Safety is always on the minds of school officials as traveling to and from school by foot, bike, car or bus can always be one of required safety caution message from both parents and school staff, as we are already seeing cases of accidents or near misses as many drivers often travel the roads of our communities as if they were on the Mass. Pike inside lane. While words of caution can be used and repeated, we never do enough to make safety a habit for many of our students at all levels, whether they are walking or driving.
Many of us have had to visit too many hospitals or even worse to find family members gathered following an accident with the result too often going the wrong way with the result being a family that is left with an indelible memory. There is no way for a driver who hits a youngster (or anybody) to apologize for speeding.
Once the student arrives in school, we are focused on the educational needs and goals for all students but always aware that safety issues are very much a part of the schools these days as we live in a different era, as the need to protect staff and students is of utmost concern with most districts already set with pre-incident protocols in place and practiced, working with local police and fire authorities.
We are hearing many communities are doing a “risk assessment survey” of all public buildings in their community as some of the “happenings” are taking place in small communities not always in the cities. Yes, safety has to be on-going and never stop as the challenges we face today are greater than ever.