Hello Neighbors, A recent post to the listserv discussed a safety incident that occurred at Dilworth K-5 in May of this year. I thought it would be helpful to the community to have more information on school safety, and I approached Dara Allen (our PPS School Board Member) who was very helpful and talked to Dr. Lamar (the Dilworth Principal). I asked four questions, and I have attached Dr. Lamar's response. I also have included part of Dara Allen's email response. The four questions were: . Are the Pittsburgh Schools safe/secure? . What procedures have been implemented at Dilworth to prevent this problem from occurring again? . What disciplinary action was taken to hold staff accountable and ensure this problem does not occur again? . Will the School District be publishing information regarding safety/security issues? Regarding the May incident, Dr. Lamar stated that.. "The incident in May occurred during a school event. No incident had ever occurred prior to this event. As a way to address the concern, a meeting was held on the day of and immediately following with the parent. Principal Lamar discussed with the parent what was learned from the full investigation that was conducted. The parent shared valuable information that helped to inform our new procedure for large events with 200+ volunteers. To date, all volunteers are given a verbal orientation. To ensure all volunteers know the importance of communicating with staff, we will now provide written expectations for being on the school grounds and working with the students. This is another additional step we are taking to ensure the safety of all students. Additionally, after input from the school's discipline committee and faculty, chairpersons of the event will be relieved of their teaching duties for the day to focus on managing volunteers. Dr. Lamar will also engage the PSCC and PTA to help with fine-tuning our volunteer policy and orienting volunteers at an event." Also from Dara Allen. "As I noted before, I agree that the items raised are very concerning. However, after receiving data from PPS, these are isolated incidences. They also don't fall into the same category of "safety." The issue of the student leaving the building during the day definitely does relate, but the other instances raised really relate to continued circumstances surrounding one student. "Additionally, PPS thought it would be helpful to share guidelines for how the state determines safety ratings for schools. This information is attached as well as answers to your questions initially posed to me. Last but not least, I think it's worth highlighting what Dilworth is doing right. I've felt like many other parents that Dilworth creates a structured yet nurturing "family" environment for students. Students are thriving. At the most recent Education Committee this past Monday, where school-level PSSA data was shared, Dilworth demonstrated growth in the majority of categories across grade levels. Overall, its student achievement is not only among the highest of PPS PreK-5 schools but also exceeds state averages for proficiency in some subject areas depending on the grade level. Here's a summary: Grade Math Reading 3 93.5% 77.4% 4 89.5% 73.7% 5 69.2% 90.4% " Dave Atkinson westpennworks@gmail.com