News Photo by Meakalia Previch-Liu Alpena High School senior Molly Dickinson studies on May 7. Dickinson is a member of the high school’s leadership group that provides kids resources to be successful and feel safe on campus.

ALPENA — As Alpena Public Schools upgrades its security infrastructure, school officials and students work to keep kids safe from violence and other threats.

Teachers are prepared at the beginning of each school year to understand crisis intervention strategies, such as recognizing potentially dangerous behavior and building rapport with kids, said Thomas Berriman, Alpena High School principal. Berriman said the training gives teachers skills to deescalate situations.

While violence is relatively rare in Alpena schools, it does happen, according to state surveys of students.

The latest Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth surveys show 14 high schoolers in Alpena, Montmorency, and Alcona counties said they were in a physical fight on school property one or more times during the previous 12 months in the 2017-18 school year. About 16 students said they did not go to school because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school on one or more of the previous 30 days.

Security improvements are planned for all Alpena school buildings in the coming years thanks to $33.9 million in bond sales approved by voters in March. Property owners will repay the bonds over the next 25 years through about 1.8 mills in property tax, or about $90 a year for the owner of a $100,000 house. Taxes are expected to stay the same because existing bond debt is about to be paid off.

But officials said it takes more than locked doors and other equipment to keep kids safe.

Berriman said staff try to build a relationship with kids that is respectful, because, if you have a relationship with a student, a lot of times, issues can be resolved.

“We have as administrators additional non-violence crisis intervention training that we go through every year that’s required that helps us deescalate a situation,” he said.

Teachers encourage students to participate in school activities while following classroom rules to keep them safe.

At the first staff meeting each school year, school personnel go over safety protocols and practice how to react to things as simple as kids talking out of turn to as serious an active shooter on school grounds, Berriman said.

Every August, staff have another meeting at which local firefighters and police help develop a safety plan for the year. APS practices responding to many emergencies, such as fire, tornado, and lockdown drills.

Berriman said, officials have honed in on how to handle violent situations.

In March 2018, Ella White Elementary School students were locked down because a person allegedly tried to enter the school with a gun. Police never found anyone and no arrests have been made.

Still, after that incident, APS worked on developing better procedures for students to shelter in the school against a threat, Berriman said.

The school utilizes behavior interventionists from the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency to work with students who may have behavior issues, said John VanWagoner, APS superintendent. The district aims to ramp up that partnership in the fall.

“The interventionists are more specifically dedicated to children’s behaviors and working with children to be able to look at paths that are non-aggressive and are able to use different strategies to control their behavior,” VanWagoner said.

Alpena High School senior Molly Dickinson is part of the student leadership group that works to make sure students feel safe and have the resources they need to get through whatever they are struggling with.

Dickinson said leadership activities allow students to work together and help kids focus on doing positive things for the community to keep them out of trouble. When kids are busy doing things for others, she said, there is less of a chance of violence or kids acting out at school.

Every winter, the group puts together food baskets and starts a giving tree to help students in need, which allows students to feel like people care about their overall wellbeing. Kids work on projects, such as replacing school water fountains with bottle-fill fountains.

The leadership group also organizes a Unity Day in October, and teachers and students show support and raise awareness by wearing orange, the color that represents safety. On that day, kids sign handprint-shaped pieces of orange paper declaring they are against bullying.

“I’ve always felt very safe at every school I’ve gone to in the district, and that’s been nice,” Dickinson said. “But I feel like everybody will be safer with the additional security updates, as well as the activities we put on to make the students feel really safe.”

Meakalia Previch-Liu can be reached at 989-358-5680 or mprevich-liu@thealpenanews.com.