Progress Report Video On Work of Student Safety & Well-Being Committee

Mercer Island, WA, April 24, 2026 – The Mercer Island School District Student Safety & Well-Being Committee has held five meetings during the 2025-26 school year.

To keep the community informed about the work of the committee we have produced this progress report video with members of the four subcommittees of the Student Safety & Well-Being Committee.

The moderator of the video is MIHS senior and broadcast media student Reese Hardisty. Hardisty spoke to MIHS junior Wilder Gianni-Upton and MIHS sophomore Kavya Muralidhar who are members of the Students Subcommittee to get their perspective on the work that is being done.

Hardisty next interviewed School Board President Stephanie Burnett, who answered questions on the work of the Professional Boundaries Subcommittee.

School Board Director Cristina Martinez then sat down with Hardisty to answer questions about the aim of the Reporting and Follow-Up Subcommittee.

Hardisty spoke with Superintendent Dr. Fred Rundle about focus of the Student Learning and Staff Training Subcommittee.

The purpose of the Student Safety and Well-Being committee is to examine the practices, policies, procedures, and training currently used in the district to promote safe and secure schools for everyone.

Praesidium, a nationwide abuse-prevention and intervention firm, will be visiting Mercer Island April 28-30 to conduct a full audit of the District’s systems, policies, and procedures. As part of this audit, Praesidium will interview students, parents, and staff.

The committee will present its work and findings to the School Board in May.

The audit by Praesidium will be presented to the School Board in June. 

Both the committee’s work and the Praesidium audit will facilitate the creation of the District’s action plan for changes that will start over the summer and into the 2026-27 school year.

The Committee will not disband after the 2025-26 school year but continue it works for years to come.

Learn more about the Student Safety and Well-Being Committee and the work it is doing by visiting http://www.mercerislandschools.org/sswb.

This progress report video was produced by Student Safety & Well-Being Committee co-facilitator Frank Schott and filmed and edited by MIHS broadcast media teacher Michael Ketchum.