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Dear LCMSD Community,
Our top priority is to keep students and staff safe. It is important for you to know that we, LCMSD, Central Marin Police Authority (CMPA), and Central Marin Fire Department (CMFD) have a strong partnership and work regularly with one another to keep our schools and community safe. Due to these clear lines of communication, we are continually revisiting procedures and implementing the practices recommended by first responders.
Over the years, CMPA and CMFD have supported and trained LCMSD staff through tabletop exercises, active shooter trainings, school resource officer visits, and most recently, a CMPA workshop on de-escalation strategies. CMPA and CMFD have keys to all school sites, access to live cameras on campuses, and direct phone numbers of our administrators.
This partnership and ongoing safety efforts were an essential component of our application and award of the School Violence Prevention Grant, which will allow us to expand our trainings and further our school-first responder collaboration. Stay tuned for a formal press release.
Please review the important information below. Thank you for your support in helping us maintain safe schools.
Brett Geithman, Ed.D.
LCMSD Superintendent
Chief Michael Norton
Central Marin Police Authority
Chief Ruben Martin
Central Marin Fire Department
COVID Response Plan
- Here is the website with everything you need to know about about our COVID safety practices and protocols
Anonymous Tip Line
- Is located on Hall’s homepage and the main LCMSD page (under quick links).
- Talk to students about this anonymous tip line. It can (and has) been a forum for students (and parents) to report concerns about friends or classmates (i.e. Charles is acting different than usual and I am worried about him, I’m concerned that Chloe might hurt herself, Jaden told me he was going to hurt several kids at school).
- Notification is sent immediately to the principal, superintendent, and Senior Director.
ID Badges
- All visitors are required to swipe a photo ID in the main office (this will perform a background check).
- If there is an issue with the individual checking in, the principal is notified immediately via text and the visitor is told to wait in the office for the principal.
- All staff have been issued ID badges to be worn at all times.
- If you see someone without a staff or visitor badge, say something - tell the individual to report to the office or call the office.
- Per California Law, all middle school student IDs will have the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline printed on the back.
Intruder/Active Shooter/Lockdown Drills
- LCMSD drills intruder/active shooter protocols on a regular basis.
- We do not call these “active shooter drills” as that may scare students. We call them lockdown or intruder drills. It is explained that sometimes there are unsafe situations on campus where we need to lock the door. For example, one year Hall Middle School went on lockdown because horses were running through campus.
- Updated Fire Drill Protocol: Several years ago we implemented this recommendation from law enforcement and will continue drilling this new procedure. If the fire alarm is triggered, classrooms go into lockdown unless they smell smoke, feel heat/flames, or are instructed over the intercom to exit the building.
- It is difficult to shelter children from hearing about violence in the world. Here is a tool to help talk to your child about violence.
ICE
- ICE is not allowed access to any student or student records, as California is a Sanctuary State.
- LCMSD is committed to protecting the right of every student to attend public school, regardless of the immigration status of a student or of a student’s family members. This commitment extends to school employees having the right to work in a welcoming environment as well.
- The police, superintendent, and our legal counsel will be called immediately if ICE enters school grounds.
Getting to School Safely
- Safe Routes to School
- Check out this website for information on getting your child safely to campus.
Safety Plans
- Annually they are updated and reviewed with staff members.
- All documents are not published for the public to review. This protects our schools from potentially harmful individuals.
- LCMSD schedules drills monthly and collaborates regularly with first responders.
Facilities
- Lock Bloks - all LCMSD doors are in the locked position at all times. They can be propped open with a LockBlok, which is a device that can quickly secure a classroom in the event of an emergency.
- Window Coverings - all LCMSD classrooms are outfitted with window coverings in the event of a lockdown or other emergency.
- Security Systems - LCMSD has been expanding the alarm/security network across all schools. This also includes controlled substance detectors.
- Cameras - Have been installed at all school sites.
Questions to Ask Before a Playdate
Safety is important to all of us, and might have been a driving factor in your decision to raise your children in Marin. Even though we live in a safe community, it is important for us to ask some simple questions (from this article) before our children go on a playdate.
- Who will be watching the children? Is it an older sibling, nanny, relative, or parent?
- Do you have a pool, trampoline, or any other things that are potentially unsafe? If your child is younger, ask who will be watching the children if they go in the pool. If your child cannot swim, let the parent know and ask if there is a fence around the pool.
- Do you have any unlocked guns in your house? Experts believe that 8 kids a day are shot unintentionally by unsecured guns found in the home. The Brady Center partnered with the AdCouncil to create and launch a campaign to end "Family Fire."
- What are your rules about screen time? Common Sense Media and Parenting in the Digital World are great resources to create your family rules around screen time.
- Do you have any pets? Ask if the pet is friendly around children, or if there is anything you should know about it before your child comes over.
Alert Marin / Nixle
If you have not already done so, sign up for Alert Marin today to receive incident specific information or potentially life-saving instruction to a precise geographic location. Alert Marin only initiates contact if action is needed where you are such as evacuation or shelter in place. You can sign up for Nixle in any zip code (by texting your zip code to 888-777) for updates on road closures, police active and general public safety information.
Marin County Public Emergency Portal
Please bookmark this page, or just remember to google “Marin Emergency” to be led to this portal to stay up to date on emergency situations in our county, where the Public Information Map (with some amazing features, including “school status”) is also located.
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