ENSURING SAFE AND WELCOMING SCHOOLS

Addressing the health, safety, and well-being of students and staff is multi-faceted and has certainly evolved during the pandemic This evolution has elevated the importance of mitigating COVID-19 and other contagions, healthcare access, safety in schools, traumainformed care, social and emotional wellness, physical and mental health, nutrition, and food security when providing service to students, staff, and families. Understanding our core focus is the improvement of student outcomes, the safety, health, and wellness of our students and staff are critical issues that, if not addressed, can create significant challenges for student and staff success Protocols serve as regulations and guidance for the school community and are vital to ensuring coherence, accountability, and support for students and staff of our district.

IMPACT OF EDUCATION & AWARENESS OF SAFETY PROTOCOL

Pittsburgh Public Schools is committed to providing every student and staff member with the opportunity to attend and work in a school environment that is safe, positive, civil, free of violence and drugs, and conducive to learning Ensuring all students and staff are aware of protocols to support this goal is the highest priority because excellence in education can only be achieved if schools and classrooms are safe and orderly.

To support student and staff safety and ensure everyone is prepared in the event of a school emergency, the Pittsburgh Public Schools have the current protocols in place:

Each school has a safety plan unique to the building and aligned with best practices

Each school has a safety team, and all staff receives flip charts outlining emergency procedures.

Schools perform various safety drills, including fire, bus evacuation, severe weather, building evacuation, and lockdown.

All principals, teachers, staff, and students participate in ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training to empower them to respond during violent critical incidents

All building exterior doors are secure and all school classroom doors lock from the inside.

The Department of School Safety and District Crisis Team work collaboratively with school leaders, local emergency responders and community agencies to support school safety

The District also has mobile School Police units that can respond quickly to support schools, especially schools where there may not be a permanent security officer stationed.