepared and not scared.
00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:13.759
Like we want our students and our staff to feel like if there is an emergency of some kind, they're prepared to respond to that.
00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:26.639
And we've done everything that we can to prevent something from happening because that's something that gets um talked about a lot is the response, or when this happens, this is what the response is.
00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:28.720
And again, that is super important.
00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:34.080
But then what are all of the preventative pieces that we're doing beforehand anyway?
00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:52.639
So I think that piece of looking at safety as a tool, like a life skill type of tool, instead of it being trying to build a fortress, we want to build a community that is thoughtful about school safety.
00:08:52.799 --> 00:09:06.000
And so some of the things that that we put in place that may seem restrictive in in some sense are really not meant to be restrictive for a parent to have access to their kid while they're at school.
00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:10.559
It's more so, I want to protect your kid from everyone else, you know.
00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.919
So I think building some of those elements in are important.
00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:22.399
And it's important for families to understand that's why those things are happening, or if you see changes happen, that's the purpose of them is to build that culture.
00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:30.559
But um, an example I would give is like a very common etiquette is to hold a door open for someone, right?
00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:34.399
And we have an environment where we want the doors locked in school.
00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.320
So how do you balance that?
00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:43.360
Like, oh, I feel really awkward just like closing a door and you know, and not not holding it for somebody.
00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:53.279
Um, but in my world, what I think would be awesome is if we're like cheering each other on or like closing the door to say, like, yes, we are like we love school safety, we value school safety here.
00:09:53.360 --> 00:10:10.879
So I'm okay waiting outside and I'm glad you, I'm glad you checked my ID um because that's that's the kind of culture that we want to build, not necessarily people feeling left out or excluded, but feel included into that school safety team, so to speak.
00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:26.799
Yeah, and it's probably not like a it's probably not a short answer to this, but when you were talking, I I kind of thought about like you know, it's been a number of years since you were in Indiana as a school resource officer.
00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:36.240
And to fast forward like where you are now, like what are kind of the big ways in which like school safety has evolved over that time?
00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:38.480
Because I assume it's changed a lot.
00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:39.120
Yeah.
00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:47.279
Yeah, I think um kind of that almost ties back to the other question that you were asking about like what are the layers?
00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:55.279
I think the layers have grown as to what we're looking at instead of it just being that response and having locked doors.
00:10:55.440 --> 00:11:02.399
Now we're looking at things like what are district policies surrounding this piece and that piece of school safety?
00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.879
And what are the digital elements?
00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:06.799
That's a huge thing that has changed over time.
00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:07.679
Technology, right?
00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:07.919
Yeah.
00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:17.279
Is that technology piece and not only the technology in a sense of what tools do we have available for us to use from a school safety perspective?
00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:24.080
But additionally, what are our students doing digitally that can help us keep them safe?
00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:31.759
When we see uh, you know, some events that go across the country, we're looking at those digital elements.
00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:37.360
And were there ways that we could have been told something or knew something or found out something in advance?
00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:42.159
So that digital space is really important for us to start to evaluate and look at.
00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:49.519
And, you know, then we look at all of the exterior perimeter type things, and then what are we doing inside the school?
00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:52.960
And then what are all the human elements that tie into each of those things?
00:11:53.120 --> 00:12:04.399
So, like I said, behind each piece of technology or behind each piece of infrastructure, there's a person that has to support it and be trained and know how to use that particular tool.
00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:06.399
And sometimes that gets missed.
00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:13.279
You know, you have all of these cool things, but the people are what make those things work.
00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:25.039
And really, honestly, in prevention, it's the students and families that are the relationships that you build with them that they're willing to tell you information that can be helpful to keep students and staff safe.
00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:26.879
Yeah, let's expand upon that a bit.
00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:34.480
Talk through that relationship piece among staff and students and how is that act as like kind of that first line of defense, so to speak.
00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:35.600
Yeah.
00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:55.840
The I think one of the biggest things that I wanted to do when I came in, having not been here for very long, is to start to form those relationships because you can't get information or have people buy in to the safety culture unless they trust who's behind it.
00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:20.480
And so I think one of those big things is really building those relationships with the staff members so that we can have those conversations and be really thoughtful with how we interact with one another to say, like somebody can bring something to me and we can really truly evaluate it because in the because deep down they know that that there's a trust there and they know the why behind it.
00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:28.879
It's not just someone saying, hey, we're gonna do this because of this and we have to do it this way, and then nobody understands each other because that relationship hasn't been built.
00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:37.919
But if you build that trust and that rapport, that's when you can have really valuable conversations and start to build that culture.
