In San Bernardino, emergency preparedness is not a discussion
that occurs once a year. It is a key part of the district’s
Community Engagement Plan…
Development Center, located fewer than
five miles from North Park, for an all-day
training on School Behavioral Threat As-
sessments.
Earlier that same morning when the San
Bernardino School Police held its daily
briefing at 8 a.m., Sergeant John Guttierez’s
topic was active shooter response protocols.
The district was prepared.
Those participating in the School Be-
havioral Threat Assessments training were
among the first to be assigned to support the
needs of North Park students and staff. And
the first police officers on scene at North
Park were those who earlier that morning
had discussed active shooter protocols.
Throughout the remainder of the week,
the district worked closely with the families
of students in Karen Smith’s classroom, the
teacher who lost her life on April 10. The
district’s crisis intervention team was able to
provide individualized support to students
and their families. The North Park staff also
spent a day and a half together with the cri-
sis intervention team before returning to the
school on Friday afternoon to prepare for the
re-opening of the campus.
Although much attention was given to the
families of students in Mrs. Smith’s class,
the district held a special parent meeting on
Thursday, April 13 for all North Park fami-
lies. The goal of the meeting was to provide
information to parents, answer their ques-
tions and hear their concerns. Nearly 100
18
Leadership
parents attended the meeting. Their message
to district leaders was clear: no visitors inside
of the school, and improve communication,
so parents are kept up to date during emer-
gencies.
On Wednesday, April 12, the Board of
Education held a special meeting to discuss
the next steps for North Park Elementary
School. The audience was filled with proud
members of the North Park community. For
nearly two hours, teachers, classified staff,
parents and school neighbors spoke about
what a great school North Park is. They
urged the board to reopen the school.
They praised the staff of North Park and
complimented the district’s response. Over
and over again, parents reaffirmed their de-
sire to have their children return to North
Park Elementary School. After hearing
from the school staff and community, dis-
trict leaders were confident the decision to
reopen the school on Monday, April 17 was
the right one.
Under Superintendent Marsden’s leader-
ship, there is a commitment to include the
voice of all people when making decisions.
Parents are seen as key partners, as are other
members of the San Bernardino commu-
nity. One of the tools used to gather input
following district events is the After-Action
Review (AAR), which Marsden introduced
to the district based on his military back-
ground. An AAR is a non-judgmental as-
sessment that answers three basic questions:
what happened, what did we learn and what
are the next steps?
Following major events, like the Dec. 2
terrorist attack and the North Park emer-
gency, a community-wide AAR was con-
ducted. Parents, community members,
elected officials, and representatives from
neighboring school districts participated in
the May 8 AAR. One major outcome from
the AAR was a desire to improve the speed
and availability of accurate information to
parents and staff.
Communitywide After-Action Reviews
are just one form of parent involvement in
San Bernardino City Unified. The district has
several different task forces, comprising par-
ents, community members and representa-
tives from partner agencies. These task forces
address topics ranging from safety, student
achievement and school enrollment. Parent
and stakeholder engagement are also require-
ments of the state-mandated Local Control
and Accountability Plan.
Since 2012, SBCUSD has hosted an an-
nual Community Gathering for Excellence.
Each large gathering has brought more than
1,000 members of the community together
to hear an update on the district strategic
plan, known as the Community Engage-
ment Plan. Attendees have an opportunity
to provide input and be active participants in
the work of the district.
In 2012, when the district created the
Community Engagement Plan, it consisted