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Safety/Security Message from Superintendent Holodick
IMPORTANT SAFETY/SECURITY UPDATE FROM SUPERINTENDENT HOLODICK
Dr. Holodick sent this message by phone a few minutes ago. Here it is, in case you did not hear all of it.
Good evening, this is Mark Holodick, Superintendent of the Brandywine School District, calling to share several important updates regarding safety and security initiatives in the District.
First, I am pleased to announce that we are set to launch our BSD Constables Program this coming Monday, February 4th. Sanctioned and approved by the State, the BSD Constables Program provides additional safety and security personnel in addition to the six School Resource Officers currently serving our schools. Over the course of the past year, we have doubled, from four to eight, the number of law enforcement officers dedicated to immediate response to keep our students, staff and visitors safe and secure. While our two Constables, both former police officers, are already familiar faces with students and staff due to their presence since the beginning of year, we wanted all families to know that they will be fully uniformed and identifiable beginning this coming week.
The second update pertains to school visitors. While we welcome and encourage active parent engagement with the school, it is imperative that we have protocols that proactively keep safety and security of students and staff as our highest priority. For this reason, visitors will be asked to produce a valid and legal form of identification that will be scanned and checked against the National Sex Offenders database prior to accessing any portion of the building housing students.
Over the course of the next month, the District will be switching to a new mass communication system that will not only allow mass phone calls such as this one, but several other key safety and security features that the District will roll out prior to the 2019-2020 school.
Finally, I would also like to quickly mention another roadmap item just getting underway – a mobile app that provides parents and guardians with real time information regarding the status of bus route pickup and drop off. More to come on that.
I apologize for the lengthy message this evening, but it’s important that you know some of the measures the District is taking to enhance the safety and welfare of our students. While all great initiatives, none are more important or powerful than being observant and proactive, not with only having the courage to say something, per our Sandy Hook Promise, but also teaching and modeling compassion, thoughtfulness, and empathy. We, as a community, must collectively create safe spaces for ALL students!
That’s BSD – 16 great schools, 1 strong community.
Good night.
