The administrators and staff of Stafford County Public Schools are very conscientious about protecting your children. We will do everything rationally feasible to protect them against any threat that may arise while they are in our care. In this letter, I have included various examples of our commitment in providing a safe learning environment for everyone involved in our educational system.

The Stafford County Public School system continues to be proactive when it comes to protecting and providing safety & security for our students and staff. The Virginia Board of Education has established that safety in our schools is at the highest priority. With these uncertain times, it is important that the community and our parents know that our schools are ready in the event of an emergency or crisis.

The Department of Safety & Security works closely with state and local emergency management, health and law enforcement agencies that plan our community’s response to potential threats. Our school system’s safety and emergency procedures are drafted to be consistent with all our local emergency preparedness plans.

The Department of Safety & Security provides the first level of safety support for our schools. Each high school has a full-time Sheriff’s Resource Officer and several security officers. There are also Sheriff’s Resource Officers designated for our middle schools and support our elementary schools, as needed. Additionally, Sheriff’s D.A.R.E. Deputies conduct daily classes at our elementary schools. A First Sergeant from the  Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, oversees the entire Resource Protection Program and works closely with the Department of Safety, Security, & Risk Management to provide additional deputy support for our schools, when required.

All Stafford County Public Schools have been provided with crisis emergency plans that provide step-by-step guidelines for how principals, administrators, employees should respond to a wide variety of critical incident scenarios ranging from tornadoes, fires, intruders, weapons to biological threats. These emergency plans are regularly reviewed and updated, and schools practice response drills several times during the year.

Entry and exit from our schools are restricted. Parents and others visiting our schools must stop at the main office and receive a temporary identification badge before proceeding. Additionally, as a safety precaution, only exterior doors that are monitored can be opened from the outside.   

As of July 1, 2013, DSSRM coordinates Gwyneth’s Law to assure every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license shall provide evidence of completion of certification or training in emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automated external defibrillators. In addition, DSSRM maintains a database of all trained staff members by building, maintains monthly AED logs sheets, maintains a monthly log sheet of AED repairs and replacements parts, prints and disseminate completion certificates and cards to building level coordinators and updates HR with the trained and certified teachers for licensure purposes.  DSSRM has exceeded required expectations and has provided this service to all Stafford County Employees and has installed 116 AED’s at all schools and facilities.