Like: www.facebook.com/saferschools

Contact: saferschools@yahoo.com

Research reveals a child needs

to be fed nutritionally and

to feel "safe, loved, valued"

for the brain to be

most receptive to learning.

Academic success increases

with a

"Focus on safety".

What Can I Do/Expect?
*Organize church/community forums led by "Safer Schools" Team. (contact: saferschools@yahoo.com)
*Ensure children are fed nutritionally: i.e. Backpack-Food Program.
*Volunteer in our schools: i.e. tutoring, etc.
*Teach children "Telling Is Not Tattling": It is a means of protecting oneself and others. Students are often the first to know critical information “under the radar”.
*Support schools when they do things right and
hold them accountable when they do not.
*Insist schools have strict safe school policies (including dress code) with accountability.
*Require annual updates for students, parents, and school personnel about safety concerns.
*Provide annual training for all personnel to facilitate identifying issues.
*Assure citizens: Violence Risk Threat Assessment and Restorative Practices (positive learning, healing, and growth for all involved) are accountable.
*Write legislators requesting their support (see Safer Schools blogsite page, Legislation: Requests Made to NC Legislators).
*If threatened or feel unsafe, complete and file a police report ASAP. Keep the original copy: this will be needed if I petition the court for a Restraining Order.
*Share "Safer Schools" blogsite: www.saferschools.blogspot.com

Community Initiatives:

Conduct sessions, led by Safer Schools Team members, to explore topics to assure an environment receptive to learning:

· “Fed nutritionally”: donate financial support to Backpack-Food Program for Children to provide nutritional weekend/summer meals

· Telling is not Tattling: It is a means of protecting oneself and others. Students are often the first to know critical information “under the radar”.

· Restorative Justice: positive learning, healing, and growth for all involved

· Tutoring/Shared Time: volunteers to support academic achievement and individual attention and affirmation

Conscious Discipline for Birth-Adult, was developed by Dr. Becky Bailey, graduate of Appalachian State University and an “award-winning author, renowned teacher and internationally recognized expert in childhood education and developmental psychology, who is dedicated to creating positive environments for children, families, schools, and businesses.”

Bailey, Becky. 2000. Conscious Discipline: 7 Basic Skills for Brain Smart Classroom Management: Pro-Active positive approach to character education and discipline for families and educators

Conscious Discipline: includes the seven skills of
Composure
Encouragement
Assertiveness
Choices
Empathy
Positive Intent
Consequences

"The School Family builds connection between families and schools, teachers and teachers, teachers and students, and students and students to ensure the optimal development of all.
These connections provide the three essential ingredients for school success:
*A willingness to learn
*Impulse control
*Attention"

Student DJ nominated Donna Porter for Kennedy Center Teaching Award: "Power to Inspire" (videos:

Certified Instructor Donna Porter wins Prestigious ...

Gang Leader to Graduate - A Conscious ...

(& Birth - Elem. + Level:

Quick View

Conscious Discipline I Love You Rituals Teddy Bear Activity Board

Connection and I Love You Rituals™ - Conscious Clips - YouTube

Restorative Practice in Schools: Belinda Hopkins
1) Misbehavior defined as harm (emotional/mental/physical) done to one person/group by another
2) Focus on problem-solving by expressing feelings and needs and exploring how to meet them in the future
3) Dialogue and negotiation: everyone involved in communicating and cooperating with each other
4) Restitution as a means of restoring both parties, the goal being reconciliation and acknowledging responsibility for choices
5) Attention to relationships and achievement of the mutually desired outcome
6) Conflict/wrongdoing recognized as interpersonal conflicts with opportunity for learning
7) Focus on repair of social injury/damage
8) School community involved in facilitating restoration; those affected taken into consideration; empowerment
9) Accountability defined as understanding impact of actions, taking responsibility for choices and suggesting ways to repair harm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HatSl1lu_PM

SaferSanerSchools: Restorative Practices in Educational Settings ...

2 videos in above

Heath, Chip & Dan. 2010. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
p164: Carol Dweck, Stanford Univ. psychology professor:
"Growth Mindset": belief that abilities are like muscles__they can be built up with practice.
p168: Tim Brown: CEO of IDEO, says every design process goes through '"foggy periods."

