Hi! I’m Dr. Brooke Gialopsos and am one of the Co-Presidents for Council as well as a Criminal Justice Professor at Seattle University. My research and service are largely focused on school-based violence. I have a great working relationship with the district’s safety staff and serve on the LWSD Safety Advisory Council. In an attempt to bridge my roles, I am committed to providing a monthly Safety Spotlight for the 2025-26 school year. The purpose of this is to offer some general school safety and emergency preparedness information for parents and families. The content will vary tremendously from month to month – some will be focused exclusively on schools, while other topics might be more community-focused.
First, I want to take a moment to encourage every parent/guardian to review and update their children’s emergency contact information in Skyward. This is crucial to ensure that school staff can quickly reach the correct family members or designated contacts in an emergency. However, as many schools experienced last year during a weather-related reunification situation, school staff are required to follow procedures, including releasing children ONLY to parents/guardians and individuals listed as emergency contacts. Providing identification at pick up is a critical part of this process, regardless of how well staff know you and/or what pick-up is like on a typical day. For this reason, make sure that emergency contacts that are out of town are either listed much lower on the list or not included at all. It may also be helpful to add “not local” or “out of town” in the comments section for those contacts in Skyward to streamline the process. Reaching the correct contact quickly can reduce response time and stress while providing timely support for students.
For the month of September, students will undergo an “Evacuation” drill, which is required by the state of Washington. In fact, state law requires one drill a month while school is in session with students. September’s drill – evacuation – serves a simple yet critical function: to move students and staff away from whatever the threat at hand is (i.e., fire, chemical spill, intruder, etc.). Not only does this give students and staff an opportunity to learn possible escape routes, but it also allows the chance to practice these routes in a safe and controlled manner. For school administrators, this also provides an important opportunity to use their Emergency Management System. Practicing this is key, as it helps to build muscle memory – to go through the motions in an effortless and automatic manner.
September is also National Preparedness Month! Created to help people prepare for disasters and emergencies, the 2025 theme is Preparedness Starts at Home. FEMA recommends four small but important steps: 1) Know the different types of emergencies that could happen and appropriate responses to stay safe; 2) Make a family emergency plan; 3) Build an emergency supply kit; and 4) Get involved in their community by taking action to prepare for emergencies. Please take a moment to view resources and information at the state, county, and city levels (Redmond, Kirkland, and Sammamish). It is important to have a family plan in place, think through accommodations for pets and people with special needs or disabilities, and have conversations with your children using simple and honest language that is age appropriate (see info from Red Cross and Ready.gov).
Thank you for reading the first edition of the Safety Spotlight, and please reach out with questions or suggestions: president@lwptsa.net