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Southern Ulster Times, Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Marlboro deals with school safety issues
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happening but unfortunately must take
place.” Brooks said there is a strong,
established communications network in
Marlboro that keeps the administration,
faculty and staff well informed of what is
happening on the school campuses.
Police Chief Gerald Cocozza said his
department meets with the Marlboro
School District on a regular basis.
“We will continue to work with the
school and continue to implement new
ideas as things change to ensure the
safety of our kids,” he said.
Recently, the district has been
reviewing their perimeter security, their
internal safety and security measures for
students and staff, the management of
visitors, emergency response coordination
with local First Responders, how they
handle internal student incidents, after
school access to the facilities, extra-
curricular and sporting events and
looking at their wellness and relationship
efforts on behalf of students, families and
staff. Brooks said these categories form
the backbone of a “very solid plan” the
district has in place to deal with events
like Parkland.
In a slide presentation, Michael
Bakatsias,
the
district’s
Safety
Coordinator, gave a “broad strokes”
overview of the ongoing efforts that are
employed by the district to safeguard
students and staff.
Bakatsias said a School Safety
Team meets monthly and consists
of two Student Resource Officers, key
Administration personnel, two Board
of Education members, representatives
from the Marlborough Fire Department,
Mobile Life Support Services and Law
Enforcement officials from Ulster
County and the NYS Police Department.
They check the school’s physical plant,
both inside and out, and review safety
personnel, procedures and resources
that are used. Bakatsias said the district
has various school monitors “who act as
greeters and see people in and out of the
buildings. They really are the eyes and
ears of the Principals in those buildings.”
Bakatsias said the state requires
numerous annual safety drills; 1 early
dismissal, 8 evacuations, 4 lock-downs and
3 bus training sessions. The district also
has First Aid kits, Automated External
Defibrillators and emergency Go Bags
that are readily available.
Bakatsias said during the school day
the district is in lock out mode and an
official district badge is needed to gain
access into a building, which is done
through a single point of entry. He said
there is an expansive indoor and outdoor
Marlboro School Superintendent Michael Brooks and Police Chief Gerald Cocozza addressed
the public on measures that are used to ensure the safety of the children, staff and the
facilities in Marlboro.
surveillance camera system to monitor
each school campus.
High School Principal Ryan Lawler
said his school is constantly evaluating
their preparations and responses to
emergency situations. The High School
has automatic locking mechanisms
in their classroom doors, a camera
system that provides a live-feed to the
Marlborough Police Department and
they conduct staff and student training
sessions and drills. In addition, the High
School just initiated voluntary “open and
honest” discussions during lunch periods
and recently held a school assembly
that stressed, “if you see something, say
something, ‘run, hide, fight’, hold in place
and defined what is a lockdown while
advising students on what they should do
during an active shooter incident.”
“It’s important that we know what
they’re thinking [students], that they
know what we’re thinking and that we
have planned drills,” he said.
Middle School Principal Debra Clinton
said her school shares three SRO officers,
saying they are “invaluable” to her school
community.
“They meet and talk to students and
are such an important part of our team,”
she said.
Clinton said they try to make every
one of their 450 students feel a “sense of
belonging” to their school...it is important
for them to feel they have an adult to talk
to and someone they can trust.”
Clinton said they hold monthly Olweus
Bullying Prevention meetings and also
have a Building Safety Team that can offer
insights into additional safety measures
that could be incorporated at the Middle
School. There are also scheduled
assemblies and targeted location drills
that focus on student safety.
Clinton said they monitor their safety
protocols in order to target areas of
concern and where they can “fine tune”
their programs.
Elementary School Principal Patricia
Walsh said they share two SROs with the
Middle School and have a single point of
entry where visitors are buzzed in and
met by a greeter and issued a pass. They
have security cameras inside and outside
the school that are constantly monitored.
Additionally, all classroom doors are
placed in the lock position at all times
during the school day.
Walsh said they provide character
education instruction by Social Workers
in all 40 classrooms in the school, with
an eye for children who may be at risk;
“some may be coming with baggage from
home and things that we need to address
to make sure they are feeling strong.” The
Response To Intervention [RTI] plan was
developed for students in need and are
communicated to the parents.
Walsh said their building safety
team meets on a monthly basis, “and
our social, emotional wellness team of
our social workers, psychologists and
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