In wake of Florida massacre, Mat-Su School Board discusses safety

PALMER — As students in Florida and elsewhere rise up against assault weapons and politicians who call for arming teachers in the wake of the most recent school massacre, Mat-Su Borough School Board members, district staff, the teacher’s union president, and one passionate parent expressed sentiments and solutions at Wednesday’s school board meeting, which avoided both talk of gun control legislation and giving firearms to educators.

“Did anybody stop to ask how much that young man was hurting,” Board President Donna Dearman said of the expelled Parkland, Fla, student who killed 17 people with an AR-15 one week before in a district adjacent to the Miami-Dade school system where she had been a teacher and administrator for more than 20 years.

Dearman said that as she sat riveted to her television and listened to authorities at a press conference shortly after the tragedy, she began to compare and contrast how that district handled student crisis situations with how MSBSD does.

“I want to say that at that moment I had never been so proud to be a member of the Mat-Su Borough School Board and to be a part of what this great leadership at the district with Superintendent Goyette and her staff does each and every day to make sure that we don’t have throw-away students in the Mat-Su,” Dearman said as she fought back waves of emotion. “We find a way to reach out to all of our students. We not only make sure our students learn, but we make sure their hearts are in the right place and they know where they can go if they need help.”

Encouraging teachers to continue to connect with their students through the “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” program and other emotional support tools, while also making schools safer with more magnetic classroom locks and updated drill strategies are the preferred safety measures for Alaska’s second largest district, staff reported.

First piloted in five Mat-Su schools in 2013, the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program focuses on building relationships with all students, creating a safe environment for learning, and developing self-managing classrooms, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Amy Spargo explained Thursday.

Spargo said the program has been deemed a proven success, along with similar programs like “Positive Action,” “Trauma Sensitive Schools,” and the new “Project AWARE”, which puts mental health counselors at sites with the highest need students.

“The biggest indicator that Capturing Kids’ Hearts is having a positive impact on our students is the fact that discipline issues have decreased and graduation rates have steadily increased,” Spargo said. “Students are taught social and emotional skills necessary to manage their own emotions, learn how to get along with other students, and solve problems in a positive way.”

In addition, the district pays for filters on their student Google accounts that screen for any words indicating harm to self or others.

As for the $88,598 expense for the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program for fiscal year 2018, Spargo feels every penny is put to good use.

“This work is always worth it,” said Spargo, who worked as a teacher and school principal before joining the district leadership team. “We are talking about student lives. Our district is currently evaluating all of our preventative efforts, safety preparedness protocols, drills, and facilities. We don’t want any student or staff member to go to school and be in fear for any reason.”

It was fear for his children’s lives that compelled Wasilla father of two Chet Benson to speak to the school board after Dearman’s emotional share.

“You drop your kids off at school in the morning and that’s it,” Benson said. “They’re there until you pick them back up and you have to trust there’s a system in place to get them back at the end of the day. Obviously that’s becoming increasingly difficult and there’s a question mark on how the day will turn out.”

A hunting guide by trade, Benson said he’d like to see teachers armed with pepper spray rather than not guns.

“A 30-foot stream would incapacitate an offender,” he told the board. “A shooter can’t hit what he can’t see. This would buy time until police can show up.”

Benson also believes school security can be ramped up with better locking devices, more cameras that monitor entrances, and an armed officer at each school. He left his contact information with the board and told them he’s willing to volunteer his service in any way needed.

He said Thursday district staff did send him an email inviting him to a safety presentation at the board’s April 4 meeting. He said he’d like to see more parents get involved with these conversations.

“There seems to be a tipping point,” Benson said. “If the ball’s going to run down hill, let’s push it.”

Mat-Su Education Association President Tim Walters told the board he fears for staff safety if their classroom doors don’t have the automatic locking magnets on them.

“There’s been a lot of chatter from my members about this topic, Walter said. “It’s something we all continually think about. The majority of teachers when faced with a situation involving violence in the school, they still need to walk out into the hallway to lock their doors. I understand money is tight, but each of those classrooms are filled with the most important thing and that is our kids.”

Steve Paine, the district’s safety and security director, explained through an email Thursday that there are some older schools with door hardware which requires a key to lock them.

“The standard protocol is for the door to remain locked with a magnetic strip covering the latch mechanism on the door frame. This allows the teacher to simply pull the magnet out and pull the door closed which secures/locks it,” Paine explained. “No teacher or staff member should be stepping into the hallway and locking a door with a key during an active shooter event. We are currently working on getting funding to replace the door hardware to flip latch style locks.”

Paine added that the district is not looking at arming teachers.

“The only weapons allowed on school grounds are those worn by visiting law enforcement officers or our School Resource Officer (SRO), Wasilla Police Officer, Jeff Sheveland,” Paine said, adding Sheveland is stationed at Wasilla High, but makes rounds to three other surrounding schools or deploys to them upon request. “We are currently working on plans to fund more SRO positions in the future, which would greatly increase the security level of our schools.”