00:13:38.320 --> 00:14:05.360
And then additionally, when students feel that they have a say in their own safety, that we've empowered them to uh take action when they need to, and that they have trusted adults that they've built good relationships with, then those students are more willing to tell us stuff and report stuff to us that we can then look at and manage from different ways.
00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:16.080
And I think oftentimes school safety gets pegged mostly for something from the outside and there being a threat or a safety risk on the outside.
00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:34.159
And sometimes it's even students themselves within our within our district that just need help or they need a hand, or we have somebody that's really struggling with something, and that's a student that we can help in that in and of itself is part of school safety as well.
00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:42.639
So it's not just building that fortress to keep people out, it's really involving the people that are inside so that we can take care of each other.
00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:43.120
Yeah.
00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:47.679
So I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about I guess preparedness.
00:14:47.840 --> 00:15:03.679
Like, you know, we we touched on a little bit, but without going into specifics, what are some of the kind of the proactive everyday things that are happening behind the scenes to keep our schools and buildings safe?
00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:09.840
Yeah, I won't go into too much detail about all of the behind the scenes just for safety reasons.
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:28.559
Um, but I think what people would want to know or want to have in the back of their minds is, you know, we have um visitor management systems that kind of help us figure out who's going in and out of our building so that we we know who's in contact with students every day is a really important element.
00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:37.919
Um we have policies and procedures surrounding visitors, which are obviously an important uh element of school safety.
00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:49.279
We have lots of digital tools and uh communication tools that we can use when there is an emergency of some kind, so that our communication is solid.
00:15:49.600 --> 00:16:04.000
Um, and so there's there's just lots of things from a threat assessment standpoint and uh a digital standpoint that we look at on a day-to-day basis to try to track what's going on and to make sure that we're all staying safe.
00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:08.320
And not only that, but then communicating those things with one another.
00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:22.240
So I think without providing too much detail, again, those are some of the the layers that we look at or those pieces of framework that we're interested in tracking to make sure that uh we're doing the best we can to keep people safe.
00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:22.720
Yeah.
00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:30.320
And I feel like every time I see you, you're coming back from somewhere and going somewhere else.
00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:34.960
So like is that part of that relationship building thing for you?
00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:43.200
Is like and getting out to our buildings and and to our schools to help with both the relationships and kind of the preparedness aspect?
00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:44.559
Yeah, absolutely.
00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:58.639
A huge piece of it to start with was just getting an idea of what did people feel like we were doing well as a district and where did people feel like we had room for improvement and identifying those things.
00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:06.880
And that kind of gave me a place to start of what should we be doing right now before the kids get in the building in this coming school year.
00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:18.640
But then another piece of that too is again having great access to tools, but if staff don't know how to use them, then it's really difficult.
00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:27.599
So a lot of what I do is not only traveling around and making sure people know who I am, because I don't want an emergency to be the first time somebody has met me.
00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:37.119
But another piece of that is making sure people are trained and that they feel like they're prepared to act, regardless of what the tool is that we have.
00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:52.000
So that's part of what I do in traveling around to the schools is doing training in everything from our communication tools to our cardiac emergency response training and teaming up with our health services staff to do that.
00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:57.279
That's a piece of school safety as well, that I think sometimes people don't think about.
00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:02.799
Um, so a lot of training, a lot of talking with people, a lot of getting in front of people.
00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:12.559
And I tend to spend a lot of time at schools because then when people see me, then they might bring something to my attention that they wouldn't have maybe sent an email about or something later.
00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:12.799
Yeah.
00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:17.440
And so that gives me opportunities to follow up on things that I wouldn't have ordinarily known about.
00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:20.319
Um, and try to connect the dots for them.
00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:23.200
So yeah, building that trust as you as you talked about.
00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:27.599
Uh so speaking of being prepared, we practice safety drills throughout the school year.
00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:33.279
Um and I know that's evolved from like a legislative standpoint too, right?
00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:45.759
So from an emergency management perspective, how do these exercises help build kind of calm second nature routines for students and staff?
00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:55.920
Yeah, the purpose of the drills, I think um, that pendulum has swung far and wide as we've developed in school safety.
00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.440
Uh, as you mentioned, things have changed from year to year.
00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:09.279
And the purpose of those drills is to give the people tools that they need to be able to act effectively if there's an emergency.
00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:12.960
And well, you talked about it with your uh your EMT.
00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:13.440
Yeah.
00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:18.880
You know, you were in situations where like you've felt like you didn't have the tools to help, right?
00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:20.799
So is that kind of the same concept?
