Mentor Schools Quality Profile Report 2023 - Flipbook - Page 5
School Safety
Our district’s top priority is to provide a safe learning environment where students can grow academically, socially and emo琀椀onally.
Safety Drills
Fire, tornado, bus evacua}on, ac}ve shooter or intruder, lockdown,
table-top, and scenario-based — these are all examples of drills we
prac}ce in Mentor Schools. These are very important from a
preparedness standpoint to make sure that our students and sta昀昀 know
what to do in case of a school emergency.
Tabletop and Large-Scale Safety Drills
Our most sophis}cated drills happen when we partner with Mentor Police and Mentor Fire to simulate school-based emergencies and work
together though a }meline of events, like one example pictured here
Safety Audit
During last school year, experts conducted a school safety audit for every building in the district and we received good informa}on - both from
the standpoint of what we’re doing well and areas we could improve.
This helped shape our request for safety grant money available through
the State of Ohio. Mentor Schools was awarded more than $1 million,
which is near the maximum amount that was available to us.
School Resource O昀케cer & Mentor Police Department
Mentor Schools has a full-}me Mentor Police Department School
Resource O昀케cer assigned to serve the district. Addi}onally, o昀케cers take
extra shi昀琀s at our middle and elementary schools each day.
Mentor Fire & Mentor Police School Visits
Both Mentor police o昀케cers and 昀椀re昀椀ghters regularly visit all of our
schools for both planned educa}onal events and random drop-ins.
ALICE
ALICE is ac}ve shooter civilian training, focused on the tac}cs: Alert,
Lockdown, Inform, Counter & Evacuate. We have cer}昀椀ed ALICE trainers
at each of our schools who assist their teams with this important work.
Building Inspec琀椀ons & Safety Audits
Extensive safety assessments with Mentor Police & Fire and other experts have been conducted to iden}fy strengths and weaknesses at each
of our buildings and improvements have been made as iden}昀椀ed.
Health Curriculum
Students in elementary, middle and high school receive health educa}on
based on Na}onal Health Standards. Addi}onal health courses were
added to reach students each year of 6th, 7th and 8th grade.
NAMI (Na琀椀onal Alliance on Mental Illness)
Experts from NAMI present important messages to students and sta昀昀 to
raise awareness of Mental Health areas, such as depression and suicide.
Digital Ci琀椀zenship & Online Monitoring
Lessons about the importance of being a posi}ve online ci}zen are a
part of our everyday learning. We also have been consistently communica}ng with parents and guardians on this topic because working together toward good digital ci}zenship prac}ces needs to be a focus both at
home and at school. We have taken addi}onal steps to monitor our
students’ online ac}vi}es in the form of emails and searches, while
they’re using our devices, so we can address concerns quickly and help
guide be琀琀er choices.
Crossroads
Beyond our own sta昀昀, addi}onal Mental Health experts from Crossroads
are in our schools every day to provide extra support. Mental Health
issues can intensify if le昀琀 unaddressed, so the Crossroads experts are
embedded in our schools to help with early iden}昀椀ca}on & interven}on.
Mental Heath Needs
To help address an increased need in support among our students, our
cer}昀椀ed sta昀昀 has received training sessions about mental health awareness and trauma sensi}ve issues a昀昀ec}ng schools and our community.
Character Building Programs
Con}nually building a culture of kindness, compassion and acceptance is
extremely important in all of our schools. We do this through an array of
di昀昀erent programs, including: Start with Hello, S}ck Together, Student
Ambassadors, Responsive Classroom, Where Everybody Belongs (WEB),
Kindness Rallies and more. Many of our an}-bullying and character
programs also involve powerful messaging through peer leaders.
Exterior Bus Cameras
Using grant funding, Mentor Schools purchased exterior cameras for our
昀氀eet of buses to address an increasing issue of drivers illegally passing
buses on the roadways. This ini}a}ve is supported by local law
enforcement and we hope encourages people to stop for school buses.
Improved Indoor Air Quality
Several-hundred bi-polar ioniza}on devices were installed all across the
district to improve indoor air quality in all of our schools. These devices
work by neutralizing par}culate ma琀琀er, bacteria and virus cells, odorous
gases and aerosols, and Vola}le Organic Compounds (be琀琀er known as
VOCs). This technology has been found to be very e昀昀ec}ve against viruses, and essen}ally will help clean and purify the air for years to come
in learning spaces all across the district.
See Something? Say Something!
Students, parents and community members are encouraged to report
concerning and/or suspicious behavior they believe could a昀昀ect our
schools to us at any }me! We have a crisis hotline that is monitored
24/7/365 to assist in keeping our schools safe.
Please note: This is only a small sample of our safety ini}a}ves. When it comes to
safety, some informa}on cannot be shared publicly in the interest of safety itself.