BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY: Student's physical, emotional well-being top of mind in Kings Canyon Unified

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Safety and security is top of mind for all families as they send their students back to school.

One Fresno County district is adding new positions this year to help the youngest students in their district feel secure.

In the heart of Reedley, Lincoln Elementary School is home to around 350 students in TK to 5th grade.

"At Lincoln School, we call ourselves the friendly school," Lincoln Elementary School Principal Anita Elizondo said.

Elizondo says the "Home of the Panthers" is a smaller school in the Kings Canyon Unified School District, but is full of heart.

"Kids have Panther pride at Lincoln School, so Lincoln Panthers are responsible, respectful, kind, and safe," Elizondo said.

Safety is at the forefront of changes coming as students return to class.

Starting this fall, all elementary schools in the district will have campus assistants.

It's a program already in place at the district's middle schools and high schools.

"The purpose of them coming to our elementary schools, specifically, is to be the eyes and ears of the campus," KCUSD Student Services Administrator Sergio Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez oversees the program.

The campus assistant will work during school hours and will monitor entry points and student movement throughout the campus.

They will be in communication with the office and local police department, if anything needs to be addressed.

"They will be an integral part of the safety of our campus from here on out." Rodriguez said.

While physical safety is a priority for the district, so is the social-emotional well-being of students.

That's why eight new 'Family and Student Clinicians' have been hired to provide services for all of the districts K-5 schools.

Bernadette Sanchez is the lead social worker for KCUSD.

"My role is to support families when their children are going through social and emotional issues in life," Sanchez said.

The newly hired clinicians will be adding to the 14 social workers already in place throughout the district's middle schools and high schools.

That means there will now be someone at each elementary school trained to help a child dealing with day-to-day anxiety or extreme emotion.

Students will have access to individual counseling and group counseling on campus, free of charge.

The clinicians can also help with at-risk assessments and threat assessments with children.

"We're in a rural area, we don't have a lot of connections to services as bigger cities do and we're the primary source of support for our families and our communities," Sanchez said.

Principal Elizondo says she's optimistic that the added positions will make students feel more comfortable at school and ultimately be more successful.

"Kids learn and thrive when they feel safe and secure in an environment," Elizondo said. "I think that that is going to just bring an overall sense of safety and security to everybody - the community, the family, the students and the staff as well."

Fresno Unified School District has also recently been approved to hire campus assistants for all of its elementary school locations.

District officials say they'll now be working on hiring for the positions.

FUSD has student resource officers (SROs) at all the comprehensive high schools, as well as Duncan Polytechnical and the alternative education sites. By the start of the fall semester, all middle schools will have SROs.

In the Central Unified School District, there are SROs at each of the three high schools. The three middle schools share two SROs. The high schools and middle schools have at least two student liaisons.

In general, the student liaisons patrol and supervise campus activities to ensure the well-being and safety of students and staff in non-classroom activities.

In the Clovis Unified School District, there are 17 SROs. An SRO is assigned to every high school and intermediate school. There are four flex officers that are available to respond to the elementary sites as needed.

There are several on-call officers who work during off hours.

There are also multiple student relations liaisons who are assigned to the high schools and intermediate schools. There are teams that work at the elementary and secondary level and are supported by campus monitors.

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