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Los Gatos, Saratoga schools have plans in place for all emergencies

By Michele Tjin

While news of recent school shootings around the country have put school safety back on the radar for the public, local school officials say that protecting students and staff is never far from their minds.

Three shootings in Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania schools within a week were high-profile stories in early October, but superintendents and principals say preparedness plans are in place. It's not the national events that spur them to think about protective measures; safety is always a concern, they say.

At St. Andrew's School in Saratoga, there are monthly drills for disaster and intruder scenarios, and the entire staff is equipped with two-way radios. At Los Gatos High School, the staff had a development day on emergency management at the beginning of October, and the school was to participate in an emergency drill on Oct. 17. School administrators are also updating emergency plans, said principal Doug Ramezane.

"We want to bring everything up to date," he said. "We've had huge changes. Since we've done it last time, the renovations have been completed. We want to work with evacuation routes and placement of our staff in emergencies."

In the Saratoga Union School District, officials are also reviewing current preparedness plans, and with new students, families and staff each year, the task of getting ready for an emergency is never completed, Superintendent Lane Weiss said.

At Saratoga High School, the recent shootings have been fodder for water cooler discussions, said principal Jeff Anderson. There'll be a drill in the spring, where teachers will be asked to lock doors and secure classrooms. Last year, the school practiced a code-red drill, in which teachers barricaded classrooms and were evaluated by the sheriff's office.

Like many schools in California, Saratoga is an open campus with multiple entrances and exits, making it more vulnerable, Anderson said. But his staff will not doesn't about practicing and being more vigilant, he said.

"Admittedly, it's time-consuming to do a drill," Anderson said, "but they had no problems with that. They were very enthusiastic, and they feel in control."

At many schools, visitors must sign in with the main office, and Los Gatos' Lakeside Elementary School is no exception. At Lakeside, teachers and staff have the advantage of knowing all parents by sight, but Superintendent Bob Chrisman said even the school's quiet, mountain setting can't protect it.

"A bad guy isn't going to say 'I'm supposed to check in the office,' " he said. "We don't feel it couldn't happen here. We take it seriously and recognize it as a legitimate concern."

If safety is a priority and a concern at local schools, it is manifested even more prominently at Los Gatos' Yavneh Day School. Arlene Mitchell, operations manager at the school, said some parents have wished she didn't implement so many safety procedures, but she said they're there for everyone's benefit. There are guards posted outside the school, visitors must have badges, and staff members make sure that children are going home with the right adult.

"The fact that we are a Jewish school in such a prime location, being so close to the freeway, safety has be a prime issue," Mitchell said. "I have to look at the fact that we are living in volatile times."

The school is next to the Jewish Community Center, which anybody can access, putting the school at a higher risk, she said. Safety procedures that were in place five years ago are no longer relevant, she added.

However, Suzanne Boxer-Gassman, superintendent of the Los Gatos Union School District, said that while preparation is key, it won't prevent all scenarios.

"There is no foolproof way," she said. "You try to shore up as many of the loops as you can. You can take it seriously, but you don't want to frighten the children. You teach them and parents and faculty to be aware of their surroundings."