The School Safety Edition

A Few Words About School Safety

After a national tragedy like the school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, it’s normal--and necessary--for communities to ask, “Is my school safe?” There are 3000 people that walk into Fremd High School every day, and safety is our top priority for each of these people.If students don’t feel safe, they cannot learn. If teachers don’t feel safe, they cannot teach. As principal, I spend a lot of time paying attention to the teaching and learning going on in our school. There are very few topics that will divert my attention away from learning, but safety and security command my full attention every time.

Luckily, Fremd High School is an extremely safe school. In fact, on last year’s Comprehensive School Climate Inventory, “Sense of Physical Safety” received the highest ranking on the report, followed closely by “Safety Rules and Norms,” according to both students and parents’ survey responses. For the 100+ days of school this year before Wednesday’s tragedy in Florida, school safety may not have been as great of a concern as that upcoming test, volleyball game or Debate tournament.

In the last 48 hours, I have spoken with several parents, teachers and students about school safety. A prevailing thought has stuck out to me: While the safety measures we employ at Fremd are quite familiar to me, these measures may be unknown or invisible to most students, parents and staff. So, because information often brings comfort, here are just some of the many safety measures that are taken on a regular basis at Fremd that you might not know about:

• Officer Derek Bahn from the Palatine Police Department is stationed every day during school hours in our school.
• We have a staff of 20 hall monitors who are tasked with supervising our school’s common areas, hallways, and entrances.
• Almost 40 staff members carry walkie talkies, so safety issues can be reported in real time.
• Routine entrance and restroom checks are performed every class period to secure exterior doors and ensure safe behavior in the restrooms.
• There are over 60 surveillance cameras in our hallways, common areas and parking lots.
• In the morning, there are two approved entrances for students to enter. Both are staffed with multiple hall monitors who check student IDs. (All visitors must enter through the main entrance.)
• During the school day, all entrances are locked except the main entrance, which is supervised by at least one person, but often with 3-4 people.
• There is a Safety Concern Form located on the right-hand side of our main website to report anything about student safety. Although the form allows anonymity, please understand that a thorough report with a contact name helps us to answer follow-up questions and fully investigate reports.
• We hold many safety drills each year, including at least two lockdown drills.
• The Palatine Fire and Police Departments are active collaborators in our school safety plans, which are reviewed annually.

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coach Kristen Newby and the Boys Swimming and Diving Team on  winning the MSL Varsity Conference Championship.  Individual award winners include:  2nd place medley relay - Evan Stegall, Alex Schillinger, Yoochan Lee, Danny Konishi; 2nd place 200 IM - Alex Schillinger; 5th place 200 IM - James Steininger; 3rd place 50 free - Yoochan Lee; 1st place diving - Zach Mega; 3rd place 100 fly - Yoochan Lee; 5th place 100 fly - Evan Stegall; 3rd place 100 free - Danny Konishi; 4th place 100 free - Yoochan Lee; 1st place 200 free relay - Yoochan Lee, Alex Reed, Derek Warnstedt, Danny Konishi; 1st place 100 backstroke - Evan Stegall; 1st place 100 breaststroke - Alex Schillinger; 6th place 100 breaststroke- Ethan Schillinger and 2nd place 400 free relay - Danny Konishi, Alex Reed, Evan Stegall, Alex Schillinger.
• Congratulations to the following two wrestlers on qualifying for the state meet.  Cole Riemer took second in his weight class and Adam Kemp qualified in 3rd place.  Good luck to both these individuals this weekend!
• Congratulations to the following Girls Gymnastics State Qualifiers:  Abby Moran placed 1st on the balance beam and 3rd on the floor exercise.  Melanie Ng took 3rd place on the balance beam and 5th place on the uneven bars.  Gianna Christodoulopoulos was an at-large qualifier on uneven bars and in the all-around competitions.  Annika Waller qualified on the uneven bars.  Good luck to these ladies in the state meet!
• Congratulations to Coach Kevin Palmer and the Fremd Varsity Scholastic Bowl Team on winning 3rd place at the Illinois NAQT State Tournament.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

February 16	Early Dismissal - 11:50 a.m. Boys Track & Field Quad @ Glenbrook S. H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Gymnastics State Meet @ PHS - 6:00 p.m. Boys Basketball @ Barrington H.S. - 7:30 p.m. Boys Wrestling State Meet @ State Farm Center, Champaign
February 17	Boys Swimming & Diving Sectioanl @ Stevenson H.S. - 1:00 p.m. Girls Bymnastics State Finals @ PHS - 6:00 p.m. Boys Wrestling State Meet @ State Farm Center, Champaign
February 19	President’s Day - No School Girls Basketball Sectionals @ FHS - 6:00 p.m.
February 20	Late Start - 8:50 a.m. start time Boys Basketball MSL Crossover @ FHS - 7:30 p.m.
February 21	Boys Basketball MSL Crossover @ FHS - 7:30 p.m.
February 22	Girls Basketball Sectional FInals @ FHS - 7:00 p.m.

For a more complete list, please visit our Athletics Page or the Athletic Department Blog.

Ask the Principal

Are you curious about something at Fremd but have never asked? Email me at ktenopir@d211.org. If your question is pertinent to a wider audience, I will include it in the next blog post.