Leaving
your kindergarten-age child behind for the first time — or even every
day — at school can be scary for some parents and guardians.
At
Scott County School District 2, administrators, teachers, and the school
board continuously work to provide a very safe learning environment for
your child during the school day. Administrators regularly meet with
local and state law enforcement to continually prepare and plan for
safety issues on campus. Teachers and principals have undergone training
with local and state police officers to be sure what to do in the event
of an emergency.
“Our district has taken great measures to
provide a very safe learning environment for our students school-wide,”
said Lindsey DePriest, a kindergarten teacher at Lexington Elementary
School.
“Everyone in the building has radios that we are in
constant communication on. All doors remained locked during the day;
there are multiple cameras inside and outside of our school,” said
LaKynn McDonald, a kindergarten teacher at Scottsburg Elementary School.
“We have a safety committee that meets frequently to make sure SES is
safe as possible. All classroom doors remained locked all day and
students and staff are all prepared in the event of an emergency.”
Scott
2 schools only have one entrance for parents, guardians, and members of
the public to enter during the school day. During the school day, the
doors of the school are locked and the front office staff has to
electronically open the doors for visitors to enter.
“All of the
buildings in SCSD2 have all been updated to try to make the buildings as
safe as possible,” McDonald said. “We recently put in a new office and
entrance into SES to assure safety. All buildings have the Raptor System
in place where everyone has to have their ID scanned and approved
before being allowed in the building.”
Also, everyone who enters
the school has to go through the Raptor System, which scans state-issued
identification and driver’s licenses. The system will detect if a
visitor has a criminal background as a sexual predator. Scott 2
officials are also able to create lists in Raptor that helps them
identify those with a criminal background, restraining orders, custody
issues, suspended or expelled students, known gang members, or for any
custom alert the school has created.
“Our world is a scary place,
but I can’t think of a safer place than Vienna-Finley Elementary
School,” said Brittany Banister, a kindergarten teacher at VFES. “Not
only do we provide a very safe learning environment, but our staff is
also highly trained in school safety.”
Along with the training,
equipment, and other safety measures, kindergarten students also are
carefully monitored by staff members and a registered nurse is available
to care for ill or injured students. A school counselor is also at the
schools to help with any emotional needs students might need to be
addressed.
“To speak more specifically to kindergarten students,
[they] are rarely without adult supervision — exceptions being walking
to the bathroom or nurse. At the end of the day, at Lexington, students
are placed in the pick-up line or on the bus by their teacher. We take
great care and precaution to ensure their safety every day,” DePriest
said.
“Kindergarteners are surrounded by caring teachers and
staff. There is a nurse available for any emergencies and a counselor is
also available to speak with students is needed. All entrances to the
building are locked during school hours and all visitors must be ‘buzzed
in’ and cleared by office personnel,” said Robin Burns, a kindergarten
teacher at Johnson Elementary School. “Procedures are in place and
practiced often to provide a safe learning environment for the safety of
all students during an emergency.”
At Scott County School
District 2, we want to help you through the process — from answering all
your questions, to how to go through the registration process, to all
the questions along the way during the first year of kindergarten.
For more information on registering your child at Scott 2, visit our Kindergarten Registration page.