SAFETY AND SECURITY
1. Demonstrate the ability to develop and implement policies and procedures for safe and secure educational environments;
After six failed attempts at passing referenda for new and/or renovated spaces, St. James School District taxpayers passed a $23,900,000 bond issue in November, 2015 by a 2-1 margin. It was a joyous day for our students, staff and community.
The process of facilities development and renovation is both exhausting and exhilarating. Considerations of curriculum, staffing, social-emotional needs, safety, security, accessibility, Title IX and myriads of other components had to be considered. A Facility Design Team of twenty staff, Board and community members worked tirelessly to present this final version of the plan.
As one of the three administrators, I have been involved through the sixth failed vote and the seventh and victorious vote. I currently serve on a six-member Project Oversight Committee (POC) and lead the Middle/Senior High School Building Team.
On May 31, 2016, the Board of Education accepted the bids for construction. What a great day for our students!
Building Bids Approved - Bids
Project Oversight Committee Sample Notes for Consideration - POC
Middle/High School Building Team Google Community Site - HS Building Team
Elementary Floor Plans - Elem Plans
Middle/High School Floor Plans - M/H Plans
2. Demonstrate the ability to formulate safety and security plans to implement security procedures including an articulated emergency chain of command, safety procedures required by law, law enforcement assistance, communication with the public, and evacuation procedures;
3. Demonstrate the ability to identify areas of vulnerability associated with school buses, buildings, and grounds and formulate a plan to take corrective action;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of procedural predictabilities and plan variations where possible;
5. Demonstrate the ability to develop plans that connect every student with a school adult, eliminate bullying and profiling and implement recommended threat assessment procedures.
In early 2016, our school's Social Worker and I worked on a project that tangibly connected students to adults. List of student rosters were placed on the walls in the Coaches' Room. Each staff member (not just teachers) was given a small packet of dots and asked to place a dot by each of the students' names to which they had a connection. During this same time, students in all grades levels were also asked to identify the students to which they had a close connection. The students who had few dots from staff and/or had few names of adults listed on their lists were then connected formally to an adult in the building. The Social Worker and I made sure that we also connected with each of these students in formal and/or informal ways. The trust that built between the students and a significant adult made a difference for the majority of the students on these lists. As a racially and socially conscious Superintendent, insisting that staff make formal and informal connections with students who can otherwise be left on the outside (ethnicity, sexual lifestyle choices, low-income, Special Education, etc) will be an important initiative to lead. It is best led by example and insistence. Below is an example of the data that was collected by the Social Worker during this project.
Dot Activity Data - Dot Activity
1. Demonstrate the ability to develop and implement policies and procedures for safe and secure educational environments;
After six failed attempts at passing referenda for new and/or renovated spaces, St. James School District taxpayers passed a $23,900,000 bond issue in November, 2015 by a 2-1 margin. It was a joyous day for our students, staff and community.
The process of facilities development and renovation is both exhausting and exhilarating. Considerations of curriculum, staffing, social-emotional needs, safety, security, accessibility, Title IX and myriads of other components had to be considered. A Facility Design Team of twenty staff, Board and community members worked tirelessly to present this final version of the plan.
As one of the three administrators, I have been involved through the sixth failed vote and the seventh and victorious vote. I currently serve on a six-member Project Oversight Committee (POC) and lead the Middle/Senior High School Building Team.
On May 31, 2016, the Board of Education accepted the bids for construction. What a great day for our students!
Building Bids Approved - Bids
Project Oversight Committee Sample Notes for Consideration - POC
Middle/High School Building Team Google Community Site - HS Building Team
Elementary Floor Plans - Elem Plans
Middle/High School Floor Plans - M/H Plans
2. Demonstrate the ability to formulate safety and security plans to implement security procedures including an articulated emergency chain of command, safety procedures required by law, law enforcement assistance, communication with the public, and evacuation procedures;
3. Demonstrate the ability to identify areas of vulnerability associated with school buses, buildings, and grounds and formulate a plan to take corrective action;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of procedural predictabilities and plan variations where possible;
5. Demonstrate the ability to develop plans that connect every student with a school adult, eliminate bullying and profiling and implement recommended threat assessment procedures.
In early 2016, our school's Social Worker and I worked on a project that tangibly connected students to adults. List of student rosters were placed on the walls in the Coaches' Room. Each staff member (not just teachers) was given a small packet of dots and asked to place a dot by each of the students' names to which they had a connection. During this same time, students in all grades levels were also asked to identify the students to which they had a close connection. The students who had few dots from staff and/or had few names of adults listed on their lists were then connected formally to an adult in the building. The Social Worker and I made sure that we also connected with each of these students in formal and/or informal ways. The trust that built between the students and a significant adult made a difference for the majority of the students on these lists. As a racially and socially conscious Superintendent, insisting that staff make formal and informal connections with students who can otherwise be left on the outside (ethnicity, sexual lifestyle choices, low-income, Special Education, etc) will be an important initiative to lead. It is best led by example and insistence. Below is an example of the data that was collected by the Social Worker during this project.
Dot Activity Data - Dot Activity
