Therefore, our responsibility today is to ensure that our families know their children are safe in the Lorain City Schools.
There are two aspects of school safety:
REACTIVE | These are our strategies, resources, policies and procedures that we put in place to react to any threat to our children and our staff. As I’m sure you can imagine, we can’t share the details of these plans, because that would put valuable information into the hands of the “bad guys” who could use this information against us.
PROACTIVE | These are our most valuable tools in our arsenal of school defense, all of which focus on building relationships with and providing supports for our students, staff and families. These include:
Wraparound Services to develop and deliver individualized care plans that may include:
Mental Health promotion, interventions, consultations, screenings, access to therapists and counseling, and intensive in-home mental health treatment.
Health Care through MercyHealth Clinic at Washington Elementary, School Nurses and, coming soon, Mobile Health Response Centers
Crisis Response services
Trauma-Specific Treatments with a Counselor or Licensed Social Worker
Legal Services for families
Behavior Management skills training
Substance Abuse screenings and treatment
Parenting Groups and Family Navigation
Home Visiting
Social and Child Welfare Services
Youth and Family Education
Bolstered access to school counselors by doubling their presence in our district to ensure every school has full-time social-emotional supports and counseling services for all students
ALICE Active Shooter Response Training which prepares our staff and students to respond with confidence during an active shooter situation
Pressure checks performed routinely to ensure equipment is functioning properly year-round
Centralized command to coordinate communications and building supports during emergency operations
Community partnerships that wrap our students in support, including the addition of a second officer on loan from the Lorain Police Department to support our school district
Community meetings to increase communication and collaboration around:
Transforming our schools into collaborative community centers with highly accessible services to students and families (Health care, Basic needs, Economics, Recreation and Education)
Responding to negative behavior in our schools with a mindset of de-escalation (Debriefing incidents and determining logical consequences)
Providing coordinated supports/services for successful re-entry to school when appropriate
Hiring wellness coaches to stay connected with students who have been expelled or assigned to online learning, coordinate wraparound services for the student and family, and ensure a warm welcome back to school
Keeping our focus on relationship-building to create a network of safety and support district-wide
All of the above wouldn’t be possible without the strong leadership of our Safety & Security team:
Just this week, Director of Safety Reuben Figueroa was sworn in as a part-time Lorain Police Department officer — and you can find his signature huge heart and resounding experience all throughout our schools. Read about it here
His second-in-command positions are held by two Army veterans — Carmen Ransom and Rosalio Sanchez — individuals whose strong presence in our schools is eclipsed only by their strong hearts and care for our students. Learn about them here
Rounding out this leadership team is School Resource Officer Miguel Baez, a 23-year veteran of the Lorain Police Department, who everyone in the city knows in one capacity or another. Meet him here
Combined, their talents of connecting with our kids and building safe and healthy communities are what give us confidence in our ability to keep safety a top priority in Lorain City Schools. In addition, as a result of the strong partnership with the Lorain Police Department, two more School Resource Officers will be joining our team in the fall.
After the awful tragedy earlier this week, it is my deep hope that this information provides some solace to you as you entrust your children to our care. My promise to you as superintendent, and as a father, is that we will continue to do all we can to grow and support these efforts.
Please, if you or someone you know is in need of help or support, please take advantage of the following resources and access to care:
Get help in an emergency: Dial 911
Report safety concerns in our schools: Lorain City Schools Safety & Security (440) 830-4004
Report safety concerns in our community: Lorain Police Department Dispatch (440) 204-2100
Access wraparound supports: (440) 830-HELP
