out to learn their children were safe. Once
the family of Nolan Brandy was informed
of his injuries, and the Martinez family was
contacted, the remaining parents received
the good news they had been waiting for.
Another twist was the decision to evacu-
ate students to the Cal State San Bernardino
campus, which sits less than a mile from the
elementary school, before reuniting them
with parents at nearby Cajon High School.
The district had never experienced an evacu-
ation and reunification following a crime,
and had to communicate with parents and
staff how this reunification process would
work. At the same time, the district was in
the midst of selecting a new parent notifica-
tion system capable of sending text, emails
and voice messages quickly. Many school
districts and agencies use these tools to sup-
port parent engagement.
Our older notification system was still
able to spread the word about the evacuation
and reunification process with parents. In
the future, emergency communication will
be sent more quickly with the advancement
of newer notification technologies.
Although there were a few communica-
tions challenges, surprisingly there were
also some logistical benefits. In addition to
having a major university and a large high
school within a mile of North Park, the
district’s Nutrition Services Center, with
its own training building, is in walking dis-
tance from the school. The Nutrition Ser-
vices Center served as a secure area to hold
press conferences and provide the media
with their own staging area away from the
crime scene. It was also the command center
for district leaders.
By 4 p.m. on April 10, students had been
reunited with their parents, and the facts
about the domestic violence issue that led
to the shooting were slowly unfolding. The
district held two press conferences in con-
junction with the San Bernardino City Po-
lice Department, the agency that led the
criminal investigation. The decision to close
North Park for the remainder of the week
was announced and the district moved for-
ward with plans to support North Park stu-
dents, staff and parents. The district had also
used the auto dialer to communicate with all
parents throughout the district. The follow-
ing day, a letter from Superintendent Dale
Marsden was sent home with students.
In an ever-changing world, the need to
keep schools safe and parents informed
has increased significantly since the 1999
mass shooting at Columbine High School.
Safety preparedness in SBCUSD expands
beyond fire drills and evacuation plans. It
involves not just first responders and safety
personnel, but also teachers, parents, school
counselors, recreation aides, custodians and
administrators. Everyone has a shared goal
to keep children and staff safe. In San Ber-
nardino, emergency preparedness is not a
discussion that occurs once a year. It is a key
part of the district’s Community Engage-
ment Plan and is addressed in the Health,
Wellness and Safety strategy.
In San Bernardino, school safety is an on-
going conversation. So it really isn’t surpris-
ing that on April 10 more than 60 district
employees had gathered at the Professional
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