With the new school year’s opening, today would be a good time for all families to review school safety for our kids.

As you may have read recently, SBISD Chief of Police Bruce Dareing has highlighted key safety points in a Back to School message. Chief’s communication merits review and your close reading. Please take some time, for example, to learn about SBISD’s Emergency Guide for Parents found inside your child’s first day packet. Read more about school safety from Chief Dareing below.

A MESSAGE FROM SBISD CHIEF OF POLICE ON SCHOOL SAFETY

It’s an exciting week as we all look forward to welcoming our students, staff and families back to school on Thursday. Our school and district leaders spent much time preparing to ensure your students have a great year academically, and they also have spent time focusing on safety and security, our highest district priority. 

This summer, all campus leaders attended safety training and they have reviewed, updated and submitted their school’s emergency operations plans. All campus-based staff will participate in safety training and review of emergency protocols as part of their back to school staff development.

Looking forward, every SBISD campus will have a stakeholder safety committee this year. Look for more from your campus leaders in the weeks ahead.With a focus on keeping our students safe, I am honored to introduce Randolph Adami as our new Director of Safety and Security. Randolph brings to this role 28 years as an SBISD administrator, most recently having served as principal at Northbrook High School for the past 15 years. In this newly-created role, Randolph will be an important bridge between our SBISD Police Dept. and campus and district administrators. 

Here are some important safety reminders as you and your family prepare for the new school year:

Look for our SBISD Emergency Guide for Parents in your first day packets. This guide contains important information about our safety protocols, safety terminology and other important safety information. Please take a few moments to review this brochure.

Please make sure we have your correct contact information and keep us informed of any changes in your phone number or other contact information throughout the year. Update your contact information in Family Access. If we don't have your updated contact information, we won't be able to send you essential messages or alerts in the event of an emergency. (This includes weather-related school closure alerts information/updates.)

Obey school zones, and be careful on our neighborhood streets as we have many student walkers and bike riders. Also be sure to obey the stop signs when our students are loading and unloading from our school buses. Remind your teen drivers of these safety matters, too. If your children are walkers or bike riders, review their routes with them and also review safety measures like always walking with a friend, being aware of their surroundings, not talking to strangers, etc.

Most importantly, remember you are our most critical partners in ensuring the safety and security of our children and our schools. Please practice and emphasize to your children the importance of our “See something- say something” protocol. Use the Anonymous Reporting link that is prominent on every campus website to share a concern, or information we need to know. Or, call the SBISD Police Department at 713.984.9805.

Mr. Adami and I plan to communicate with you regularly throughout the school year, so look for our safety messages in your inbox. Also, follow the SBISD Police on Twitter@sbisdpd.

Have a great school year.

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Visit SBISD's Emergency Communications webpage for information on how we communicate in an emergency.

If you have a concern, you can reach me by email at superintendent@springbranchisd.com