Parents and community members of the Titusville Area School District have worked together for nearly two decades to develop and implement school safety plans to provide a secure and comfortable environment for students and staff.  From these discussions, the district has building level safety and security committees, performs regular safety audits, and tests, reviews and updates safe school plans.   In addition, Internet safety instruction is presented annually to all students, as well as protection from cyberbullying. 

With the recent national school security tragedies, we have heard from concerned parents about the measures in place at our schools. 

In 2012 the district installed video surveillance/security system in all school buildings.  This includes interior and exterior cameras, exterior door alarms, and a secure building access monitoring system.  All schools are locked during the school day with only main entrance access to the public.  All visitors “buzzed’ into the building, must sign in at the office and receive a visitors badge in order to enter the school. 

The district staff has been trained to identify and work with students who show signs of needing some type of intervention or assistance.  A variety of resources are in place to lend support to students through the Student Assistance Programs at all schools.  Our teams work with parents in an effort to assist students with things such as conflict resolution, problem solving and peer mediation.   Resources include in-school counseling and other referrals a student may benefit from. 

School emergency plans address a wide variety of threats such as natural disasters, terrorist threats or attacks, violent incidents and public health emergencies.   In 2014 the district began centralizing information for emergency preparedness electronically.  This All Hazards Plan and various tools allow district administrators, police and first responders remote access to our security cameras in real time, to view floor plans of each building with 360° photographs of each space, and to access major infrastructure functions such as main power shut off valves, fire and alarm systems. 

Our administrative team is trained and follows the emergency management protocol of Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery.  Prevention efforts are to identify potential hazards and vulnerabilities.  Preparedness includes working with police, emergency management and first responders to develop plans and protocol to prepare for possible emergencies.  Responding effectively to contain and resolve an emergency with our partners.  Recovering and healing following an emergency to restore a healthy and safe learning environment for our students and staff.

The district regularly reviews safety and security at the district schools and is in the process of updating the security cameras and door security.  In addition, the Pennsylvania State Police have been asked to analyze our current security measures and make recommendations.  Community input will be sought on this topic and others through the upcoming Comprehensive Plan meeting and/or survey.