Safety has always been one of the community’s most pressing concerns when sending their children to school each morning, and whether sending them to kindergarten or middle school, parents always worry about the health and well-being of their child for the full six hours of the school day.
In an attempt to acknowledge and assuage these fears, Los Banos Unified School District (LBUSD) hosted a School Safety meeting on Dec. 17 and invited parents from across the community to see their student’s daily environment for themselves.
The event was born out of the school board’s desire to have regular events scheduled throughout the year to engage with the community. The superintendent, Mark Marshall, personally attends all events and is always glad to “use the meetings as a vehicle to address issues that we may be dealing with in the community.”
Marshall and his peers on the school board have noticed that concern for school safety has been at an all-time high for the nation recently and wanted to open the doors of Creekside Middle School for parents to get a firsthand view of daily school operations for themselves.
To reinforce the idea that safety was among the top concerns of Marshall and all the folks at LBUSD, the Los Banos Police Department were in attendance for the school safety meeting.
“We have a model partnership with Los Banos Police Department,” Marshall said, emphasizing how closely the school board and police work with one another. “It was the perfect opportunity to highlight [our relationship] to the citizens of our city.”
More than highlighting the safety of the institutions, the meeting also gave parents the chance to sample a typical school lunch. During the meeting, the 75-100 volunteers in attendance were served a hearty meal consisting of school pizza with a side salad, and cookies and cocoa for dessert.
Though somewhat of an unconventional tactic for a school safety meeting, this community cafe format paid off greatly: Not only were parents reassured by the school’s willingness to open their doors, but all in attendance were so satisfied with the meal that Marshall was happy to see more than a few attendees go back for seconds.
Once the doors of Creekside Middle School closed, Marshall and the rest of the school officials walked away with a renewed sense of confidence and connection to the community.
Promising to reflect on the community feedback they’ve received, the school board has decided to focus their efforts on allocating more resources for elementary to junior high student transitions as well as providing staff emergency protocol training to more effectively round out any gaps in safety and crisis prevention that might currently exist.
With another meeting similar in interactivity and community engagement scheduled for spring, staff and faculty from LBUSD promise to continue upholding their own standard of safety while keeping the community informed and educated.