00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:26.640
Yeah, and that's where we start to see that panic kind of set in is like I don't know what to do.
00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:37.680
And when you don't know that, then you feel like you should be doing something or you feel bad for not doing something, but giving people, not just staff, but the students the tools that they need.
00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:44.960
And in a the purpose of those drills is not to create drama or anxiety.
00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:48.960
Um, kind of the phrase that gets used is no trauma, no drama.
00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:58.559
Like that's that's how we want to do those drills, um, is so that they've got the muscle memory and the skill and have maybe thought through a couple of scenarios.
00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:05.200
It's really difficult under stress to solve a problem that you've never encountered before.
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:16.640
And so, what I would like for those drills to start to serve as is also some critical thinking time to think, okay, let me think through what a potential emergency could look like.
00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:21.759
And then what are some of the potential responses that I have as a result of that?
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:31.599
So we provide a really strong, clear framework for our response through standard response protocol and through the I Love You Guys Foundation.
00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:37.839
And that really clear language prevents any confusion during an emergency.
00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:44.240
Um, but there's still steps that need to be taken, and each scenario isn't identical to the last one.
00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:52.000
And so to kind of have the ability to be thoughtful about how we're going to respond, that's kind of the purpose of those drills.
00:20:52.240 --> 00:21:01.359
Um and it's it's interesting when we when we look at drills or we look at preparedness and we think about it in a school safety setting.
00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:04.880
And people get really nervous or taken aback by that.
00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:16.160
And the example I would give is, you know, we get on an airplane and there's an automatic safety discussion that happens on an airplane, and nobody really bats an eye at that discussion.
00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:21.279
And everybody wants to hear it and wants to know what's going to happen if there is an emergency.
00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:25.279
Just because we're talking about it doesn't mean that that thing is gonna happen.
00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:29.200
Um, but we really want to know what to do if it does.
00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:33.279
And so I kind of think of school safety in that same way too.
00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:35.119
We we just want to be prepared.
00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:40.400
We want to do the absolute best we can to prevent anything from happening.
00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:45.519
However, we also have to be prepared in the event that something does happen.
00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:51.920
And again, that something isn't always uh an outside assailant that gets publicized.
00:21:52.160 --> 00:22:05.440
I mean, you think of things like natural disasters, um, fires, things like that, like that can just happen and it It not be something that uh gets publicized in the news or that we see in the media.
00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:13.680
So I think that's why the drills are important is to build that muscle memory for people to feel like they're empowered to act if they need to act.
00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:19.680
And then that's where we find that success is having practiced those things while we're not under immense stress.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:29.119
Yeah, I think in the other place my brain went to right away is like when it's part of being prepared, is part of that emergency response.
00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:33.200
Like, you know, the relationship with staff and students is so helpful.
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:38.960
But like, can you speak to like the relationship with law enforcement and first responders?
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:44.160
And obviously, like your background is helpful in that regard, but what is that relationship like?
00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:49.680
And how often is there dialogue about being prepared for things like this?
00:22:50.000 --> 00:23:03.920
Yeah, that that dialogue is pretty constant for the most part, especially because we have a school resource unit that we work with, both the Plymouth Police Department and the YZA Police Department to provide police officers to several of our schools.
00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:10.559
And so that dialogue is is constant, especially because those those folks are in the schools every day.
00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:17.440
Um, and one of my hopes is to continue to allow that to evolve and and to strengthen those relationships.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:19.279
They're already fantastic.
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:26.319
Um, but it's important for the first responders to kind of know what to expect from the school.
00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:30.400
And it's important for the school to understand what an emergency response looks like.
00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:42.559
And so now, kind of being on both sides of that, it's really helpful to collaborate in those ways and to continue to build those types of relationships.
00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:50.160
Um, and I think it's also important that the officers know that they can come in our schools and say hi to the kids.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:57.200
And I want, I want our staff members and our students to feel really comfortable around our first responders.
00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:05.440
So oftentimes what tends to happen is you see a police car or something in the school, and everybody wants to know what's going on, what's the emergency?
00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:19.839
And it may just be that we've got a police officer over there saying hi and reading a book to a kindergarten class and just letting the kids get to know their uh community helpers, so to speak, and let those relationships build themselves.
00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:28.160
So when there is an emergency, our students feel like those are people that they can go to to ask for help and that they feel safe around them.
00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:36.960
So for families, you know, when an unexpected situation happens, like the number number one thing they're gonna want is to be informed.
00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:37.440
Right.
00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:44.480
So what can families expect from the district regarding communication?
00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:54.960
Um, and then how can on the flip side, how can families partner um with us at home to kind of reinforce that culture of safety we've talked about?
