Friday, September 21, 2018

Results of Parent Safety Meeting




Hello!

We had 7 parents meet in person yesterday, and heard from 3-4 others via email or phone. We discussed the history of the safety measures that have taken place at JCP since 2013. We discussed the one blaring safety issue remaining, that being the unsecured campus when students are present before school. I believe that all parents present agreed that it is a significant concern. A couple voiced their opinions that they stills preferred to have it open to parents. One parent (in person), and 2 others via email expressed that they feel the campus should be students-only after 8:05 am, unless the parent has a reason for being there (volunteering in the classroom, scheduled meeting, student with significant anxiety, etc.). We looked at a pros/cons list that was created by staff and parents, and brainstormed options. We could only come up with two possible solutions.

Option A: No parents allowed on campus before school unless they have a scheduled reason to be, and have checked in through the office.

Option B: Purchase a program/system that allows parents to physically wear a lanyard with a badge that has their picture on it, and a barcode they can scan into the machine that automatically checks them in, and checks their background clearance. This would allow parents to access the playgrounds in the mornings with students, keeping the hallways and courtyard free of students and parents before school.

We don’t like Option A because of how it feels very exclusive to families, but it does solve every single one of our safety concerns. And it’s cost effective (free) and simple to manage.

We like Option B because it lets us know and control exactly who is on campus. It doesn’t solve all of our safety concerns (such as with still having that many extra people on campus before school) but it does eliminate one of our biggest concerns.

There are a couple of things that may not allow Option B to work: Cost and feasibility. The district is in the process of piloting one of these types of systems already, and if they have good success with it, it’ll move to each building. We are looking at this system now to see if we can use it to do what we need. We need to be able to enter every parent’s background clearance into the system, and then issue ID cards. This may be a huge cost and may require a lot of manpower, or it may be simple and relatively painless. Over the next week we hope to have answers to these questions.

Our next steps: Research Option B and see how much it’ll cost, if we can accomplish what we need to accomplish, and how quickly it could be actually implemented.

We appreciate your support and help in trying to find a resolution for this issue. And we appreciate those of you who are trying to see things from our perspective, even if that means possibly 15 minutes less snuggle time with your little ones before school. :)