I wanted to share with you following our Board meeting this past Saturday a brief update on Burgundy security and campus safety, attention to which is regular and ongoing this and every year.

Safety is always our top priority. This year, before the school year even began, was designated by me and our Board President parent Holly Sloan as a year to review risk management, very much including safety. Since summer, an internal task force led by parent and Board member Chris Foster has been reviewing our existing risk management policy and making recommendations for ways to improve our practices and policies in order to continue to effectively prevent, manage, and mitigate risk.

Also, early in the 2012-13 school year we began interviewing firms who audit crisis management plans in order to have our procedures reviewed by external experts and updated as needed, with training and then testing of any revised procedures. We are contracting presently with a company that has worked with independent schools as well as major universities. This work is beginning this winter.

We know that statistically schools in general are among the very safest places for children. That said, like other schools, we know we are not impregnable to intruders, and we must be as prepared as possible for the worst. Being located in a somewhat remote subdivision at the end of a dead-end street, and being bordered on three sides by a deep stream basin and on another side by County parkland, and with a six-foot fence around the property, we have some security advantages. Our neighbors know that they are welcome to walk their dogs or play on campus only after hours, and there is little to no foot traffic into campus and none across it because of the high fence.

Burgundy Road, a public road, which we cannot gate, does run into our campus toward three residential properties up the hill, and thus at all hours we are watchful for who enters campus and how. We have security cameras trained on the drive and also other focal areas of campus, and footage that can be reviewed to observe trends or investigate concerns. Our Caretakers (who live on campus year-round) and all employees, along with many of our parents, keep a vigilant eye for visitors we do not recognize.

More important, when we are in school we steer unknown guests to the Main Office, where they are checked in and provided with a visitor's badge.  We are prepared to escort unwelcome guests off-campus, or to call police as prudent or necessary. We also have guidelines for lockdowns and evacuations and a wide array of potential natural and other emergency scenarios, and as I said, we are subjecting these guidelines for review as part of our regular evaluation and continual dedication to safety.

Finally, we don't like to imagine the worst kinds of scenarios and certainly do not want students to be haunted by fear. Therefore, we do not rehearse, specifically, armed intruder or other frightening situations; but we do rehearse with children potential shelter-in-place and lockdown scenarios. We have walkie-talkies and other measures to make communication indoors and outside possible even if the phones are out. Our teachers are resourceful and know to make use of the most hidden and protected spaces in and around their buildings if a situation calls for it. We recognize that we cannot entirely prepare for every scenario, but our administration, faculty and staff work to be as prepared as possible for any situation.

Should you have specific questions or concerns about student or campus safety, Director of Finance and Operations Mary Mehala and I are happy to talk with you. I hope you'll understand that we cannot publish or share the specifics of our safety plans because plans need to remain confidential in order to prevent misuse. But know that we are undertaking regular processes to continually strengthen our approach.

Thank you for your support. Again, the safety of our children is absolutely paramount.