April Safety Update

April 24, 2019

To All OCM BOCES Staff:

With the recent incident in Colorado and the 20th anniversary of Columbine, I thought it would be an appropriate time to give you a detailed update on what we have accomplished at OCM BOCES over the past several months to help ensure the safety of our students and staff.

As you may recall, OCM BOCES is taking a multi-faceted approach to school safety, with several initiatives under way to address both immediate responses to potential threats, as well as a long-term, sustained effort to enhance the mental health and well-being of students and staff. As I have said before, no one can guarantee that nothing bad will happen, but we can certainly do our best to provide a safe and welcoming learning environment for our students.

Community Liaisons

One of the safety initiatives we launched this fall — and continue to work on — is having the presence of a school resource officer (SRO) at our campuses in Cortland and Syracuse. As I have said in previous messages, I like to refer to SROs as “community liaisons” because of their proven ability to establish trust and build relationships with students, a benefit that complements their ability to respond quickly to potential incidents.

In Cortland, we were successful in our negotiations with the Cortland County Sheriff’s Department to have a community liaison at our Cortlandville and Port Watson sites. This officer began her duties in the fall, but she is currently on a long-term leave of absence. We do not know when she will return. Unfortunately, the sheriff’s department cannot provide a substitute SRO at this time because of the specialized training it requires.

In Syracuse, I have made numerous contacts with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department to provide a community liaison for our Crown Road and Thompson Road campuses, but I have not been able to get a positive response as a result of these requests. At this point, I will be researching and pursuing other avenues to acquire a community liaison for these campuses.

NaviGate Prepared

In other areas, I would like to thank all of you for your cooperation in downloading and testing the NaviGate Prepared software app. Use of this app went into effect this fall for all OCM BOCES staff and has been tested on every campus. We are now integrating the use of NaviGate Prepared during lockdown drills. If you are new to our organization, or if you have any questions about NaviGate Prepared, OCM BOCES Health & Safety Coordinator David Daignault has posted the training materials on our website, as well as a document that answers frequently asked questions.

Rachel’s Challenge

As part of our long-term efforts to promote school safety through a positive school culture, I am especially proud of the success of Rachel’s Challenge, which is now in its second year. Named after the first victim of the 1999 Columbine shooting, this program continues to inspire our students to build a culture of kindness and compassion in their schools. This year, student participation in Friends of Rachel (FOR) and Kindness and Compassion (KC) Clubs has grown: We now have 11 Rachel’s Challenge clubs across the organization, with more than 200 student leaders planning and carrying out activities that positively influence school culture.

Staff Training

In addition, we have continued to train OCM BOCES staff in Restorative Practices, a model that focuses on effective ways to engage students and resolve conflict. In addition to ongoing training, nearly 200 teachers, counselors, social workers and teacher assistants circled up March 13 for a BOCES-wide training day to discuss ways to build positive relationships with students. We are also continuing to train staff in Trauma Informed Schools, an approach that focuses on understanding the impact and effects of trauma in our students and how to best respond to those in need.

As you can see, we have made substantial gains in our efforts to promote and enhance school safety, but our work continues. I appreciate everything you have done so far to make our buildings safe and welcoming. As we move toward the end of the school year, I will keep you up-to-date on our progress. Until then, I leave you with this reminder: If you see something or hear something that could be a threat to anyone’s safety, please say something to your school administrator or the proper authorities.

Sincerely,

Jody Manning, Ed.D.
District Superintendent & CEO
OCM BOCES