By George Slaughter
Nicole Emidy (Katy ISD photo)
Katy Independent School District Officer Nicole Emidy has been honored with the 2021 Fourth Quarter Texas School Safety Center Spotlight Award in the Outstanding Individual Service category.
Emidy, an assistant emergency management coordinator, has been cited for going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure special needs students are safe during an emergency. She has done this by including emergency operations plans, called EOPs, for these students. She has provided support to the Katy ISD Special Education Department to develop safety protocols for the district’s EOP. This plan includes a method to quickly identify classrooms occupied by students with special needs.
“It’s great to work at a school district that is supportive and prioritizes safety and inclusion for all students and staff,” Emidy said in a news release. “The implementation of the special needs annex to our emergency plan and the application of appropriate signage acknowledges and protects unique student needs as well as ensures the safety of learners, staff and first responders in the event of an emergency.”
As part of the collaborative efforts between officers and special needs employees, Emidy educated staff members on the role of emergency responders during a crisis incident. She also as gathered feedback from teachers on best practices when approaching special needs students.
Across district campuses, orange triangles can be seen on the doors of self-contained classrooms serving special needs students. These symbols alert first responders that the students may need more assistance during an emergency. Emidy also devised a way to repurpose strobes used for door-propped open alarms which would create a visual cue to assist hearing-impaired students in case of a school lockdown.
“Nicole’s overall versatility, commitment and tenacity to keep students and staff at Katy ISD safe and secure is truly extraordinary,” Ruben Martinez, Katy ISD emergency management coordinator, said.