Director's Message 3/18/03

    With so many uncertainties in the world, the safety and security of our children becomes one of our greatest concerns. Development of safety and security projects in DoD Pacific schools is on-going. We continue to request, build, and marshal resources to join technology and innovation in order to ensure the safety and security of our students, faculty and staff.

     DoDDS Pacific schools are unique compared to DoDDS Europe since all of the schools are located within the physical security envelope of a military installation. Because of this, our schools are considered low risk. In Guam, two schools are not on base, but they are scheduled for replacement on military installations.

     Presently we are in a multi-year process of upgrading school intercom systems in order to allow mass notification in the event of terrorist incidents in our schools. We are also upgrading some of our schools with new security lighting systems, and, where needed, we are putting in security cameras with video recorders. Magnetic card key locks have been installed in all schools, greatly enhancing our security posture. These new state of the art systems greatly add to our procedures for emergency lockdown and/or evacuation of schools.

     Our schools receive semiannual base inspections from fire, safety, bio-environmental, and public health. They also receive an annual survey from base security, and a safety and security review from their district safety and security officer. These frequent visits help to ensure our students are provided a safe and healthy environment. Every middle school and high school has a Chemical Hygiene Officer (CHO) assigned. These CHOs receive formal training every three years and, in-turn, train teachers and students in lab safety, chemical storage, and chemical hygiene on a yearly basis. CHOs are also responsible for the safe storage and disposal of laboratory and industrial type chemicals in the schools.

     Global Positioning Tracking Systems (GPS) and bus pass proximity card readers are being installed on our school buses. These state-of-the-art devices act as a tracking mechanism to pinpoint vehicle location at all times so in the event of an emergency or incident we would know exactly where the bus is. These GPS’s also facilitate improved cost control by capturing actual hourly costs for student transportation, and increase the speed and accuracy of identifying who is on the bus if there is an accident or incident. To date, 247 security attendants are in place on DoDDS Pacific school buses to increase the ability to respond to safety and security incidents. The security attendants monitor the loading and unloading of all students on and off the bus, maintain good order and accountability of all students, maintain communications with the dispatch office, and perform emergency first aid when needed. The security attendants receive 40 hours of specially developed safety and security training, which includes first aid and CPR.

DoDDS Pacific schools have a historical safe schools record with no incidents related to firearms, and a low incidence of drug and gang-related violence. A “zero tolerance” policy for weapons in schools is strictly enforced, and our serious incident reports remain low. Over the past three school years, we experienced an average of 115 serious incident reports per year based on an average student enrollment of 24,000. Only six percent of the serious incidents involved some type of weapons violation (not firearms), and less than one percent of the serious incidents involved drugs or gang-related violence.

Our districts work closely with base force protection and law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety and security of all DoD students, faculty, and staff. As Goal 2 of our Community Strategic Plan states, we will make every effort to facilitate a safe environment conducive to optimum student achievement. Our students are our precious resource and we are committed to providing them a safe, well-managed, and disciplined environment in which to learn and succeed.

Nancy C. Bresell
Director, DoDDS Pacific