Petition to Improve School Safety 

 

 

Our Mission:

 

We as students of the Santa Rosa City School District are assembling this petition for the purpose of improving school safety and preventing in-school violence. The District’s failure to prioritize student safety in their response to the recent emergencies, threats, and violence that have taken place in the schools for which they are responsible is unacceptable. Our mission is to combat school violence and foster a school environment in which students feel safe and protected. By developing emergency measures that are effective and efficient, and proactively providing support and guidance to the student body, we can ameliorate the adverse effects of school violence. We believe that no student should fear for their lives at school, and that it is necessary for the Santa Rosa City School District to center student and staff safety in their future responses to emergency situations. We are demanding the reallocation of funds provided to the district and tangible action toward the following purposes:

Increased non-police campus security: 

We need more non-police adult supervision on campus. It is unrealistic to expect one to two staff members to be accountable for the behavior of all students on campus during lunch and break. Hiring and paying staff trained to recognize the warning signs for potentially dangerous situations for the purposes of monitoring student activities will be vital in preventing and anticipating future conflicts. 
We need a more proactive approach to inter-student conflict. We recognize the many social and interpersonal conflicts that contribute to violent behavior; we also recognize that the support many students need is inaccessible. In order to curb this we ask for more specialized mental health support and protection for students who need help.

Reformed evacuation and alarm policies: 

We need accessible and specific safety protocols for complex emergencies. Students and staff were unprepared for recent emergency situations. Real emergencies are unpredictable and complex; we need safety protocols that properly outline realistic actions students and staff must take that prioritize the security of the student body. 
We need different alarm codes for different types of emergencies. The alarm system as it is causes confusion for those inside and outside of classrooms. We need different, recognizable alarms and announcements that clearly inform students of the situations at any location on campus. In addition, there should be alarms in the bathrooms (any area that is available to students). 

Comprehensive emergency education:

We need formal training for teachers on disaster response provided by the district including courses and workshops. No matter how efficient the safety protocols are, they are insignificant if the staff do not know how to properly impose them. Teachers and staff should be trained yearly on emergency procedures in order to keep the campus safe. In addition to training for dangerous situations, teachers should know techniques for de-escalation in mental health crises, such as panic or anxiety attacks. Such support may help students from falling further and self-isolating.
We need annual assemblies at each school teaching students what to do in a state of emergency, and how to report warning signs. Students must also know how they should respond in emergency situations so that they are prepared. Additionally, this assembly should be used to help change the culture of fear that prevents students from coming forward and educate students on recognizing when a situation is becoming unsafe. 
We need more frequent live drills during class time, breaks, and lunch. These would provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge on emergency situations and practice the procedures. Any surprise drills must be identified to the student body promptly after the alarm goes off. 

Better communication in the event of emergency: 

We need a direct line of concise and timely communication between administration, students, and teachers. We need live communication channels between all parties to report emergencies, communicate procedures, and verify safety. It is not safe for anyone to be kept in the dark; we need open and honest communication about current knowledge and assessments of emergency situations. 

Support provided by schools for students and families:

We need the proper space and opportunity to create an open dialogue about conflicts. It’s unfortunate that some resort to violence. Whether it is due to familial, social, or personal issues, it’s unrealistic for school administrators to deal with the consequences of erratic behavior alone. There needs to be counselor discussions, assemblies, and open spaces to discuss what some students feel, and district-provided support that prevents initial thoughts of harm. Students need to be made aware of the consequences of certain behaviors and actions, and they must know that acting irrationally on a campus made for learning is unacceptable. Parents must be informed on the causes of this behavior and methods of preventing and mitigating it at home. This is not a problem that can be solved at schools alone after harm has already occurred.
Teen support groups: To allow for a safe space where students can openly discuss their struggles, support groups during advocacy should be held in private environments where students can comfort and advise one another on various situations. We need to build a dense safety net for troubled students in order to prevent tragedy.
Lower ratio of students-to-counselors: We must give individual students the chance to speak with their counselor without having to wait for weeks. The ASCA recommendation is 250:1 or lower, while high schools across the district generally have a much higher ratio
We need to hire more school therapists. In order to adequately serve the student population, the ratio of therapists to students should be 1:500. School therapists must be accessible to all students so provide students with the tools they need to support themselves emotionally and prevent them from acting out with violence.

Student Panel for future feedback.

In order to reevaluate policies in the future, we believe that a student group dedicated to school violence from across the district should be established to consult the board on such matters. This panel would be composed of chosen student leaders from each school in the district, including: Elsie Allen, Maria Carrillo, Montgomery, Piner, Ridgway, and Santa Rosa. The panel would also propose revisions and recommendations to their own school’s policies on an individual basis and inform their school with board decisions.