VIDEO: Relationships and Care Part of Ferndale Schools Plans for Safety
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 16, 2022)
Ferndale, Oak Park, Royal Oak Township, Pleasant Ridge, MI – In the weeks following the shootings inside Oxford High School, and the subsequent wave of copycat threats, discussions of school safety have been happening in districts across the area.
And as communities weigh out the pros and cons of locking doors, armed guards, and metal detectors, leaders in Ferndale Schools are also thinking about how to create safety through having a kind space.
At a virtual community meeting held Jan. 12, several FPS staffers talked about pieces of the puzzle in keeping school a safe and welcoming place for the 3,000 students that come to learn in seven buildings spread across three cities.
Mental health resources and building strong relationships are key parts of a safe environment. The district began increasing mental health support staff at the beginning of the pandemic, adding on 4 ½ positions in the past two years. Amy Hawtin is the district’s psychologist. She shared information about school shooters and the warning signs that someone may be at risk for harming others. And she talked about the District’s approach to fostering a healthy environment.
MENTAL HEALTH
“Here are the Ferndale Public School District we recognize that one of the biggest protective factors to school violence is building meaningful relationships with all of our students and families,” Hawtin said. “Relationship building is at the center of all that we do.”
Hawtin explained that each building has a mental health team, and that all employees are able to hear student concerns about safety and have ways to communicate that to the team.
One mental health challenge school districts across the country are facing is an increase in fighting. Superintendent Dania Bazzi said there have been “increased behavior issues due to the stress of the pandemic.” The mental health team, fostering a caring community, and working with community partners are all part of the solution. Hawtin shared some of the resources offered with the help of other organizations:
Ferndale Youth Assistance traditionally offers classes for parents and students about issues kids and teens face, and they have an office in the district where they offer counseling. Youth Assistance also partners with local police and court systems to help keep young people out of the justice system by providing them support. Parents can call (248) 791-6335 for more information.
Also working in the district is Honor Health. In Ferndale High they operate the Empowerment Zone, which provides social and emotional health workshops, behavioral screening and assessment, individual and group counseling and student support groups. Find out more about the Honor Health Empowerment Zone at their website.
Along the lines of communication is the OK2SAY program, which is a statewide serve where people can call, text, or email information about potential threats. Special Education Director Natalie Kuilkowski talked about the program and that people can report issues to anyone on school staff as well. “We want to really encourage open communication,” she said.
There are also trainings for staff on a variety of topics, from mental health tools to first aid and training for emergencies. Students have age-appropriate training, and the knowledge they can speak up to any of the adults who work in their buildings if they have a safety concern.
PHYSICAL SAFETY MEASURES
Even prior to the tragedy in Oxford, Ferndale Schools had been making continuous improvements for the sake of school safety, including budgeting for items in the latest bond such as:
-New doors
-Cameras throughout the buildings
-Interior locks for classrooms
-A card access system that can be over-ridden in emergencies to only allow police and specific personnel access (reducing the risk of a stolen card being used)
-A sound system where teachers wear microphones and speakers through the room allow kids to hear better, and the teacher not strain their voice. The system can also be used in emergencies to make announcements building-wide. This will be implemented in the younger grades first.
David Stottlemyer gave an overview of the items and answered questions. Among them was why interior door locks were chosen over the kind of foot-activated door stoppers that had helped protect students in Oxford. He explained that those had been considered, but there were several reasons they decided against them, including noncompliance with fire code, the ease of them being used by students to cause disruptions and not for their intended purpose, and because of the risk of an emergency happening inside a classroom and police or school officials not having easy access. He said there have not been any cases of a school shooter going into a locked classroom.
The topic of metal detectors was also raised, with school officials saying they were not a realistic solution for buildings with as many doors and ground level windows as those in the district.
Stottlemyer also said that all building plans are reviewed with the police and fire departments for their input as far as safety.
Discussions also focused on the relationship with local police departments, including trainings and ongoing communications. While there isn’t an officer assigned to school buildings, Ferndale Police Chief Dennis Emmi assured the public that the relationship with the schools is as strong as ever. Superintendent Dania Bazzi explained that the schools try to work with students through challenges with a restorative approach to discipline. Police are involved if there are security threats. Emmi also urged parents that have guns to keep them locked away or out of the home so kids don’t have access.
One question raised by a parent was that of budgeting. Ferndale Schools Communications Director Bill Good said the district spends $261,000 per year on security, which is .6% of the budget. It also spends $1.5 million in mental health, not including the free support services provided by community partners, which is 3.31% of the budget.
Dr. Bazzi said she hoped the meeting would “put your fears at ease and let you know some of the things we’re doing.”
“We are lucky to live in such a caring, nurturing community that values the social emotional well-being of our students and staff,” she said.
Watch the full discussion on Facebook.
Learn more about Ferndale Schools at www.ferndaleschools.org.