The 2026-27 academic year is starting up, and one division of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency has been working hard to make it a safe school year.
The Delaware School Safety Center is headed by Director Joey Melvin, who served as a school resource officer in Milford and Georgetown. The center serves as a resource for public, private and charter schools as well as students, parents and guardians. It is also available for school safety assessments and providing recommendations.
During the summer, one of the Delaware School Safety Center’s programs was a training seminar in reunification – how to help schools safely reunite students with their parents and guardians after a crisis.
Melvin said, however, that reunifications are fairly common, such as when there are weather-related disruptions, transportation issues, or even power outages.
“We want to make sure the schools have the absolute best training and guidance for their policies and procedures and kind of calm some of those fears of parents… to know that we have a process in place and not only do we have a process, we practice that,” Melvin said.
Melvin recommends that students and families take advantage of opportunities early in the school year to get familiar with emergency procedures and recommended actions. Opportunities could include the first day of school, conferences with teachers and administrators, and school open houses.
“It helps during any incident, to make it fluid and really mitigate any negative, unintended consequences,” Melvin added.
Also, the SAFEDE anonymous reporting system app remains available. It’s a secure, statewide platform for reporting safety concerns, threats or suspicious behavior any time, 24/7.
“We’ve seen a lot of positive feedback. We’ve seen a lot of mitigated incidents because of this tool,” Melvin said. “That comes down to the school implementing it, but also creating that climate of trust within their building, with their staff, students, and the parent component to that – encouraging their child to be an advocate for themselves and others.”
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