Parent Teacher Magazine Charlotte-Mecklenburg School March/April 2019 | Page 6

Keeping Our Schools Safe
An Update on CMS Added Safety & Security Measures
School should be a safe place for teaching and learning for everyone.
On Nov. 16, 2018, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools announced that additional
measures would be taken to help keep students and staff safe in schools. On
Jan. 8, 2019, CMS updated the community on progress in key safety areas.
The district will continue to update the community as further progress is
made to make our schools safer for everyone. Increased support for student mental health
Safety screenings to help keep weapons out of schools Fencing and gates to control campus access
n To help keep weapons out of schools, CMS will begin safety screenings at a
randomly selected high school within the next few weeks.
n The screening tools, procedures and staff training are being designed
to respect the rights and privacy of students and minimize disruption to
teaching and learning while deterring weapons being brought into schools.
n Various tools will be deployed including metal detection wands, portable
metal detectors, bag searches and use of a dog trained to detect gunpowder.
n The dog will not come into contact with students.
n A high school will be chosen at random for the first screening. All students
in the randomly selected school will be screened. No individual student will be
chosen randomly.
n Safety screening communications will help make sure students, families
and staff and community know what to expect step-by-step during a
screening.
Expanded video surveillance for better monitoring and response times
n Cameras and monitors are being upgraded with priority on elementary
schools.
n Additional equipment will enhance views of playgrounds and mobiles.
n Upgrades have been completed at 11 schools and an additional 15 schools
are estimated for completion by the end of January.
Work will continue through June for completion at all schools.
Deploying crisis alert systems so help arrives faster
n These systems enable any staff member to instantly call for help, and
identify location and level of crisis to enable best response for medical, law
enforcement or other assistance.
n The first crisis alert system has been installed in the pilot school. Systems
at eight additional schools will be installed in January and approximately
eight more by end of March.
n A Crisis Alert Advisory Group is being formed to finalize best practices and
designate training guidelines.
Enhanced locks and digital technologies to better control who comes into
schools
n 45 locks have been upgraded across the district.
n An additional 300-325 locks will be installed by April.
n Front entrance of every school is being upgraded with digital access as
needed.
n In schools with multiple buildings, digital entry access controls on every
major building will be in place at all schools.
Active survival training
n
n
n
n
Dedicated active survival trainer hired October 22, 2018
15 schools have completed training.
26 schools are scheduled for training, others being scheduled.
5 key staff groups trained.
Faster and more frequent crisis communications and social media
monitoring
n More frequent and faster crisis communications to families and
community.
n Dedicated crisis response director being hired.
n Deeper social media monitoring and partnership with law enforcement.
4 • March/April 2019 • Parent Teacher Magazine
n
n
n
n
Safety town halls beginning in early February.
School safety experts say mental health support is critical.
60 counselors added this year, more investments to be requested.
Mental health programs added and planned.
n Repairs and/or upgrades completed at 13 schools identified as most in
need.
n Work ongoing through end of school year.
CMS sees drop in teacher vacancies following new
hiring initiatives
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reduced the total number of teacher
vacancies in the district by 83 percent over the last year following new
Human Resources (HR) initiatives that focus on teacher recruitment and
retention.
CMS currently has a total of 17 teacher vacancies, compared with a
total of 100.5 teacher vacancies in February 2018. Vacancies dropped
across categories, from 27 to five for elementary school teachers; from
18.5 to two for middle school teachers; from 42.5 to nine for high school
teachers; and from 12.5 to one for multi-level teachers.
“Over the past nine months we have challenged the HR function to
truly focus on customer experience, which includes some of our most
critical customers – our prospective candidates,” said Gerri Parker,
interim chief human resource officer. “As we have focused on process
improvements and outcome-driven initiatives, we are examining these
through the eyes of the customer. I am extremely proud of the work that
the HR function has been driving and the significant accomplishments
they are delivering in order to support positive outcomes for CMS
students.”
Last summer, the HR department restructured, creating a Talent
Acquisition team to focus on full-cycle sourcing and recruitment. Team
members seek out qualified candidates and nurture relationships to help
them understand how their unique skills can add value to the district.
“The Talent Acquisition team is working hard to support principals and
hiring managers by sourcing, recruiting and matching individuals with
specific jobs and building a partnership with hiring managers,” said Rob
Ellyson, executive director of Talent Acquisition.
Talent Acquisition has 18 staff members to support workforce
planning, employer brand strategy, sourcing and recruiting, and helping
to creative effective onboarding. They partner with other HR functions
to streamline hiring activities, including background checks and drug
screenings, compensation, benefits and licensure.
Recruiters and managers work to identify candidates for principals on
a daily basis and help them match applicants to school positions. They
utilize social media and job boards and build partnerships with colleges
and universities, as well as work with the Career and Technical Education
Department to better source for positions.
CMS is currently recruiting talent for the 2019-2020 school year.