First Responders, Rockwood Representatives Collaborate at Annual Crisis Planning Workshop

More than 80 Rockwood School District administrators, staff members, parents, Board of Education members, district safety officers and school resource officers (SROs) and representatives from local police and fire departments met for the district's annual Crisis Planning Workshop at the Administrative Annex in Eureka on Oct. 2.

The meeting served as a chance for Rockwood representatives and area first responders to convene and discuss safety procedures and protocols, part of a continuous effort to ensure the safety of the district's students and staff. Police representatives from Ballwin, Chesterfield, Ellisville, Eureka and St. Louis County attended the meeting, as well as representatives from the Eureka, Fenton, Metro West, Monarch and Valley Park fire protection districts and Central County Emergency 911 dispatch.

“Our partnership is really and truly important, and we are very grateful for the continuing relationship we have with our community first responder partners here in the Rockwood School District,” Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain said. “I want to thank you for not only what you have done but for continuing to support our community on a daily basis. We can only do it if we do it together, and I want to thank you for continuing to support us in so many different ways.”

After introductory remarks from Dr. Cain and Assistant Superintendent for Supervision of Elementary Education Dr. Paul Godwin, District Safety Supervisor Ty Dennis provided an overview of the district Report on School Safety and Security.

The attendees split into breakout rooms by location and school level to discuss potential crisis situations involving intruder alerts and an evacuation due to a gas leak. All participants reconvened as a group at the end to share their discussions.

“The purpose of this meeting is getting to know each other and focusing on our shared mission and responsibility,” Godwin shared. “This meeting helps solidify that partnership between our schools and first responders. The point of today is aligning our knowledge and practices to keep everyone safe.”

One of the key components of Rockwood’s “Forward Together” strategic plan involves providing for safe and caring school communities. To that end, we will continue to foster strong partnerships with police, fire and emergency personnel to refine safety protocols, conduct drills and implement best-practice security strategies in our schools and around the district.

“This is always a great opportunity for us to reconnect each year and refocus on safety with our schools,” Ballwin Chief of Police John Bergfeld said