School Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

Dear Parents and Community Members,

In recent weeks, we have been faced with a series of tragedies in schools in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Wisconsin that have not only been out of the ordinary but catastrophic. As parents we want the very best for our children, and we want them to be safe and secure. What we have been forced to recognize once again is that in contemporary life there are no assurances. It will take the continued vigilance of all of us to nurture a protected environment for our young people.

Poway Unified’s strong prevention programs reach out to our students and community. Since the tragedy of Columbine, we have further increased our campus security efforts.  We have always focused on student safety, but in recent years we have completed additional training with local law enforcement on the topics of visitor control, lockdown procedures, and “active shooter on campus.”  In addition, representatives from across the school district have participated in a number of hostage simulations and debriefings at Twin Peaks Middle School and Abraxas High School. 

As you can imagine, some parents have expressed anxiety given recent events.  The Pennsylvania attack, in particular, established a new level of concern for elementary schools, which historically have not been at the center of campus assaults.

Remaining proactive, we have asked our school sites to increase vigilance around visitors, campus access, and monitoring of school sites.  Our principals are using our new communications system, Connect-ED, to notify parents of security procedures in place at their schools.  Every school has submitted an updated site emergency plan.  Starting next week and concluding by mid-November, senior staff will review safety plans for each campus to identify potential vulnerabilities. 

We have asked Assistant Director Steve Rogers, who heads up the District’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), to look at how we could effectively conduct a site-by-site review and what, if any, changes would be recommended in our policies, procedures, or guidelines.    Superintendent’s Cabinet members will be helping conduct the reviews.  In addition, we have distributed posters to all schools reminding students, parents, and neighbors to call our PUSD hotline at (858) 668-4161 with any potential concerns.  Together we can create a community watch for safety.

We have been working with the school sites to maintain the most effective safety measures while keeping a sense of warmth and caring on campus. A safe school fosters positive relationships between school staff and students and promotes meaningful parent and community involvement. Our counseling and Character Counts! programs and support of our school community help develop the positive relationships so vital to safe schools.

Given the circumstances surrounding the most recent attacks, it is hard to know what would have been required to thwart these tragedies.  Assuring a safe and orderly environment – while also preserving a welcoming and friendly atmosphere – is a precarious balancing act.  We are dedicated to finding this important balance.  We believe providing a healthy and caring environment, as the President of the United States has pointed out, is at the center of our work.

Warm regards, 

Don Phillips
Superintendent

STUDENT RECOGNITION
These are examples of the fine accomplishments occurring at our schools every day.

• The College Board Committee has announced the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.  These academically talented seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 8,200 merit scholarship awards, worth $33 million dollars, that will be offered next spring.  More than 1.4 million juniors from nearly 21,000 high schools in the United States entered the 2007 National Merit Program by taking the 2005 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in their junior year, which served as an initial screening of program entrants.  The students designated as semifinalists are the highest scorers in each of the 50 states.  The following twenty-six students were selected from the Poway Unified School District:

• Heather Hernandez, Poway High School senior, was selected to serve as youth advisory board chairperson of the National Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). Heather is helping to plan and organize the 11th Annual SAVE Youth Summit and National SAVE Day on October 18.

• Bianca Lin, Bernardo Heights Middle School eighth grader, was one of 16 students nationwide named as a 2006 Caroline D. Bradley Scholar by the Institute for Educational Advancement. The Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship awards highly gifted and talented students with four-year high school scholarships to pursue the optimal learning environment for the development of their potential. There are also opportunities for leadership training and guidance and assistance.

• Poway, Rancho Bernardo, and Abraxas High School students won Honorable Mention at the California State Fair in electronics for Robotic Construction. They also won the Underwriters Laboratories Industrial Safety Award at the Las Vegas Regional First Robotics Competition earlier this year and Best of Show and Class at the San Diego Southern County Fair.
  
  Participating students were: Tanya Patterson, Ashley Alexander, Greg Del Castillo, Nick Shumante, Anthony Shafer, Alex Swaisgood, Nick Stark, Alex DiMarzo, Joe Abremski, Clark Heckman, Scott Briscoe, Matt Howard, Kyle Zampell, Zack Mullenger, Matt Bonnet, Michele Blinco (Rancho Bernardo High School), and Michael Henry (Abraxas High School).
  
  The instructor for these students is Poway High School teacher, Rodger Dohm.

STAFF RECOGNITION

•  Marissa Ochoa, a third grade teacher at Valley Elementary School, was chosen as one of the 10 finalists for San Diego County Teacher of the Year.  The “Salute to Teachers” event presented 49 nominees for San Diego County Teacher of the Year including the three nominees from PUSD: Dan Lutgen, Rancho Bernardo High School, Leonora Persichina, Bernardo Heights Middle School, and Marissa Ochoa, Valley Elementary School, in an Emmy-style live television event.  The nominees represented our 26,000 San Diego County classroom teachers. Rancho Bernardo High School’s Keith Koelzer ended his reign as a 2006 San Diego County Teacher of the Year as a presenter at the televised event.

“Salute to Teachers” Television Replay Dates

Channel 4 San Diego on Cox and Time Warner Cable and Channel 3 on Time Warner North County
Oct. 27, 9 pm
Nov. 22, 9 pm
Dec. 23, 7 pm

DISTRICT RECOGNITION

• The Poway Heritage Parade awards were presented to several PUSD organizations. The following awards were received:
  
  School Floats
  First Place - Poway High School FFA
  Second Place - Valley Elementary School Dual Language Program
  
  General Floats
  Second Place - PUSD Transportation Department
  
  Bands
  First Place – Westview High School Gold
  Third Place - Poway High School Emerald Brigade
  
  Drill Teams
  First Place - Westview High School ROTC

• The San Diego County Office of Education and KFMB News 8 recognize schools that engage students in unique ways through the school’s selection as a Cool Schools. The following schools were recognized in September and October:
  
  Rancho Bernardo High School
  Monterey Ridge Elementary School