MCOE, Congressman Costa Host School Safety Summit

Merced, CA– More than 80 school administrators, law enforcement officials and behavioral health experts met on Friday at the Merced County Fairgrounds to discuss school safety at the Merced County School Safety Summit.

Hosted by Merced County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Tietjen and Congressman Jim Costa, the summit including working sessions focused on school safety planning, behavioral health in schools and creating a campus culture that promotes student safety and wellbeing.

Representatives from the Merced County Sheriff's Office, Merced Union High School District, Delhi Unified School District and Merced County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services presented to the group on best practices and engaging students and the community.

"Keeping our kids safe is one of the most important responsibilities we have," said Congressman Costa. "I would like to commend Superintendent Steve Tietjen and other Merced education leaders throughout the county, the Merced County Sheriff's Office and local law enforcement officials, and our behavioral health leaders for their instrumental role in today's school safety summit. We must address multiple areas regarding school safety, which requires we collaborate and coordinate. That's why we brought together our Merced experts and leaders in education, law enforcement, and behavioral health for today's meeting, and why I hosted a similar school safety summit in Fresno in April. We hope today is part of a continuing cooperative effort on school safety in our Valley."

Merced County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Tietjen agreed that collaboration is key to ensuring that schools, law enforcement and behavioral health agencies are on the same page. "Keeping our students safe is every educator's top priority," he said. "Bringing these agencies together in the same room and sharing ideas about school safety is crucial to ensuring our schools are places where students feel safe and welcome."

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