2 EDCAL January 22 , 2018
CRISIS
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of being present on Nov . 15 and checked his email .
“ shots fired at school … need help niow ( sic ).”
That was the subject line of an email from the secretary at Rancho Tehama Elementary School . She was hiding under her office desk , protecting herself and everyone on the campus from a shooter .
Violence on campus
The student body of more than 100 students and their families were just starting their school day . What would have been any normal school day prior to Thanksgiving break was interrupted by gunshots , which the secretary heard from some distance away .
Fitzpatrick says gunshots aren ’ t out of the ordinary in mountain communities . But these gunshot sounds were different . They were alarming and turned out to be much closer than expected .
“ We ’ ve empowered any and all of our district employees … if they feel the need
to lock down a school … they should do it ,” Fitzpatrick said . “ We ’ ve purposely taken away the bureaucracy to protect our schools .”
The secretary called for the lockdown and students immediately went into classrooms . There was no chaos . Teachers calmly got students into classrooms without any screaming or yelling .
Terror arrived 35 seconds later as the final few students took cover . The gunshots from a distance were now at the school in the form of a man with a gun . The man , identified as 44-year-old Kevin Janson Neal , allegedly rammed his truck through the school ’ s fence and got out of the vehicle . He cocked his gun and walked on campus firing shots .
It took a total of 46 seconds to get every student , teacher , and staff member to safety .
Neal allegedly shot into walls . Shot out windows . Fired into classrooms . A custodian purposely poking his head out to draw attention was the only pause in the shooter ’ s rampage .
Fitzpatrick says when Neal realized he couldn ’ t get into a classroom , he fled from the campus . Hours later , Tehama County authorities found the man dead .
On campus , one student was injured by a bullet and a few others by flying glass . All students and staff were transported to an evacuation center outside of the crime scene . The student injured by the bullet returned to school after the holidays .
Practice must be real
When the lockdown ended and authorities went through the school , consistent communication was required to calm the entire community . Phone calls , emails , and interviews needed consistent messaging . Fitzpatrick relied on resources from ACSA professional development courses and an outpouring of support from statewide school administrators .
“ I have five schools in my district and 2,100 students ,” he said . “ But the world shrinks when something like this happens .”
One thing Fitzpatrick could trust was his decision to make lockdown drills part of a district-wide routine .
While he won ’ t commit to discussing a specific schedule , Fitzpatrick says he leads his schools through lockdown drills on a regular basis . And they don ’ t just go through the motions . These drills are real and designed to mimic the exact situation that happened at Rancho Tehama that day .
“ The campus lockdown went exactly as students and campus leaders had practiced ,” he said . “ The one piece of advice I ’ d give to educators about practicing crisis situations – you can ’ t just rely on a manual or book to save lives .”
Moving forward
Fitzpatrick says he ’ s now part of a club that he never wanted to be in – a school leader who faced a crisis where one wrong move would have led to the deaths of innocent people . But every move by the students and staff on this day was deliberate and responsive .
The next morning , Fitzpatrick met faceto-face with staff as a small group . He wanted the staff to understand how much he valued them and while the next steps would be rough , he was there for them .
“ Selfless acts of staff saved lives that day ,” Fitzpatrick said . “ The entire staff stayed until the last student was picked up . We got everyone home that day and I feel pretty good about that .”
The school secretary who called for the lockdown at Rancho Tehama Elementary School will be honored at the state Capitol later this month .
Green leadership awards nominations sought
In cooperation with the Advisory Board for the Green California Summit , the Green California Leadership Awards are an opportunity to highlight and celebrate successful public sector projects implemented in California during 2016 .
All nominated projects must be publicly financed and executed , or created in a public-private partnership , and must have provided a measurable benefit to the natural or human environment .
Deadline for nominations is Feb . 16 . Nominations are being accepted in the following categories :
• Green School . Recognizing a school or college district that has achieved an outstanding level of leadership in environmental stewardship and innovative sustainability programs . Special focus will be given to districts or campuses that are creating an overall culture of environmental awareness through its programs , projects and policies .
• Water Management . For projects that demonstrate significant savings in water conservation and efficiency , including any combination of landscaping , buildings , business or school and college campuses . Also considered will be local , municipal or
statewide water conservation programs .
• Waste Management . Recognizing innovative uses of recycling , re-use and waste reduction programs to lower the amount of waste released into waterways , landfills and the environment . Included for consideration will be projects that bioremediate toxic waste .
• Resource Conservation . For projects that have accomplished preservation of a natural resource – e . g ., wetlands , forest , species conservation .
• Green Building . Included in this category are buildings designed and built to maximize energy and water efficiency and that promote a green culture among those who live or work in the buildings . Preference will be given to building projects that can quantify these savings and those which have achieved “ net zero ” status .
• Energy Efficiency . This award recognizes an extremely high level of energy efficiency achieved through retrofits of existing buildings and / or implementation of various types of management systems and technologies that maximize energy usage .
• Green School . Recognizing a school
See GREEN , page 6
TUCK
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vision for the role of SPI .”
To earn ACSA ’ s endorsement , Tuck went through an extensive vetting process , which included local and statewide meetings with ACSA members , as well as a formal interview process . ACSA ’ s endorsement of Marshall Tuck was approved by ACSA ’ s 28-member Board of Directors .
“ ACSA ’ s endorsement of Tuck challenges many of the traditional narratives that persist in education politics in Sacramento ,” said ACSA Executive Director Wesley
Smith . “ ACSA is proud to endorse a candidate who not only understands education leadership but is committed to working with educational leaders to improve student access and outcomes as well .”
Tuck spent two years as an educatorin-residence at the New Teacher Center , working to increase teacher efficacy . He ran an underdog campaign for SPI in 2014 , garnering 2.9 million votes .
The son of a teacher , Tuck was born in Burlingame . He is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Business School , he lives in Los Angeles with his wife , Mae , and their son Mason .
SPI candidate Marshall Tuck chats with ACSA Vice President Linda Kaminski at a recent Leadership Assembly in Los Angeles .
Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
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Members : Angel Barrett , Mike Berg , Ana Boyenga , Blanca Cavazos , Juan Cruz , Craig Helmstedter , Charles Hoffman , Linda Hutcherson , Sue Kaiser , Lisa Ketchum , Jon LeDoux , Michael McCormick , Rafael Placencia , Barbara Martinez , Robert Martinez , Denny Rush , Karen Sakata , Kiela Snider , Jay Spaulding , Victor Thompson , Roxanna Villaseñor , Denise Wickham , Ron Williams
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This series introduces ACSA staff to members . These are the people working tirelessly for you each and every day .
Who : Joan Ruzic
Job : Credential Administrative Assistant
Joan handles coach training logistics , credentials and contracts .
Favorite piece of technology :
Joan favors the abacus . This might be related to the fact her favorite book is the post-apocolyptic Stephen King book , “ The Stand .”
ACSA . We work for you .