00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.960
Yeah, this is a fantastic point because families need information.
00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:05.680
When there's something going on at your kids' school, you want to know every detail down to the second.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:07.680
And I totally understand that.
00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:19.599
And one of the things our communications team works really hard at is figuring out how to send out really fast but also accurate information.
00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:29.519
And so I think one thing I would want families to know is um we are gonna give you as much information as we can give you.
00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:37.839
And if you don't hear something or we're quiet for a period of time, we're doing taking really good care of your kids.
00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:43.359
And that's what we're working really hard at in that moment is making sure that your students are safe.
00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:47.119
And as soon as we're able to communicate out that information, we will.
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:57.279
So I think number one thing is um to be patient if there is an incident that's going on, because we want to make sure that we're dealing with the incident itself.
00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:11.759
And then as soon as we can get information out to you, we want to make sure that we've got enough that you know that it's accurate so that we don't have to fix something later um or to to try to change what was said.
00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:28.160
Um, so those are the big pieces, I think, is if you don't hear something, trust that we're taking care of your kids and we're gonna give you as much as we can as soon as we can and as often as we we can from a communication standpoint.
00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:31.519
Okay, and then the at home.
00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:32.240
Yeah.
00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:37.359
How can families help in this process of reinforcing that culture we've talked about a few times?
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:48.400
I think just talking to their kids, ask them how the drills went, ask them, you know, how they felt during the drills, or if you know there was an incident at school, talking through that with them.
00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:55.839
Um, I also love the idea of part of what we try to build is obviously that safety at school.
00:26:55.920 --> 00:27:02.240
And so they know what to do if they're at school, but overwhelmingly, school is a really safe place for kids.
00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:06.000
And I think we lose sight of that sometimes because of what gets put on the news.
00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:13.039
But our kids are in a lot more precarious situations, usually outside of school than in school.
00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:23.359
And so part of what we would want is to build that as a life skill, not just what are you gonna do at the school, but what happens if you're at the mall or at the movie theater or out with your family.
00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:29.759
And so reinforcing those ideas from what we're trying to do with drills is important.
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:32.079
And honestly, do some family drills.
00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:52.720
Like that can be kind of a fun family night that sparks a great conversation is okay, as a family, what would we do if we had a fire, or what would we do if um there was a severe weather incident or something like that, is kind of talking through that as a family so that you get that sense of being prepared, not scared that I'm talking about.
00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:54.880
That's great.
00:27:55.519 --> 00:28:01.119
So in closing, you know, you're a little over a month in, about a month in.
00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:02.640
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:12.720
Looking ahead to the rest of the school year, if you could give one message or takeaway for families as we close this out, what would it be?
00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:38.000
Um I think I think the biggest takeaway for families is that there's not been a single person at the school district that I've met in the month that I've been here that's not interested in school safety and that doesn't really value the effect that a student's feeling of safety and well-being has on their education.
00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:50.480
And so I think that would be the big takeaway is I might lead the security and emergency management team here, but the entire district is interested in the safety of the students and staff.
00:28:50.720 --> 00:29:06.079
And I think that parents can feel good about uh having an entire team of people that want to make sure that not only do their students get a really fantastic education at YZA, but they feel safe while they're doing it.
00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:14.559
Just to give an example, I suppose, of um an interaction I had that I loved when I first started here.
00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:24.400
Um I was at one of the elementary schools and I was just walking around checking out, you know, doors and windows and kind of the infrastructure and getting to know each of the buildings.
00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:30.880
And there was a staff member that had no idea who I was, and I had, you know, backpack on.
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:41.519
This is before students were in the building, and approached me and wanted to see my, wanted to see my identification badge because I was inside past a locked door and they couldn't see my badge.
00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:46.240
Like that's the kind of stuff that's going on in the school district that I love.
00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:48.799
This is the kind of culture that we need to build.
00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:54.559
And I want you guys to question if you if you feel like something doesn't look right or doesn't seem right.
00:29:54.799 --> 00:30:02.240
So big takeaways are I haven't had a single staff member that's not interested in school safety.
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:07.039
So much so that I've been questioned myself as to what I was doing in one of the schools.
00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:08.319
So that's amazing.
00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:09.359
I love that story.
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:09.680
All right.
00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:11.440
Well, Meg, thank you for joining us.
00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:11.759
Yeah.
00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:13.839
Good luck the rest of the school year.
00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:14.480
Thank you.
00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:15.599
Hopefully, we'll talk to you soon.
00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:16.480
Sounds good.
00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:29.359
Thanks, Mm.
