The district Safety Committee meets monthly to evaluate ALL aspects of school life that relate to safety. Whether the concern is air quality, construction safety, playground safety or preparing for a flu epidemic, having a committee of teachers, parents, custodians and other staff take a comprehensive look at these issues together has been very beneficial. Several of the improvements listed below grew out of Safety Committee recommendations.

All school staff wear photo ID badges daily, and under state law, all new staff (even substitutes) are fingerprinted and checked for criminal records, particularly any record of child abuse.

During the school day, exterior doors are kept locked from the outside except for the main school entrance. All substitutes, volunteers and visitors entering the building must sign in and wear a temporary ID badge during school hours.

Several school entrances have been renovated to improve staff members' view of those entering their building. Some schools have security cameras at their entrance or other specific area. Some schools have hall monitors who sign in visitors. The high school employs three security monitors with law enforcement experience who help supervise entrances, hallways, parking lots and sporting events.

Parking lot improvements for greater safety have included adding speed bumps, better lighting, and/or security cameras. At Charlton Heights the parking lot was completely redesigned recently to separate bus and car traffic for safety.

High school pupils who drive in an unsafe manner at school have their parking privileges taken away. Students who commit vandalism are made to pay for repairs to the school property they damaged. Teens who break the law at school are turned over to the police. This kind of firm response to inappropriate or unsafe behavior is a deterrent that sends a strong message to our students.

All students get a copy of their school's Student Handbook, which includes a Code of Conduct spelling out rules for appropriate behavior and the consequences of inappropriate behavior. (Note:  for online copies of these, click on the specific school, then Student Handbook.)

We have been fortunate to have a state trooper assigned to our district full time for several years. School resource officer Trooper John Healy is based at the high school but works with staff in all five schools. He conducts site security surveys, addresses specific concerns as they come up, and has been very helpful in investigating and resolving incidents quickly. The visible presence of a state trooper, particularly at the high school, is another reason why the number of serious incidents in our schools is so low.

Every 11 months, the fire marshal and buildings and grounds supervisor perform a detailed room-by-room inspection of all schools and other district buildings for hazards. Their reports are shared with custodians, principals and the Board of Education, and any needed corrective actions are taken.

Protecting students' health and safety is what our five school nurses do all day. For instance, procedures to safeguard children with life-threatening allergies were recently updated with help from parents.

BH-BL bus routes are written to reduce the number of children who must cross a road to enter or exit a bus. This is just one detail in the Transportation Department's comprehensive emphasis on safety. Other examples of bus safety practices are listed in the district calendar and at BH-BL Bus Policies.

School staff use and practice the same Incident Command System of crisis management that is used by police and fire officials for better communication and cooperation during an emergency. We also follow the safety and security recommendations of the State Education Department related to federal Homeland Security Alert Levels.

BH-BL staff receive advice, training and safety updates from the Capital Region BOCES Risk Management Service. Thanks to the speed of email and the BOCES concept of local school districts working together on shared needs, BH-BL administrators are often informed about possible safety threats before these threats become public knowledge, which enables us to be better prepared.