Safety First!

Hello! My name is Rose Ramos, and I am the school safety agent at Pre-K Z067. I have been a member of the NYPD School Safety Division and serving the New York City Department of Education for 12 years. Before working in District 20, I held positions as a school safety agent in schools of older age groups in Manhattan and in other areas of Brooklyn.

Dedicated to safety, I am glad to say that I arrive at my post each day as a knowledgeable agent. This is due to the fact that all safety agents receive a great deal of training from the NYPD. We begin by participating in an intensive initial training, followed up with monthly training in order to gain new insight, skills and information.

Routine procedures in our Pre-K centers include many things, and ensuring a safe environment for our students and staff is a team effort beginning with our administrative leadership. Monthly safety meetings address safety guidelines and policies specific to Z067. We also conduct routine drills- soft lockdown, evacuation and shelter-in. Verifying the identification of all visitors along with electronic screen monitoring of our building is an ongoing activity. In addition, I conduct two daily safety walks to ensure that the building is in sound condition and that all exits are safely secured with our alarms activated. Daily occurrences in the building as well as all communication between me and the school community are recorded and kept in two separate logs.

Finally, the experience of working in Pre-K has been amazing. Beginning in the school year, I focus on getting to know each and every family that attends Z067. I quickly learn the names of our students and become familiar with their parents and grandparents. It is a great way to start your day when seeing such young students experience their first public school setting. As they adjust to their new environment they begin approaching everything in their school with wonder and happiness, and I truly love being a witness to this in my daily job.

The great success of District 20 Pre-K Centers makes me realize that we are all so fortunate for this program. I hope to continue as an important part of it for a long time into the future!

Rose Ramos- School Safety Agent Z067