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Superintendent's Scoop April 2013

The Scoop…

Dear District 39 Families,

I have several things to cover in this SCOOP.

School Security

Following our Town Hall meeting in February, we have been reviewing and implementing suggestions from parents, staff, and from our partners in the police and fire departments. We follow best practice school safety protocol and do not publicly note all of our security procedures. Below are some changes.

Changes already in place or in process:

Revised protocol for substitute teachers includes training and unique name badges.

All visitors follow a consistent protocol when entering our schools, which includes obtaining a visitor badge.

Night custodians are checking all buildings to ensure that classroom doors are properly locked and that no one has entered the building without cause.

At Highcrest and WJHS a staff person will be stationed at the first entrance to the building.

For next year, D39 students will not attend on election days since some of our buildings serve as polling places.

Limited access for evening and weekend activities will prevent participants from wandering through the school building.

Improvements under investigation include:

Restructure for a “double buzz” entry in all buildings

System to scan driver’s license as visitors enter the building

Silent alarm system connected directly to the police department

Cell phone boosters

Use of card readers to access public areas in the buildings (auditorium, gym, cafeteria)

Refit door locks so they lock from inside the classroom

I would like to remind you again that it is very important for anyone dropping off or picking up students to follow the established procedures in each building. We continue to have concerns about unsafe carpool conduct. In addition, remember that students must be dropped off and picked up at the established times.

WJHS Construction Update

Construction of the new science facilities at WJHS is moving along very well and it will be ready for the 2013-14 school year. The new structure is essentially complete; the final steps will occur in the next few weeks as the ceilings and floors will be installed. Repurposing of the current classrooms will start the first day of summer break.

Educational Foundation Update

The District 39 Educational Foundation's 6th Annual Distinguished Citizen Award reception will be held Thursday, April 25th at the Michigan Shores Club. Everyone is welcome! You can purchase tickets online.

Please join me as this year’s award is presented to Dr. Robert Higgins, MD, MSHA, and Director of Ohio State's Comprehensive Transplant Center. Dr. Higgins’ expertise lies in the areas of heart and lung transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and outcome assessments for heart failure and cardiac surgery patients. Dr. Higgins is an active District 39 parent and prominent member of our community. As a dynamic leader of the Foundation’s Science Advisory Board and frequent guest speaker focusing on science, Dr. Higgins has made a significant impact in the District 39 schools.

Your partner in education,

ray-signature

Raymond E. Lechner, Ph.D.

Superintendent

Wilmette Public Schools District 39 – 615 Locust Road – Wilmette, IL 60091 – 847-256-2450

Superintendent's Scoop February 2013

February 14, 2013

Dear District 39 Community,

Last week we hosted a Town Hall meeting on school safety. It provided a great opportunity for the community to hear from the District, as well as our Police and Fire Chiefs. We appreciated the chance to hear questions and suggestions from those attending, as we added to our list of ideas and strategies for future improvements.

The overriding message from my comments, as well as from our Police and Fire Chiefs, is that District 39 has a long history of implementing best practices for school safety and emergency preparedness. With a careful review, we do find room for improvement, and will be evaluating the more than 80 ideas that have been gathered from parents and staff. We have developed a master list of these suggestions. Some are easy to implement with changes to current practices; we will begin those promptly. Others require capital expenditures and will be reviewed and discussed at Board of Education meetings. You may watch the meetings, or read the posted highlights, to keep up to date on decisions regarding safety improvements. Additionally, principals will be communicating with parents as changes impacting school procedures are rolled out.

At the meeting, I shared a belief that we all need to do our part to address the stigma that is associated with mental illness. Mental illness is a medical condition that needs treatment as desperately as any other illness. Just because we can’t readily see a mental illness, doesn’t mean it is less real or less painful. We all need to strive to help students better understand mental illness, and this can only lead to better understanding nation-wide. In D39, we will work to embed “stigma-busting” messages for the benefit of our students and our community. I hope that those in need will feel more confident about getting support, and maybe some tragedies can be prevented.

An important point was raised at the meeting that we need to consider. While we focus on preparing for critical yet unlikely occurrences, like an intruder or a fire, we have safety concerns nearly every day at each of our buildings. It’s important to remember to use safe driving practices during drop off and pick up times. Please reflect on our safe drop-off procedures and the times when supervision begins and ends in each building. It is not uncommon to find double parking alongside carpool lines, cars holding up traffic, and parents dropping students off too early or picking them up too late, when there is no supervision. If you are unsure of the safe procedures at your school, please ask your principal. With everyone’s cooperation, we have safety issues we can work on together – from the day-to-day activities at our schools to preparing for the remote possibility of a larger tragedy, like Sandy Hook Elementary.

Your partner in education,

Ray

Raymond E. Lechner, Ph.D.

Superintendent

Wilmette Public Schools District 39 • 615 Locust Road • Wilmette, IL 60091 • 847-256-2450

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