Dear Batavia Families and Community,
From time to time, it is necessary for me to strike a rather serious tone with these updates, and this is one of those times.
A few short weeks ago in Nashville, another school in the U.S. experienced a tragedy, with the loss of six precious lives as a result of an active shooter. Immediately after that tragedy, I was having lunch with our Student Council officers, and I asked them for their or others' reactions/comments to the recent school shooting. Sadly, and not unexpectedly, they responded that they and others "have grown used to it." While that broke my heart to hear those words, it strengthened my, and our District’s, resolve and continued commitment to safety.
That being said, we are fortunate to have two School Resource Officers in our District and an extremely close, positive, and trusting relationship with the Batavia Police Department. Additionally, our leadership team continually meets and debriefs after these tragedies, including after the most recent hoax we dealt with over February break. We work in close collaboration with our partners at the Batavia Police Department to develop protocols for handling emergencies. Here are a few examples of what we have in place throughout the District:
- The District employs two School Resource Officers this year, an increase since last year.
- The District’s Safety Committee meets quarterly to review safety procedures, debrief drill audits, and review current school safety issues. I attended these meetings as well.
- The District is required to conduct multiple emergency drills each school year. Drills include: evacuation, lockdown, and early dismissal.
- Building-level safety teams meet to review building-specific procedures, discuss building-specific concerns, and review current school safety issues.
- Principals have teams that review specific student issues. The teams consist of: the building principal, assistant principal, counselors, and others as needed.
- The School Resource Officers are connected to regional, statewide, and national listservs that communicate matters pertaining to public safety.
- All District staff members have been trained in required safety training and mental health awareness, per NYS Education law.
- We maintain regular and open contact with BPD, which includes district-wide training on active shooter responses that was completed this past fall.
- We have provided access to the BPD to use our buildings before school hours for training purposes.
These proactive measures are not an exhaustive list of our District’s commitment to safety, nor is it a guarantee. As a staff and community, we must continue to be vigilant, know our students and families, have open lines of communication, and respond appropriately.
I continue to be both personally and professionally appreciative of our positive connections with our students, and I am especially appreciative of our principals, assistant principals, and District administrators for the regular, frequent, and open lines of communication we have with each other.
I would like to share with you a positive and uplifting comment I recently received from a community member on our connections with our students:
"I just want to say that when the Parkland School shooting happened, I talked with my grandchildren regarding feelings, emotions etc. At the time, he told me he totally trusted his teachers to take care of him and keep him as safe as they could. My other grandson, now a junior, chimed in that, yes, it’s not just their job—they care. I got teary-eyed at the time. Jason, that speaks volumes. I’m very grateful as a gramma for each and every teacher. And my grandchildren still feel that way today."
These authentic and unsolicited comments truly resonate and speak volumes about our BCSD families, community, and staff.
On a lighter note, spring sports are well underway, spring concert season will soon be here, followed by the usual rites of passage of graduation and moving-up ceremonies.
Have a wonderful spring, and please look forward to my next update on April 28!
Thank you.
Jason A. Smith
Superintendent of Schools
585-343-2480, ext 1000
jasonsmith@bataviacsd.org