Safety First Focus in District 742 Schools

Safety for students and staff is a top priority for District 742 schools.  St. Cloud School District 742 Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Jason Harris joined me on WJON.  Jason has entered his 12th year in the school district.  He's was the Principal at South Junior High for 5 years before becoming the Principal at Tech High school for 3 years.  This is the 4th year in his current role.

Sarah Mueller, WJON

Importance of Safety

Harris says they make sure students, staff and families are safe when they enter their school environment.  He says preparation for each school year starts in the summer and training continues throughout the school year.  Harris explains they have a multi layer safety strategy which includes physical emergency response protocols, law enforcement partnerships and mental health support.  He says all buildings in the district have control accesses entrances.  Harris explains there is only one access going in and out of the school buildings when the school day starts.  The doors are locked during the school day.

Oak Hill Elementary (photo - Jay Caldwell)

Drills and Processes

When visitors arrive at District 742 schools they are subject to digital screening, they have surveillance cameras throughout the schools, and school resource officers are present in all schools.  Harris says they do fire drills, lockdown drills and severe weather drills.  He indicates they do all the planning for these events.  Harris says 2 years ago they added "see something, say something", which is a system to report incidents on campus.  He believes this safety approach has helped decrease incidents in their schools.  Harris says it's about building relationships with students.  He indicates they have seen more mental health challenges amongst students which brings attention to their mental health counselors on staff.

School Successes

St. Cloud Crush Tennis coach Paul Bates recently surpassed 5,000 wins.  Bates was inducted into the Minnesota Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame last spring.  A couple of weeks ago the School District held their early childhood, baby/toddler expo.  The event gave 300 families the chance to ask questions of a panel of experts.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Jason Harris, click below.