Safe School Plan - William S. Hart Union High School District

INCIDENT: HAZMAT (Hazard Materials)
Immediately after a HAZMAT condition has been reported to an administrator, the administrator will call either the fire department
or the Sheriff’s Station and insist that one of their personnel report to the school ASAP to confirm the call. If the school deputy is
available, s/he may confirm the call.
After a proper authority has confirmed the call, the principal will conduct a meeting with selected members of the Crisis Team. The
purpose of the meeting will be to 1) define the situation, 2) discuss possible solutions/actions, 3) define the plan of action, and 4)
execute the plan.
The principal will contact the district superintendent and apprise him/her of the situation.
If the administration is instructed to evacuate the school premises, the plan of action must include the manner of dismissal, i.e., all at
once, by building(s), or etc., the route(s) that will be used, and the designated assembly area.
Communications will remain a high priority during the entire situation. The Crisis Team must also insure that appropriate
information is being disseminated effectively, and supervision of all personnel is being conducted responsibly.
The administrator in charge will activate the Recording Team and instruct its selected members to record all occurrences, decisions,
and results chronologically.
INCIDENT: BULLYING
“Bullying is commonly defined as intentional, repeated hurtful acts, words or other behavior, such as name-calling, threatening and/or
shunning committed by one or more children against another. These negative acts are not intentionally provoked by the victims, and for such
acts to be defined as bullying, an imbalance in real or perceived power must exist between the bully and the victim.” 7 There are many forms
of bullying: physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, cyber, etc. Acts of bullying may include pushing, punching, tripping, name-calling,
rejecting, terrorizing, extorting, humiliating, sexual harassment, sexual assault, electronically communicating insults, threats, or suggestions
that others mistreat a target, and the list goes on.
At the minimum, bullying involves an aggressor and a target. It is immediately clear how the target is hurt. However, the aggressor is also
hurt in this action. The target will suffer some form of pain from the action, which most often will transition to anger. Also, the target
experiences fear and doesn’t feel safe in the school environment. Those feelings will affect the target’s ability to perform at his/her best in
academics. The aggressor is often affected by reputation of being someone who is mean and insensitive. This will limit the aggressor’s
social contacts and stain his/her character by being a person, who mistreats others at will.
ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM
According to the federal Department of Education pamphlet, Preventing Bullying: A Manual for Schools and Communities, it takes the
collective effort of administrators, teachers, counselors, students and parents to effectively address and prevent bullying. This pamphlet
shares that the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence uses the model of researcher, Dan Olweus. Mr. Olweus’ model includes
school-level interventions, classroom activities, individual interventions, and community activities. Other good sources of information are
WiredKids, Inc. and the research and publications by Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D. and Justin W. Patchin, Ph.D.
When an incident of bullying is reported or observed, the incident is to be thoroughly investigated. 8 If needed, the resource deputy will be
consulted and possibly brought in to handle the incident. Upon completion of the investigation of the incident, the appropriate action is to
occur for both the target and the aggressor. Parents of both parties are to be contacted and notified of their child’s part in the incident, as well
as the actions taken to address their child’s part in the incident.
7 United States of America Department of Education. Preventing Bullying: A Manual for Schools and Communities. Pamphlet: 1.
8 Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin. Preventing Cyberbullying: Top Ten Tips for Educators. Internet: www.cyberbullying.us 2009.
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