By Becky Salato, Superintendent, Konocti Unified School District
I’ve been thinking (again) about the power of community and how fortunate we are to have people in positions of authority who care about kids and about keeping everyone safe–specifically, our fire chief, police chief, and mayor.
Fire Chief Sapeta
Recently, we had to evacuate schools because of a fire, and it went as smoothly as if we had orchestrated every move–because we had. Thanks to the partnership between our schools and the fire department, we had buses ready to go, our students had practiced and knew what to do, and parents arrived at the evacuation pick-up point without chaos or complaint. (In case you’re unfamiliar with how these things usually go, coordinating this many people during a crisis often involves miscommunication, frustration, and finger-pointing.)
Thanks to the expertise of Fire Chief William Sapeta and his staff, our evacuation plans are detailed and effective. Also, Chief Sapeta and I communicate regularly. He calls me when weather conditions put our area at high risk for wildfires (called Red Flag days), so we can prepare in advance. Chief Sapeta is more than our Chief, he is a trusted advisor who cares deeply about the welfare of our community and most specifically, the well-being of our students. He and his team support us with more than the immediate fire-related incidents. They follow up to help our students and staff feel safe, for example, by welcoming our elementary students back to campus after we’ve had to close schools because of wildfires.
Police Chief Hobbs
Konocti Unified School District also benefits from a great partnership with the Clearlake Police Department, highlighted by Chief Tim Hobbs’ decision to allocate a full-time school resource officer (SRO), Officer Perry, to our schools. Officer Perry spends most of his time on our school campuses, building relationships with students and helping to maintain a safe and orderly environment. For some students, this is the only person with a badge they’ve ever known, and having positive interactions with someone in law enforcement can counteract negative stereotypes portrayed in video games or other sources.
The SRO’s car has all the school mascots represented on it, letting everyone know that police officers and educators are on the same team–the team that looks out for kids. To that end, whenever I have a question about keeping students and staff safe, I can call Chief Hobbs.
Years ago, when I worked in Southern California, educators would create school safety plans and then submit them to local first responders (police and fire) for review. The plans would come back covered with red ink, showing us all the things we did wrong. We wasted tons of time and the whole process felt like a “gotcha.” It is completely different here. Chief Hobbs and Chief Sapeta are generous with their time. They collaborate with us to create our safety plans because they genuinely care about the safety of kids, our staff members, and all community members. When they help us, the process feels like an “I’ve got you.”
Mayor Claffey
Another safety advocate is Mayor David Claffey. When he and other city council members learned how dangerous it was in front of Burns Valley School (BVS) during student drop-off in the morning and pick-up in the afternoon, they were horrified. Kids used to dart in front of oncoming traffic and the number of near-misses terrified us. We knew someday soon, a car wouldn’t be able to stop in time.
Mayor Claffey got to work immediately. Now, the street in front of BVS is a one-way street, and it has made all the difference. Structural changes like this affect how people drive, from how fast they go to where they’re looking. Given the enormous impact of this change, we are now working with the City and Blue Zones Project Lake County to see if we can make similar changes in front of Pomo Elementary School.
And our partnership with the City doesn’t stop here. We also opened a daycare together for the children of city employees and school district employees. We know people need to balance making a living with caring for their young children. This helps them accomplish that.
I appreciate the way our mayor works hard to solve problems. I’ve seen him in community forums where things can get heated, and he doesn’t get flustered. He stays calm and listens. He may not be able to please everyone all the time (no one can), but he clearly wants to hear from all involved so he can make the best decisions for the most people.
Taking care of each other
I think what I love most about our community is that we take care of each other. We each contribute what we can. I can walk into a classroom and get students through a lesson, regardless of how squirrely they are that day. Chief Sapeta can help us understand the best route to escape an oncoming wildfire. Chief Hobbs can assess risk and help us create safety plans that work. Mayor Claffey can support short-term and long-term changes that make our community safer, more beautiful, and easier to navigate. We all have the same end in mind: a community that is safe where we can thrive and enjoy life.
We all have our role to play and we all need each other. I’m grateful to live in a place where people understand that.