October 24, 2024
School safety takes a village.
Between staff, administrators, teachers, students, security professionals, and even the community — ensuring all who enter a school are safe is a team effort. Recently, the Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) “village” dedicated to school safety was recognized for its efforts at a statewide level.
At the start of the school year, GIPS was recognized by All Lines Interlocal Cooperative Aggregate Pool - ALICAP as a 2023-24 Safety Honor Roll School District. Citing the outstanding comprehensive efforts towards safety, GIPS was honored alongside approximately 5% of the top performing school districts in Nebraska.
In the award letter from ALICAP Director, Megan Boldt, GIPS was specifically highlighted as an example of proactive safety efforts:
“We realize an outstanding safety program requires the combined efforts of all those who work for the school district… We especially want to commend the effective and proactive efforts of the [GIPS] safety committee for their time and leadership in promoting school safety.”
ALICAP provides coverage to participating school districts and ESUs across Nebraska for items such as workers compensation, property, liability, cyber security, and more. Endorsed by the Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) in September of 1990, ALICAP now consists of over 194 school districts and ESUs in Nebraska.
So, how does a comprehensive commitment to school safety happen in a big district like GIPS?
People. Dedicated people.
“To me — and to the whole safety department — school safety is a community responsibility.” Lee Jacobsen, GIPS Safety Coordinator, said, “We believe by creating an environment where everyone feels secure and valued, if we can do that, it enhances their educational experience.”
After an impactful career with Nebraska State Patrol, Lee Jacobsen joined GIPS in 2019. Throughout his law enforcement career he garnered experience on the state SWAT Team, criminal investigations, homeland security support, among others. Upon retirement, the opportunity to bring his safety and security prowess to public schools felt like a good fit.
His goal?
Take the foundation of school safety GIPS had established to the next level of proactive support and alignment with national best practices.
“School safety centers around prevention, preparation, communication, and recovery.” Jacobsen explained, “We want to anticipate any type of potential risks. We do this by also educating staff and students. We also want to be more transparent with our communication on how these safety items work and with parents, so they may better understand.”
Throughout the comprehensive focus on safety, GIPS has expanded efforts in numerous ways across the district. One component is strengthening the partnership with the Grand Island Police Department (GIPD). Most notably, providing opportunities for GIPD School Resource Officers (SROs) to share positive experiences at all schools. From school safety presentations, to “Lunch with a Law Enforcement Officer” opportunities in cafeterias, and even bringing Officer Boone the therapy dog to schools, students are able to garner positive experiences with officers and see them as approachable professionals who help with safety.
Other expanded offerings include growing the district Safety & Security Team with another retired law enforcement officer. Regular security audits, launching a district safety committee that meets quarterly, professional development and emergency training for staff each year, and growing a suite of resources and videos available to schools. All of it aimed at fostering a culture of building safe environments for learning.
But the backbone of the GIPS safety “village” is found with a small team of folks at each of our schools.
Our school custodians.
First to arrive and last to leave, school custodians are at the center of security buildings and supporting operations. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a school running smoothly without a custodian leading the way.
Miguel Morales has been with GIPS for seven years. Half of that time he’s served as the Head Custodian at Howard Elementary. If you ask him why school safety matters, he will tell you.
“For me, it is a big deal to keep our building safe for students and staff members to learn.” Morales said. “And for us, communication is key about everything that we do.”
For GIPS Custodians, it goes beyond the maintenance and cleanup pieces.
Custodians, in many ways, are the keepers of school safety. From monitoring hallways, to checking locked doors, to ensuring protocols are followed for entry and exit, to coordinating safety drills, to building connections with students and staff, to taking care of all the little things so operations run smoothly — it is school custodians proudly owning their share of school safety. For GIPS, that is by design.
While no plan is perfect, proactive efforts and preparation go a long way to helping students and staff feel safe at school. And for Mr. Morales, that is what fuels him each day.
“I like when the kids come in every day, every morning, and when they tell me, it's a very good clean building and appreciate what I do.” Morales reflected, “We do it all to prepare the safety for kids and everybody else. As a parent and a grandpa, for me, it’s a lot — I take the responsibility of my job very seriously.”