'Hope' 'Confidence'

'Insights'

Lows of "insights" are not failures, rather challenges that take us to confidence, successful results.

p173-175: Molly Howard, Louisville, Georgia special education teacher, became principal of Jefferson County HS: 80% of students lived in poverty, 15% continued on to college; beefed up assessments and tutorial programs, matched students with teachers who'd be their 'on campus advisers' throughout four years; most distincitive change: grading system: A, B, C, Not Yet;
"Not Yet" gives students mindset: "My teacher thinks I can do better. It changes student expectations." Student graduation rate increased dramatically, student test scores increased, remedial courses eliminated.
2008: Molly Howard: U.S. Principal of the Year out of 48,000 candidates
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If you are threatened or feel unsafe, complete and file a police report ASAP. Keep the original copy: this will be needed if you petition the court for a Restraining Order:
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*During a parent conference, a parent threatens a GCS teacher. Teacher calls 911 from classroom phone. Parent is banned from campus for the rest of the school year.
*Wake Co., NC: a 6th grader bullies and tussles with another student and says, “I am going to bring a gun tomorrow and shoot you.” 20 days OSS
*Asheville, NC: a 6th grader turns to other students and says “Bang! Bang!” 3 days OSS.
*Forsyth Co., NC: a 6th grader points his finger at a classmate with pointer finger and thumb shooting gesture. 1 day OSS
*Alamance Co., NC: Juvenile (<16 yrs. of age) charged with a Felony for Facebook threat/'desire to commit violent acts'; Supt. states he is trying to avoid a school massacre
*Florida: 7th grader charged for threats even though student has no access to weapons
*Portland, Maine: At beginning of school year, superintendent/principals state, “Any student who makes teacher feel unsafe will be distanced from teacher.”
[In GCS, students, for written (not oral threats) threats to shoot classmates & staff, including a reference to a planning session the previous evening, earned 3 days OSS; no Violence Risk Threat Assessment, no follow-up/accountability of counseling; teacher expected/left to supervise two student authors of written threats]
*Dr. Eugene White, twice recognized as Indiana Superintendent of the Year, states to students, “Teachers are here to teach, students are here to learn. If you have a different agenda, we have an alternative school, run military style, for you.”
*IN & IL: For threatening, violent actions in school systems, student is given an automatic 10 days OSS and an in-depth psychological exam. One approach, during 10 days OSS, during normal school hours, student supervised by a retired school teacher in a side room at jail. For children who threaten or commit violent crimes, the goal is to encourage students to continue their academics as they observe the crossroads of their lives. Through guiding and redirecting, not leaving disruptive students in the public classroom nor casting disruptive students to unsupervised street activity, we may address our children who may be expressing cries for help through their threats or violent acts. Goal is to create connection and guidance, to redirect children before they are lost to the prison system, before they become ‘hardened’ members of society. After 10 days, student may be transferred to another school, whereupon student and student’s parents go before the new faculty and explain the need to be transferred.

How can we effectively work to assure the safety of our children and school personnel?

saferschools@yahoo.com

The following informational presentation was created by Tom Stern, NCAE Attorney, and Deborah Stagner for the 2010 LIFT (Law Institute For Teachers) Conference sponsored by the Wake County Bar. (click following website)

Violence in the Schools - 2010 LIFT Conference

Creating a Safe Learning Environment

June 3, 2011 by Amy Buffenbarger
Filed under PSC Featured News, Union-Led Efforts

By Amy Buffenbarger
Belmont was a school run by the students. They skipped class and roamed the halls in the hundreds. Fights were a near daily occurrence. Police cars regularly parked outside. An emergency alarm sat next to the cash registers in the cafeteria to sound when students tried to steal the lunch money. Teachers feared for their safety and stayed in classrooms behind locked doors, desperately trying to teach while ignoring the distractions outside.
Three years ago, people referred to the Dayton, Ohio high school as “Hellmont.”

“It got to the point where I would get phone calls from friends saying my school was on the news again,” said Michael Slightam, a social studies teacher at Belmont. “It was an embarrassment for my personal life and my professionalism.”
Belmont was the place where the lowest-performing and most troubled students were dumped in the Dayton Public Schools district. In Dayton, parents can choose which schools to send their children to, though that will change in the 2011-2012 school year as Dayton moves towards a neighborhood school attendance model.
Belmont’s reputation meant that it wasn’t a school parents choose. Not surprisingly, the school was also a revolving door for teachers.
All of that changed when David White took over as principal in July 2009. Under his leadership, the school achieved dramatic reductions in discipline problems in just a single year.
Compared to the 2008-2009 school year:

Fights went from 143 down to 17, an 89 percent reduction
Assaults went from 83 down to 10, an 88 percent reduction
Arrests went from 58 down to 1, a 99 percent reduction

With discipline improving, the school is also achieving academic results. In the 2008 – 2009 school year, 30 percent of freshman were promoted to sophomores. The following year, 63 percent were promoted and this year, 2010 – 2011, 84 percent of freshman will move on to their sophomore year.
Teachers who once left the school now want to come back. And those who never left now wear their Belmont Bison t-shirts with pride.
“There have been times I have walked through the hallways in the past two years and hear no sound. I actually have to stop and think ‘is this a school day? where are the students?’ Because they’re not in the halls,” said Robin Thompson, a data technician. “They’re in the classrooms where they are supposed to be. The teachers can teach now, and they can teach with their doors open.”
How Did Belmont Do It?
First, Principal White and his leadership team focused on restoring order.
Going into such a chaotic school, they knew the best course of action would be to spend the entire first year working on behavior. Once a safe learning environment was established, then they could move on to the academics and the tests.

