Safety & Security
Milltown Public Schools is committed to the highest level of safety and security for students and staff. A long-standing partnership with a consultant firm specializing in school emergency preparedness provides expert oversight in addition to adherence with NJDOE guidance on K-12 risk mitigation ensures that all recommendations are being considered and measures are implemented to protect our children at school. Regular visits and trainings with our safety and security consultant firm are scheduled throughout each school year. Consultation includes on-site assessments of security of facilities, safety procedures, and crisis planning, intervention and response. Recommendations are reviewed in partnership with local law enforcement, school teams and the Board of Education.
School Safety Specialists
Milltown has three certified school safety specialists in the district. This is beyond the NJDOE’s requirement of one per district. Our SSS regularly attend the most current trainings offered in the areas of school safety and security through the NJ Department of Homeland Security and related organizations, and update our district crisis plan annually. Each school has a school threat assessment team comprised of administrators, teachers, counselors and nurses. The school crisis teams are trained to identify and respond to students presenting at-risk behaviors in order to intervene with appropriate services and support for that student. The crisis teams are also involved with monthly drills and table top exercises in order to be prepared for a variety of scenarios related to potential threats.
Facilities Security
Security cameras provide a full scope of the outside campus and inside of each school building. All staff and middle school students are required to wear their ID badges. We have a trained safety officer on staff who patrols the hallways and outside campus. Each of our schools are secured from the outside with an enclosed vestibule, preventing direct entrance to the areas that students occupy. All doors remain locked, and staff members are stationed at every door used by students at arrival and dismissal as well as key areas outside the school. Every door in the school is equipped with a double-locking mechanism that serves as a barricade to intruders.
Our local police officers also routinely walk through our hallways and are on site for arrival, dismissal and various events. We have an emergency alert system that allows us to directly notify the local police department of an incident as well as an app that provides a way to communicate directly with staff during a crisis.