Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Salem City School Board Policy AD “Educational Philosophy” establishes that the Core Business of the division is Teaching and Learning and one of the Board’s six Core Beliefs states that, “We believe students learn best in a safe and disciplined environment provided by caring and respectful adults.”
In order to maintain a safe and secure school environment, Salem City Schools plans and prepares in the following four domains:
- Prevention/Mitigation-includes security, integrity of facilities, and collaboration with first responders
- Preparedness-includes drills, crisis plans, and the conducting of training exercises
- Response-includes establishing a safe secure environment during crises and response by local and state personnel
- Recovery-includes a response from student services, Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and Virginia Crisis Response Team
Threat Assessment
In 2016, legislation was passed to establish threat assessment teams in all Virginia public schools. Salem City Schools Threat Assessment Teams include expertise in counseling, instruction, administration, and law enforcement. The objective of the Salem City Schools’ Threat Assessment Team is to provide a systematic process that is designed to:
- Identify situations/persons of concern
- Investigate and gather information
- Assess a situation
- Manage the situation and mitigate risk
Reporting a Concern
If you are interested in learning more about Salem City Schools’ safety and emergency preparedness please contact Forest Jones, Director of Administrative Services and/or Randy Jennings, Director of Student Services at (540) 389-0130.