Montrose sup’t talks school safety

BY STACI WILSON

Montrose Area Superintendent Carol Boyce responded to questions about school safety she has received in the past several weeks at Monday night’s school board meeting.

Questions in the district arose after a 10-year-old student allegedly sent out a hoax text message of a potential threat. Pennsylvania State Police, Gibson, investigated that incident.

“There are concerns in the community and through the country about the status of safety,” Boyce said.

Montrose Area, Boyce said, does have a safety plan and procedures in place. That information, however, is not made public, she said. “It may seem secretive, but it is actually for safety,” she added.

Questions have also come to the superintendent regarding what the district does when there is a threat.

Boyce said, “Everything we can actually do to address appropriately with law enforcement and families.”

Some in the districts have asked if Montrose Area would consider hiring a school resource officer (SRO).

The district is looking into that, Boyce said, and Montrose – along with the other superintendents in the county – are looking at how to do that in an equitable manner across the board in the county’s schools.  Any proposals on the addition of an SRO in the district will come back to the school board, she said.

Boyce has also heard from people about “arming staff.”

She answered that the topic would first have to be addressed in the Pennsylvania state legislature. “Once they do, it will be a hot topic,” she said.

Boyce advised any parent with questions regarding safety and security to call the district. “We will answer any question we can,” she said.

A parent of an elementary student attended the meeting and said most of her questions had been answered by Boyce.

“This was my first experience with the one-call alert,” she told the board and said she had kept her child home from school the following day.

She requested the district send out a follow-up call to let parents know any potential threat had been neutralized or resolved.

She also voiced support in adding a SRO in the district. “I’m hear to offer my assistance,” she said. “Parents are ready to help.”

Craig Owens reported an emergency operations planning committee meeting was recently held; and he added those meetings would be happening with more frequency.

He also said areas of concern are being prioritized.

Choconut Valley Principal Chris McComb said many items initially identified in the emergency operations plan had been accomplished, including replacing exterior doors, and remodeled entryways. “We are doing a lot,” he said.

Owens also noted the recent district-wide lockdown drill went well and law enforcement personnel were present in each building during the safety exercise.

Lathrop Street Principal Greg Adams said he was impressed with how the teachers handled procedures during the drill.

Adams also noted the new DARE program had started up for fifth-graders. The program has substantially changed since the 1990s, he said, and has been revamped with less lecturing to the students and more interaction.

McComb said law enforcement and emergency services personnel were making a positive presence in the building.

High School Vice Principal Sean Castellani told the board that student attendance was in the low 80s percentile in February, likely from sickness as well as compelling issues in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., shooting and high alerts at the local level.

Boyce noted that during the March 29 professional development time, all staff will be participating in an active shooter training with state police coming in for that.

In other business, the board also heard a report from Lathrop St. second grade teacher Dave Wood, who took four students to the Pennsylvania Educational Techonology Expo and Conference in Hershey.

The students (Jack Stahl, Shamus Goff, Abigail Alexander and Aydan Zaleski) demonstrated their interactive Site Smashing project – a collaborative effort that utilized student email, Google Classroom, and Google Docs to create a book using Story Jumper and titles, “Rockwood City Heroes.”

Revisions were made to the school calendar, with March 29 assigned as a half day for students; and the professional development in the afternoon for all staff.

Teachers will report on Monday, April 2, for a full day of curriculum planning.

Other makeup days are as follows: June 13; and June 14, with an early dismissal at 11:30 a.m. that day. June 14 was the tentative last day for students, as of the Monday board meeting, but Tuesday’s inclement weather will likely require another adjustment to the school calendar.