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Mayor of Carrollton Discusses Leadership with Good Elementary Students

Posted/span> on April 9, 2019 in District News, Newsletter

The City of Carrollton Mayor, Kevin Falconer, accepted an invitation to come speak with third grade students at R.E. Good Elementary, IB World School. Students were researching about leadership and took action to invite Mayor Falconer to Good Elementary. Several students used their creativity and created a video invitation for Mayor Falconer. The video invite worked! Mayor Falconer came to Good Elementary and shared about leading the city of Carrollton.

The transdisciplinary theme of this IB unit of inquiry was How We express Ourselves. This was an inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, culture, beliefs and values. The Central Idea of the unit was Leadership shapes cultures and communities. Several lines of inquiry were :

Personal qualities that demonstrate leadership
How ideas, hopes and values of a community are expressed through leaders and
Our responsibilities as citizens of this community.

Students focused on the Key Concepts of perspective, function and responsibility. During the research phase, students formulated questions, collected data, organized data and gave presentations. They used communication skills as they read articles and books about leaders, took notes about various leaders and then shared research findings in the form of presentations.

After hearing Mayor Falconer speak about how he leads Carrollton, the students were able to make a real-life authentic connection to this unit of inquiry. Many thanks to Mayor Falconer for giving his time to share with our third grade students at RE Good Elementary.

Learn More about IB at Good Elementary

Campus Safety Drills Save Lives

Posted/span> on April 8, 2019 in District News, Newsletter, Security

CFBISD Campuses Conduct Regular Drills to Practice Procedures

The safety and security of our students is our number one priority. In partnership with local law enforcement agencies, the district has adopted a comprehensive approach to addressing school safety focused on prevention, intervention, and response.

Campus Safety Drills

Conducting drills strengthens a school by empowering and creating a culture of preparedness. Drills allow administrators, staff and students hands-on experience to achieve and maintain proficiency in prevention, mitigation, preparation for, and recovery from emergency situations.

CFBISD uses the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) adapted for the specific needs on each campus. There are several types of protocols used in an emergency:

Lockout is followed by the Directive: “Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors” and is the protocol used to safeguard students and staff within the building.
Lockdown is followed by “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight” and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep students quiet and in place.
Evacuate is always followed by a location, and is used to move students and staff from one location to a different location in or out of the building.
Shelter is always followed by a type and a method and is the protocol for group and self protection.

Additionally, CFBISD campuses partner with the district safety and security department and local law enforcement to conduct drills with law enforcement presence and supervision.

Each campus complies with the minimum drills mandated by law (TEC s37.1081 and SB 1556.)

Lockdown and Lockout Drills

CFBISD holds both lockdown and lockout drills on campuses. Campuses practice a minimum of two lockdown/lockout drills a year. From parental custody disputes to intruders, a lockdown or lockout drill prepares students and staff on how to respond to emergency situations.

A Lockout recovers all students from outside the building, secures the building perimeter and locks all outside doors. This would be implemented when there is a threat or hazard outside of the building. It allows for education to continue with little classroom interruption or distraction.

Lockdown is a classroom-based protocol that requires locking the classroom door, turning off the lights and placing students out of sight of any corridor windows. Student action during Lockdown is to remain quiet. Lockdown is called when there is a threat or hazard inside the school building.

Fire and Evacuation Drills

Evacuation is called when there is a need to move students from one location to another. Campus staff and students practice evacuation drills each month.

Shelter Drills

Shelter or Shelter-in-place is used when the need for personal protection is necessary. Examples of a need for a shelter-in-place include severe weather, tornado, or a chemical leak near a school. Students practice what to do in a shelter-in-place situation.