School Safety

The SRO team has come on board through a one-year agreement between the school district, the Village of Ellenville, and the Ellenville Police Department. The agreement was approved during a Board of Education meeting in November 2022. Each full-time SRO brings with them years of experience in law enforcement and extensive familiarity with the school district and the surrounding community.

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SRO first pumping student

The ABC’s of Safety-Related Terms and Drills

During a crisis, school can be the safest place for students. The buildings are solid, there’s food and medical care available, and there’s plenty of adult supervision.

Ellenville’s District-Wide School Safety Plan outlines an array of “protection actions” to safeguard students. These actions are designed to ensure that everyone is secure and accounted for while first responders, police, school officials, and other emergency personnel respond to a situation.

Sometimes it may feel as though a lockdown or evacuation is an overreaction, especially if the perceived threat turns out to be nonexistent. But it’s always easier to downgrade or cancel a protective action than it is to try to heighten a response in the middle of an event.

Drills

Drills are a crucial part of school safety and are scheduled throughout the school year. Here are details about the drills we conduct in the district.

Early Evacuation Drill: All schools countywide are dismissed, and students are sent home approximately 15 minutes earlier than the regular dismissal time.

Severe Weather Awareness Drill: This drill is to practice safety measures in the event of severe weather, such as a tornado or a hurricane. Students are instructed to move away from doors and windows and may be moved to the most structurally fortified areas of the school buildings.

Active Shooter Drill: An active shooter drill involves school personnel as well as critical government agencies, including New York State and local police, the sheriff’s department, emergency medical services, and local fire departments, providing each with the opportunity to practice skills and protocols. The drill simulates the presence of an armed assailant (or multiple assailants) in the school, and the scenario may include a hostage situation as well as simulated injuries, fatalities, gunfire, and alarms. Since such drills are realistic and can be intense, students are not present. Active shooter drills are held on a superintendent’s conference day or other day when students have the day off.

Communication: Keeping the Community Informed and Our Students Safe

Keeping the community informed is a priority, and the District is always looking for ways to improve its communication efforts. Radio, the District’s website and social media pages, automated calls and texts, and letters home are all tools in the District’s communications toolbox. For incidents involving an individual student or several students, the parents and guardians of all students involved are notified as soon as possible. If there is a credible threat to the safety of the general student population, all parents and guardians will be notified. We will always do our best to keep the public well informed, but in some circumstances, confidentiality and privacy laws will restrict what details can be released. In the event that law enforcement is involved, the release of information will be coordinated with the ranking police official so as not to interfere with the investigation.

CONTACT US

Danielle Rodriguez
School Resource Officer
Ellenville Jr/Sr High School
drodriguez@ecs.k12.ny.us

Stephen Winchell
School Resource Officer
Ellenville Jr/Sr High School
swinchell@ecs.k12.ny.us

Felicia Torres
School Resource Officer
Ellenville Elementary School
ftorres@ecs.k12.ny.us

View the School Safety Plan

If You See Something, Say Something

Students play an important role in keeping schools safe. If they become aware of something that makes them uncomfortable, worried, or frightened—a suspicious package, threatening comments on social media, menacing behavior—they should alert a trusted adult.

Parents need to be equally vigilant. If your child shares information that concerns you, it is crucial that you contact a school official immediately.

The often-repeated mantra “If you see something, say something” has become ingrained in our collective consciousness, and its effectiveness is proven daily. Students are not only encouraged to report possible dangers, but also to tell someone if a classmate is harming himself or herself, seems depressed, or has mentioned suicide.

“The difference between reporting and tattling is something that we discuss at great length with our students,” said Superintendent Wiles, explaining that the message is communicated in age-appropriate ways, both by teachers and via special assemblies.

“When a student comes forward with information, they’re not doing so to get somebody in trouble,” she said. “They’re doing it because they want to protect their peers from harm.”