Adair County Schools, a rural district located in southcentral Kentucky, enrolls 2,662 students and employs 214 certified personnel and 179 classified personnel. Carolee Lloyd, assistant to the superintendent, explains how the Adair County Board of Education is committed to providing a safe workplace to everyone employed within the school system.
What role does safety play in the school district’s culture?
Developing and implementing an effective workplace safety plan helps assist our employees in identifying hazards, reporting hazards, and dealing with incidents in a safe, quick, and correct manner.
We believe that mandatory annual workplace safety trainings our employees complete provide our workforce with knowledge and skills to perform their work in a way that is safe for them and their co-workers.
What practices have been added to your program that have helped improve your safety record?
Each school site has a designated person trained on the proper protocol when a workplace injury occurs. They meet annually with KEMI’s client service manager to ensure everyone is on the same page and receives the most current safety information.
Additionally, our Safety Committee meets quarterly with KEMI safety representatives to discuss any issues that may have arisen so we can proactively address any concerns.
How has KEMI helped your company when it comes to workplace safety and reducing claims?
When a new incident happens, KEMI has been amazing at assisting us with any questions or concerns in making sure our employees are taken care of and we have appropriately handled any safety issues. Our goal is to help prevent incidents from reoccurring.
What impacts or benefits have you seen as a result of having a strong safety program?
We encourage a culture of incident reporting so that our employees can be treated effortlessly and seamlessly. This not only creates a safer workplace, but also helps us identify how we can improve the workplace environment.
Workplace safety requires teamwork, and our collaborative effort was recognized last fall when the Adair County Board of Education was presented with a first-time KEMI Destiny Award.