The safety of students and staff members is a top priority for Otsego Public Schools officials.
That’s why, for the fifth year, OPS is recognizing School Safety Week beginning Monday, Oct. 14, and running through Friday, Oct. 18.
This year, along with carrying out each of the required safety drills at each school, the district is welcoming a national speaker to talk about the importance of being prepared where school safety is concerned. She will also be discussing lessons learned from one of the country’s largest school-shooting incidents.
Carly Posey, an advocate for school safety, will speak to parents/guardians on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. at the Otsego High School auditorium. Two of her four children were inside Sandy Hook Elementary School when an armed man entered the building and opened fire.
Both of Posey’s children survived, but the impact and lessons learned were significant, leading her to devote her time to sharing ways to keep our children safe.
Posey was the Mission Director for the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, she has served as the Executive Director for the Safe2Tell Nonprofit and as Program Director for Anderson Software.
Several Otsego administrators heard Posey speak last year at a county safety conference and found it moving, informational and inspiring. One of those administrators was Mark Rollandini, the district’s director of secondary instruction and safety liaison.
“The loss experienced by the Newtown, Conn. community intensified our commitment to school safety in Otsego,” Rollandini said. “(Posey) shared the lessons learned from that tragedy, which renewed our focus on safety and affirmed many of the improvements we have made recently.”
OPS conducted a safety assessment in the Spring of 2022. The recommendations that came out of that process—coupled with Posey’s message— helped prioritize the district’s goals for school safety.
“With our current effort to update our Emergency Operations Plan and install the I Love U Guys protocols, we feel that Mrs. Posey’s message, which ultimately is hopeful, will invigorate our staff and community to continue our commitment to school safety and create a culture of safety during the school day as well as at events and district programs,” Rollandini said.
Posey is also speaking to all staff on Wednesday morning.
Since 2019, Otsego has marked National Safe Schools Week by conducting the required drills in each school. That brings forth the message that there is a plan in place for different emergency situations as well as puts an emphasis on the need to practice in case of a real emergency.
Drills weren’t performed in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
