Tempe Union presents comprehensive school safety plan: drills, cameras, student voice and mental‑health supports highlighted

District staff presented a multi‑part update on the Tempe Union High School District’s comprehensive school safety plan, covering physical safety compliance, psychological safety and student wellness, facilities priorities and cybersecurity measures.

Sean McDonald led an overview of the plan and introduced staff presenters who described specific work in physical security, threat assessment, student mental‑health supports, facilities upgrades and IT protections. Charles Cobbs reviewed physical safety and compliance; Dr. Cliff Moon summarized student focus‑group findings about psychological safety; Ron Denney outlined student wellness and training work; Maria Gonzalez described the youth specialist program and the district’s Sandy Hook Promise and Say Something efforts; Tony Payan presented facilities priorities; and John Zump described cybersecurity training and phishing test results.

Physical safety. Charles Cobbs said the district follows state requirements for emergency drills and site assessments, noting, “The Arizona revised statute requires school sites to do 5 emergency drills every school year.” He reported most sites met compliance standards on items such as front‑office access, secured classroom doors, camera operation and radio communications. Cobbs said some schools completed four of the five required drills while…