FROM THE DIRECTOR . . .

      In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, and the recent Anthrax threats, safety is a top priority.  Measures can be taken, such as: re-evaluating district/building emergency management plans and procedures.  Planning for a large event disaster, natural disaster or a threat of violence will aid to prevent injury and destruction of property.  The Center in collaboration with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) conducted a timely Emergency Management training for  Safe Schools Showcase school districts.  The training was designed to help Safe School Showcase administrators and their local emergency management personnel to develop and/or revise emergency management plans.

      A few things learned from the SEMA training are as follows:

ü      Collaborate with local emergency management providers.

ü      Develop and/or revise emergency management plans as threats of violence or disaster change. 

ü      Conduct a site survey of each school in the district at least once annually.

ü      Arrange training for faculty and staff on what to do during a crisis. 

ü      Practice the plan.  The plan will not succeed in preventing injury unless it is practiced. 

ü      Debrief after each drill/exercise to learn from mistakes and improve the plan. 

ü      Include a mental health protocol and recovery strategy.

      Additionally, with the current anthrax mail situation, please read and post the following Guidelines from the U.S. Post Office Regarding Suspicious Packages or Letters:

      What constitutes a “suspicious parcel?”

Characteristics that should trigger suspicion include letters or parcels that:

·         Are unexpected or from someone unfamiliar to you;

·         Are addressed to someone no longer with your organization or are otherwise outdated

·         Have no return address or have one that can’t be verified as legitimate;

·         Are of unusual weight, given their size, or are lopsided or oddly shaped

·         Are marked with restrictive endorsements, such as “Personal” or “confidential,” have protruding wires, strange odors or stains, or emit a ticking sound;

·         Show a city or state in the postmark that doesn’t match the return address.

      What should I do if I’ve received a suspicious parcel in the mail?

·         Do not try to open the parcel

·         Isolate the parcel

·         Evacuate the immediate area

·         Notify immediate supervisor to call both local police and the FBI.

**Additional information can be found on the U.S. Postal Service Web Site: http://www.usps.com

      In retrospect, this is not a time for panic, but for prudence, through the implementation and practice of a carefully designed emergency management plan to help prevent injury and destruction of property.

NOTE: The Center is collecting data on crisis management procedures.  If your district experiences an anthrax mail threat, let us know.

                                Glenn Berry

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FROM RUSTY . . .

      Starting in November, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will begin work with a select group of Safe School grant recipients to design a comprehensive, in-depth evaluation of alternative schools' effectiveness.  In order to participate, select districts will agree to provide extensive prevention programs, participate in the final design of a model alternative program, provide detailed information on the use of line 14 and other at-risk funds, and fully develop their school-wide crisis and building safety plans.  We hope that by the end

of 2003 there will be evidence of what works best in alternative schools.  We plan to use this information to assist districts in applying for Safe Schools grant funds, planning for specialized services and, in general, meeting the needs of Missouri's students.

        Rusty Rosenkoetter, Director

Special State Instructional Programs

        DESE

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SCHOOL VIOLENCE HOTLINE

1-866-748-7047

     The State of Missouri, through a grant from the Department of Public Safety, established effective October 1, 2001, the statewide School Violence Hotline.  Anyone aware of actual or potential acts of school violence is encouraged to call the hotline.  The hotline was developed to allow school districts and law enforcement agencies to be aware of reports of school violence as early as possible.

     The hotline will be staffed Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Calls will be accepted, information gathered, data entered into a centralized database, and faxed, e-mailed, or phoned to local law enforcement personnel and to the school district. 

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MSIP

As part of Third Cycle Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) reviews, the District Response to the Standards for standard 8.10 (the district’s facilities are safe) requires the district to:

List the federal, state, and local school violence-prevention programs for which the district’s safety coordinator has thorough knowledge.  Asterisk these programs that have been implemented in the district, and describe the staff training and resources which have been provided for these implemented violence-prevention programs.

     The safety coordinator should state that he/she has thorough knowledge of the U.S. Department of Education publication Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide (April 2000) (http://www.ed.gov/about/ordering.jsp).  It explains that a comprehensive approach to violence prevention will have three levels.  It lists evidence-based programs that are available for school districts and the factors to be considered when selecting programs.

