School Safety Update — October

School Safety Starts With You

Lincoln, Rhode Island

Lawrence Filippelli, superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, R.I., has taken extraordinary ownership to school safety. This is evidenced by the professional and personal time he dedicates to ensuring that the district’s safety plan remains a working document—with leadership leading the work.

Lincoln Public Schools has set school safety and security as its highest priority. Thus, their present practice around safety can serve as a model for other districts to follow regarding plan sharing, safety expectations and setting priorities with security spending.

Under the leadership of Filippelli, the tone of safety is set by the superintendent as the Lincoln executive officer serves on a number of state committees and is simply known as the go-to leader in Rhode Island for all to better understand safety best practice.

Lincoln Middle School, in Lincoln, R.I.

AASA encourages every school district to follow this exemplar and to ensure that districts across the country have leaders who will take that extra step to demonstrate safety and security commitment.

If any school leader would like additional information on this issue, please call the AASA safety line at 571 480-0313.

Respectfully,

Dr, Joseph Erardi

AASA Safety Consultant