This means physical safety AND emotional well-being. When I founded Safe Students Stoughton in the Fall of 2015 it was after realizing I could walk into the front door of one of our elementary schools and be inside a room of kindergartners in 19 seconds with no one seeing or slowing me down. Like most of you, my heart has broken at the senseless acts of violence that have struck small town schools
in our nation. I started asking questions from the people in charge and was met with complacency or responses that added security would scare people or wasn't necessary in our small town. I started researching and found that all of the area school districts had secure entrances (people had to be buzzed in.) I started researching national best practices and found 80% of public schools in the nation had secure entry front doors. I also found that after Sandy Hook, that a commission of top law enforcement agencies concluded that best practice was secure entry AND some type of Run-Hide-Fight response training for teachers, staff, and (age appropriate) students. Many people lost their lives because of "lock in place" which was our school districts practice in 2015. It's not fun to think of but ignorance and denial is dangerous. So I started gathering concerned parents and citizens and started talking to local law enforcement. We started urging the local school district to improve our security procedures. We still have work to do but we have made progress!!! At the start of the 2016-2017 School Year all our Stoughton Schools had secure entries!! Before the 2017-18 school years teachers will be trained on a type of Run-Hide-Fight response to a violent intruder called ALICE. Nothing is 100%, but we wear seat belts and buy insurance "just in case." Our mission also includes anti-bullying and supporting those kids that are struggling or don't feel included because kids that feel supported and feel included don't lash out. Emotional well-being is part of our mission. Join us as we make Stoughton and our world a better and safer place! Patrice Bennett, Founder, Safe Students Stoughton
