SJSD shares action plans for students with disabilities during school threats

By Jazmine Knight

School lockdowns, fires or tornado drills can be daunting for any student. For a student who is deaf or blind, however, the situation can be all the more difficult to navigate.

For Isaiah Middendorf, a visually impaired sixth grader in the Stewartsville School District, he’s used to having accommodations made for him, but sometimes things are still a little overwhelming.

“You would see things from a different perspective. It just will look a bit blurry and just out of focus,” Middendorf said.

Born with Septo-optic dysplasia at five weeks early, Middendorf uses a cane and a team of paras that help him navigate the school day.

“(We do) some math, ELA, my braille work, all that kind of stuff,” he said.

Luckily for Middendorf, he still retains some of his sight and he knows his school like the back of his hand. But for other kids with disabilities, they’re not as fortunate.

Shannon Nolte, director of nonacademic services with the St. Joseph School District, said many of the district’s students with disabilities rely on paras and teachers to alert students during a school threat.

Teachers and staff are alerted using the Raptor Alert system, which is an app that makes a sound similar to an Amber Alert if a threat were to occur. Students near the teacher would be able to hear and recognize this sound. From there, students would then listen to the adult for directions on what to do next. Nolte estimates about 95% of staff have the Raptor system.

When asked if a system like this would help him in school, Middendorf said yes. He said when people have an impairment, it’s true that one of their other senses is heightened. For him, his best sense would be hearing.

“(We have) superhuman sharpness, except sight,” he said.

Nolte said the Raptor system is a good way to notify teachers and staff immediately so they can alert students quickly as well.

“But since every person can’t hear it, obviously the teacher and then that staff member is going to communicate with that student that needs to be alerted. Similarly, if there is vision impairment,” Nolte said.

The district is also working toward implementing a new system to help alert students in a time of danger. A recent bond issue featured upgrades to the intercoms in each school.

“One of the things we have looked at in the specifications is the capability for intercoms to have visual messaging,” Nolte said.

For deaf or hard-of-hearing students, the new intercoms would send a visual message equipped with lights, flashes and directions so students can understand what is going on.

The district is currently working on reviewing RFQs and already conducted interviews with some installation companies.

“We would look to present those to the Board of Education to get those approved this month and then that work could probably start in November, December,” said Nolte.

He anticipates the project to be completed in all 24 school buildings around January or February.

Nolte said if a student with a disability is alone during a school threat, then they have a short amount of time to find a classroom to hide in. However, if most of the teachers have already closed their doors, then the student is automatically trained to find a different place to hide such as a bathroom or closet. The district also has about three drills a year for lockdown to prepare students before a catastrophe happens.

For Middendorf, the sixth grader also said he believes having a more accessible laptop like a MacBook would help him tremendously while attending school in Stewartsville. Middendorf said his Chromebook doesn’t have certain screen reader or voiceover apps, which he would use to complete assignments.

“MacBooks can add all three of those things … It takes me like 10 times longer on my Chromebook,” he said.

Though being visually impaired has provided a lot of challenges for Middendorf, he still excels in other ways.

“I have a gift for music,” he said. “I get a lot of compliments from my band for achieving hard goals on the saxophone.”

As for the St. Joseph School District, since many hoax threats have been occurring lately, Nolte wants to reassure parents that they are doing everything they can to keep students safe, including students with disabilities.

“We treat every one of them (threats or hoaxes) seriously. We treat every one of them like they’re going to be a threat,” said Nolte.