Belmont Principal David White delivers the daily announcements via bullhorn during lunch.

Principal White established authority with the students from the very first moment of the 2009-2010 school year. As students milled outside on Day One, waiting for the doors to unlock, White stormed out with his now-famous bullhorn in hand and demanded the students form two single-file lines. They waited outside until the lines were perfect and then White marched everyone into the auditorium to explain the new expectations for Belmont students.
White sent the message loud and clear that things were not going to be business as usual. “I created good habits, structure and direction,” said White. “The kids feed off of that and have done very well.”
Expectations at Belmont revolve around the 5 B’s:

Be prepared
Be on time
Be respectful
Be accountable
Be consistent

The staff at Belmont work hard to get the students following the 5 B’s, and are strict with enforcement. “If you instill that in the kids, it becomes a habit. Once it becomes a habit it becomes their character,” said Larry Carter, the 9th grade transition coordinator.
“Big expectations, that’s the key now,” said Ajilon Harmon, a paraprofessional who works with special education students. “The kids are starting to see that staff are really here for them and they can learn and progress.”
It Takes A Strong Leader
There are 807 students in grades 9-12 at Belmont. Eighty-five percent of the students are economically disadvantaged, 20 percent have limited English proficiency and 28 percent of the students have disabilities.
With high poverty rates and large special needs population, in a city that has been experiencing a very long and sustained economic downturn, Belmont presents a challenging environment.

Belmont High School in Dayton, Ohio.

The challenge was one Principal White was used to. He has made a career of working with at-risk students in Dayton. With experience as a teacher, assistant principal, program manager for an initiative targeting dropouts and truants and assistant to the superintendent, White opened his own school in 2006. He served as the Chief Academic Officer of Dayton Technology Design High School, a conversion charter school sponsored by Dayton Public Schools that serves 9th through 12th graders, age 16 through 22, who have dropped out of high school or who are likely to do so.

His successes with at-risk students drew attention, and White was recruited to Belmont. Knowing he needed a team to recreate the same success, he brought along Dean of Students John Seebock and Assistant Principal Ken Kraemer, both of who worked with him at Dayton Tech. Theron Spence was already an assistant principal at Belmont and joined the team.
“When I was a freshman and sophomore, there were fights all the time,” said Ben Cox, who graduated from Belmont on May 20. “Mr. White came in and now it’s a pretty good place. Some people don’t like Mr. White because he’s strict, but the people who want to learn like him a lot.”
It Also Takes Collaboration
Principal White doesn’t like to be considered the lifeguard who saved the school from drowning. He’s careful to point out to that it’s the educators at Belmont who work closely with the students each day. “I’m lucky to have inherited a group of people that wanted change,” said White. “They were tired of violence. They were tired of the disrespect. They were tired of coming to work in fear. I was very fortunate to walk in to this group because they just said ‘what do we need to do?’”
“We’re all on the same page now,” said Alice Owen-Clough, a physical education teacher. “The teachers are on the same page with accountability, bellwork, classwork, homework. Everyone meets twice a week. It’s just a good thing all around.”
Principal White also has a collaborative relationship with the Dayton Education Association (DEA), which represents the educators at Belmont. Current DEA president David Romick was working at the school when White came in. The two developed a strong relationship, and White made sure to run ideas and changes by Romick first.
“We’re at a point now where things have to change, things have to move forward,” said Romick. “We’re here to serve the students, that’s the bottom line, and collaboration is the only way to get there.”
NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign strongly endorses collaboration as a key to education reform, and advocates for connections outside of the school building. It helps to have the entire community involved to achieve results like Belmont’s.

The alley leading from the school to the bus stop used to be a dangerous spot. The Dayton Police Department along with Belmont staff now monitor the alley every day after school.

Lieutenant Christopher Williams of the Dayton Police Department credits Principal White and the staff at Belmont for taking charge of a plan that relies on support from the police as well as the Montgomery County Juvenile Court in Dayton. “David White is the guy who implemented the plan and his staff are the ones who monitored it,” said Williams.
The police department helped White and his staff identify the root behavior problems, and the police department then worked with the juvenile court system to work on a special case basis with Belmont students. No matter where a Belmont student got in trouble, action was taken in accordance with the education plan.
“When I take a look at the impact we’ve had with our piece of the puzzle at Belmont, there is no doubt in my mind we’ve made a difference in people’s lives,” said Williams. “We’ve all given some of these kids a future they never would have had.”
Photos by Amy Buffenbarger. To see more photos from Belmont, visit the Flickr page of NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign.

14) Proactive Approaches for Safer Schools including Conscious Discipline & Restorative Practices (also, see left page 5 above)

Creating a Safe Learning Environment