Upper School Newsletter – January 17, 2024

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. Please read on for two important pieces of information.

SchoolPass: Flint Hill is very blessed to have the resources to utilize a system with as many benefits as SchoolPass. You probably know SchoolPass from the times when you need to communicate that your child is going to be absent from class. Today, I want to stress another feature that is invaluable for student safety. We ask all students to sign in upon entering the building each morning at a variety of iPads provided by the school. This allows me to have an instantaneous snapshot of which students are in the building. The Upper School administration uses it during our various safety drills, so we are proficient with its features. In the unlikely event that we should have an emergency, this is an amazing tool that can instantly tell me that a student is missing inside the building. I have never had a tool this powerful at any of my previous schools. 

However, we are starting to see a decline in student compliance with signing in on the iPads. This severely impacts our ability to use this tool, which is predicated upon students doing their part. As I said to a student last week, “This isn’t about it taking four to five extra minutes to complete a fire drill on a cold morning; this is about being able to tell a first responder who is missing in the case of an emergency.” 

So I have an ask of my Husky families. Please take a few short moments to remind your student of this amazing benefit that we have at Flint Hill. Urge them to make use of it for their own benefit. Though I grant it is highly unlikely we will ever need it, the school takes voluminous steps to make sure that we are ready for the unlikely, because we refuse to compromise on student safety.

I have been working with our dean of students and Upper School assistant to brainstorm ways to increase student compliance with the system. We would rather avoid issuing infractions and detentions for neglecting to sign in, but we are considering that option should we continue to see low compliance with the sign-in system. That being said, I am hoping that together we can clarify the benefits to the students and build compliance via that approach.

Vape Detectors: Flint Hill is proudly committed to being a tobacco-free, drug-free, and alcohol-free campus. With the emergence of vape devices, a new temptation emerged for adolescents that can lead to poor decisions. In particular, the inconspicuous and subtle nature of the devices can sometimes give adolescents a false sense of security that they can use these devices without being observed, particularly in parts of the campus that are not monitored by cameras, such as locker rooms and bathrooms. Recently, the School started piloting a program in which we are installing vape detectors in the bathrooms. These detectors can ascertain if someone is using a vape device and alert our school security team and school administrators. 

Last week, I announced this to the entire student body. I passionately emphasized that we are being absolutely transparent about this because our goal is not to catch any students using those devices but to deter them from using them. If a student who might be struggling with giving up those devices sees the vape detector in a bathroom, I sincerely hope that it deters them from using the device. Quoting myself from the message I gave the students, “If these devices never buzz a single time, they will absolutely have been worth every penny.”

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I appreciate the work that we do together to keep our students safe and healthy.