National Heritage Academies to boost student safety up a notch

Ketura Godfrey, principal of Keystone Academy in Sumpter Township, said National Heritage Academies, which manages Keystone, “is taking it up a notch for student safety.”
Principal Godfrey told the Keystone school board at its Aug. 10 meeting that at the recent weeklong Leadership Summit in Grand Rapids, a mother from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut spoke on the shootings in her school that left 20 students and six adults dead.
Godfrey said a person from NHA is now assigned to each of the 84 schools it operates to help focus on student safety.
An additional buzzer will be installed at the entry door and a new procedure called Drive Line will be instituted. Keystone does not have school buses and so parents deliver and pick up their students.
Each car will be given a number card that hangs from the rear-view mirror and as that car comes up in line at the door, an attendant will plug in that number which posts the student’s name and the student is released from the school building.
No longer will students wait outside because of the danger that could bring, she said.
Godfrey noted that the Sumpter Township police chief’s sons will be in the building and so she will ask the police chief to come in to assess the safety of the school and have his officers come in and learn about the school’s operation and layout.
She said attendants will see the cards and punch in numbers to release the students. Staff also has walkie-talkies, she said.
In other business at the Aug. 10 meeting, the board:
• Heard Godfrey report that 768 students are enrolled for fall classes with a waiting list of 179. First day of school is Sept. 5. A Back-to-School event is 4-6 p.m. Aug. 23. When discussing those students for whom English is a second language, Godfrey said the largest EL group was Romanian and now there are also children from Nigeria and Taiwan;
• Reviewed results of the Parent Satisfaction Survey that showed 66% overall satisfaction from 596 respondents. Board members questioned the slightly lower satisfaction scores in the bullying and discipline questions. Godfrey explained that some parents want to know how a student was punished and are unhappy when she says that is a privacy issue;
• Read a letter from 34th District Court Judge David Parrott congratulating Principal Godfrey and Keystone Academy for their recent award from NHA. He said the education of children is important to keeping America free;
• Approved the revised Emergency Use of Seclusion and Restraint policy to be in alignment with the Michigan Board of Education policy;
• Approved the certification of authority confirming compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act for funding year 2017 and approved the 2018 letter of agency for E-rate funding;
• Approved the Teacher Evaluation and Employee Certification Warranty Resolution, as required by Bay Mills Community College, authorizer of Keystone’s charter;
• Approved the 2017 NHA Board Symposium on Oct. 12 at The Dearborn Inn, with an optional Oct. 11 evening reception at Eagle Tavern in Greenfield Village for travelers. Besides informational sessions and speeches, board members will be having lunch with JC Huizenga, NHA Founder and Chairman;
• Approved staying with Presque Ile Academy (PIA) in Onaway through July 1, 2018 for fingerprint-based criminal history record information for background checks for any individual who may be hired for full- or part-time employment and others to work under contract for the academy. Keystone has been with PIA since 2012 and the cost is going up from $25 per record to $35 per record. NHA currently is assessing Michigan State Police’s new system for the process; and
• Approved the School Improvement Plan.