     The state level violence-prevention guidance is presented in the Missouri Violence Prevention Curriculum Framework (1998), which is available on our website.  It calls for districts to adopt/adapt or develop programs that address all six curricular components of the framework:

1.       Citizenship/character education

2.       Discipline (instruction of self-discipline)

3.       Conflict resolution

4.       Anger management

5.       Abuse prevention (physical, emotional, substance)

6.       Positive peer relationships

     The district’s response to the standards should list programs that align with the components of the Missouri Violence Prevention Curriculum Framework.  For example, CHARACTERplus, a character education model and process mentioned later in this newsletter would be an appropriate program for the Citizenship Education component of the Framework.  If the district is utilizing that approach to citizenship education, the dates of staff development and the resources utilized should be included in the response.

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SAFETY COORDINATOR TRAINING

     As described above, the Third Cycle MSIP requires more of the district safety coordinator.  To help the safety coordinator satisfy the requirements, the Missouri Center for Safe Schools now offers annual safety coordinator training through the Regional Professional Development Centers.

     This year, there will be a 3 hour orientation for new safety coordinators in the morning.  In the afternoon, we will provide 3 hours of training for experienced safety coordinators on tabletop emergency exercises, air/water concerns, and playground inspection.

     The training dates set thus far are:

Southeast RPDC           Dec 18

KC RPDC                    Jan 22

St. Louis RPDC             Jan 24

Rolla RPDC                  Jan 29

Northwest RPDC          Jan 31

     Contact your Regional Professional Development Center for more information.           

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CHARACTER EDUCATION GRANTS

There are funds available from DESE during the 2001-2002 school year for the purpose of adding schools to the Missouri Character Education Project.  Grant recipients will have a team trained in the CHARACTERplus process, then work with the local school community to implement a character education process based on the CHARACTERplus model.  Grant recipients will be expected to participate in the project evaluation process.

Each participating school is eligible for a $2,900 grant.  Up to two schools can apply from the same district.  Applications must be received by December 14, 2001, in order to be considered.  Application forms were mailed to every school superintendent.  For more information about the grants, or a copy of the application form, contact your Regional Professional Development Center or CHARACTERplus at 800-835-8282.

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A CONFERENCE WITH CHARACTER

Plan to attend a character education conference at the University Center, University of Missouri-Kansas City, beginning at 8:00 a.m. on January 25^th and ending at noon on January 26^th.  The fee for registration prior to December 15^th is $200 per person ($150 per person if part of a team of 4 or more).  Contact (816) 235-5993 or skoldl@umkc.edu for more information or to register.

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FREQUENCY OF EMERGENCY DRILLS

The Missouri School Improvement Program, standard 8.10 (the district’s facilities are safe), states: “The district has developed and implemented emergency procedures and conducts appropriate drills.”  The worksheet within the District Response to the Standards for that portion of the MSIP accreditation review simply calls for reporting the number of emergency and safety drills (fire, tornado, earthquake, intruder, and other drills) completed during the previous one-year period.  No standard is set except for those counties listed as having a requirement for two earthquake drills due to their proximity to the New Madrid fault lines (160.453 RSMo).  Ordinarily, teams would expect to see at least two fire and tornado drills conducted each year and more if required by local regulations. 

The board policy set developed by the Missouri School Boards Association includes policy EBC (Emergency Plans/Safety Drills) which states: “A sufficient number of drills will be conducted in each building to give instruction and practice in proper actions by staff and students.”  The Missouri Consultants in Education (MCE) policy set calls for four fire drills per year.

The Division of Fire Safety at the State Fire Marshal’s office (800-877-5688) confirms that  there are no state requirements for fire drills in schools.  The State Fire Marshal has recommended to the Missouri Department of Health that they require monthly fire drills be conducted by licensed day care facilities.

Check out the web page for the Missouri Center for Safe Schools at http://www.umkc.edu/safe-school and call us at our offices in the School of Education, University of Missouri-Kansas City, (816) 235-5656.