Wallenpaupack sets up teams to tackle school threats

Wallenpaupack Area School District has implemented state-required Threat Assessment Teams at each school building.

Pennsylvania Act of 55 of 2022, which passed last September and applies to every school district in the state, has several components. In a Dec. 7 briefing to the school board, Superintendent Keith Gunuskey said among the most important are threat assessments, safety and security. WASD has had a safety and security coordinator for a few years, the role being filled by Gunuskey since he was assistant superintendent.

As the coordinator, he is charged with ensuring that drills are carried out effectively and efficiently, and establishing staff training requirements. He noted that it is the building administrators that pull the alarms, and he relies heavily on them to ensure buildings are kept as safe as possible. Annual training is designed to ensure that staff and students are prepared for any emergency.

"Unfortunately, one of the teams that is probably the most disappointing to have, but important to have, is the Threat Assessment Team," he said. Training is in place with the Secret Service and the FBI. The district has a threat assessment manual, should a threat be made. Gunuskey said there have been times they have had to use it.

Each school building has its own team made up of administrators, counselors, school police officers, nurses and any other staff that may have information about any particular student or threat that has been made, he said.

Many times, the threat may come through social media rather directly, which requires the district to work from behind to try and ascertain information, Gunuskey said.

One thing they will do more of, he said, are table-top exercises to allow staff to practice implementing the protocols and procedures. The goal is to discover the nature of the potential threat and determine the best course of action.

As per Act 55, all staff members are required to have three hours of training annually. Training will focus on situational awareness, trauma and informed approaches, behavioral health awareness and suicide and bullying awareness, Gunuskey said.

He said at their district, they have already received training several years ago in collaboration with Western Wayne and Wayne Highlands school districts. He said the only real change Act 55 brought was the required notification of the public at the board meeting and on the school website.

In an interview, Gunuskey said that their faculty and staff work closely with the students so that they can feel comfortable sharing their concerns and areas in which they are struggling. "We rely heavily on our school community to advise us of any potential threats," he said. All Pennsylvania school districts are required to implement the Safe2say program, which is a 24-hour, 365-day reporting platform that is anonymous. Students may make reports through an app, online or by phone (1-844-SAF2SAY).

Gunsukey said that this will be ongoing and will they will educate the community "to let everyone know that there is hopefully some peace of mind that we take all threats very seriously, that we have a protocol in practice to ensure everyone's safety."

For more information about the district's Threat Assessment Teams, visit: wallenpaupack.org/ep_sss.asp.

Spontaneous weather

Another type of threat is what Mother Nature can bring, sometimes unexpectedly.

Gunuskey discussed at the board meeting what he described as a "spontaneous" inclement weather event the morning of Dec. 6.

There was no indication of hazardous weather conditions at the time, but as drivers were picking up and transporting students, a small pocket of freezing rain left a thin coat of ice in various areas. The light drizzle started at approximately 7:30 a.m. and only lasted for 10 to 15 minutes. Gunuskey said it was especially bad near the intersection of Routes 402 and 6, and from that intersection to the school. In addition, the bridge near the intersection of Routes 6 and 590 (going from the school toward Hawley) became treacherous.

Gunuskey said that buses, school vans, and cars in general had to pull over and wait for PennDOT to salt/cinder the roads. "Our drivers were simply amazing. They exercised terrific judgement in pulling over, notifying the school, and waiting patiently for the road conditions to improve prior to continuing their journey to school," he said in an interview. "Thankfully no school vans or buses were involved in any accidents and all students arrived at school safely.”

He reminded parents that they have the primary authority to make the best decision for their children on whether or not to let them go to school. Calling it an "agonizing decision" on his part on whether to announce a delay or cancelation of classes, Gunuskey said he aims to make his call as early as possible, even the night before, to give parents time to arrange day care.

"It's not a matter of looking out your window and making a decision," he said, "but it is about using as many resources as you can to make the best-informed decision for the district." He said it is critical for schools to stay open, but it must be done as safely as possible.

He commended their school bus and van drivers, who he said together travel over 10,000 miles a day. "The fact that we had really, a spontaneous circumstance the other morning, our drivers were absolutely professional, they were exceptional and I cannot thank them enough for what they did. They certainly used a lot of common sense; they were very concerned for the students that they had on the bus."

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Wallenpaupack superintendent leads district's safety, security efforts