An improved school safety plan is being rolled out in Southborough and Northborough for this school year.
In the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, parents across the country expressed concerns about school safety. Locally, Superintendent Charles Gobron responded that our district was already looking at the issue seriously.
Gobron cited a seminar that they had attended on the matter last summer. In January, Assistant Superintendent Christine Johnson began reporting to the School Committee on an initiative to improve school safety. (At that time, she explained that they didn’t want to share too much about current safety measures publicly, for the safety of the students and faculty.)
In February principals completed surveys about what they felt was needed. Both towns’ police departments worked with school administrators to determine best practices. Together, they developed an improved plan.
The collaboration allows consistency across the schools. It also prepares the police of each town act as backup in case of emergency.
In late spring, teachers from all K-8 schools and Algonquin were given overviews of the plan changes. This gave teachers the opportunity to provide feedback over the summer before the final plan rolls out.
On June 12th, Assistant Superintendent Christine Johnson updated the Southborough School Committee. She told them that teachers are scheduled to have 2 ½ training sessions prior to students’ first day of school.
This summer they are also working on the plan for training students. That is expected to be a staged effort throughout the year.
In September, parents should have an opportunity to learn more at an open forum (date TBD).
