District Administration - April 2009 - (Page 29)

Ten Years Post-Columbine Conversation with Cynthia Stevenson by AngelA PAsCoPellA It’s 10 yeArs After the trAgeDy At ColumbIne hIgh sChool in the Jefferson County Public schools (JeffCo) in Colorado. two students fatally shot 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 others before committing suicide on April 20, 1999. the district will sponsor on that day a ceremony that the victims’ parents are planning, a remembrance that is about them and their children. In 2000, as a result of those attacks, the state of Colorado mandated every school to have a safety plan. At JeffCo, school staff is trained regularly on safety procedures. staff and students practice evacuation drills. And schools try to minimize problems before they start with positive behavior and anti-bullying programs. superintendent Cynthia stevenson, who became schools chief in 2002 but has worked in the district for three decades, reflects on the 10 years since Columbine and the safety measures that have evolved in the district, which has the examples is the random intruder. five years ago, we didn’t have intruder crises and tragedies such as those [in 2006] at the Amish school [West nickel mines school in Pennsylvania] and Platt Canyon high school [in the Platt Canyon school District #1 in Colorado] where students were killed. the school safety plan is quite extensive, Cynthia Stevenson, and all schools have emergency response superintendent as part of those plans. the plans themselves differ from school to school. for example, depending on the layout of the buildings, they all have different evacuation points. If you have to evacuate a building, it’s sometimes just on to the playground. but sometimes you need to get kids off site. It might be a nearby church or other government building. And as far as the relationships with law enforcement go, in middle and high schools, we have school resource officers who work with law enforcement. If a student is a threat, we join with our local law enforcement agency. When we do threat assessments, we determine how serious the threat is and if law enforcement needs to be involved. If we’re concerned over a custody fight, they will increase police patrols in the area. Your policies stress respectful environments. Can you elaborate? this has to do with how, within a school, do we have an environment where everyone feels welcome. We are focused on developing cultural proficiency in all of our schools so that our kindness, understanding of diverse cultures and tolerance of differences is increased. We’re expected to have norms and knowledge of different races and cultures and programs that welcome parents. And we have student programs that are research-based around conflict management and bullying. for several years, we’ve also run a student survey, make your Voice heard, and ask kids, do you feel safe, secure and valued in your school building? It’s about improving student perceptions. every school sets goals and strives to improve student feelings of safety and caring every year. Any changes in staff and student safety training over the years? All staff members undergo yearly training in both crisis response and threat assessment. And we use more national femA [federal emergency management Agency] courses now. We have people trained in the Incident Command system [a standardized approach to disasters that integrates communication, personnel and procedures] and how to respond to a crisis. more than a few staff members and I have undergone the training. And we do table top training exercises for our safety and security teams in schools to simulate a crisis. teams are comprised of seven to 10 teachers, principals, assistant principals and others, who are trained and understand the system. staff members know their roles and are ready for crisis situations. www.DistrictADministrAtion.com A scene from April 20, 1999, outside Columbine High School after the attacks. 150 schools stretched over 750 square miles. DA first spoke with stevenson in 2004, and she commented on the five-year anniversary of Columbine and what measures had been taken. You’ve been in the JeffCo system for 34 years. Can you explain your feelings on that horrible day when you were deputy superintendent? As you might imagine, the horror of the day grew with each passing hour. my emotions began with disbelief and ended in despair. by the next day I knew that there was no time for despair so that emotion was replaced with incredible sadness for the families and for the entire organization while I simply put one foot in front of the other and did what needed to be done to keep Jeffco going. When we spoke in 2004, you said that since the tragedy, JeffCo schools have detailed crisis plans, regular safety drills and strong relationships with local law enforcement. Has anything changed? We’ve implemented a new school safety plan this year. you have to redo and refine as you learn more and as the world changes. one of Associated Press Image read more about Jefferson County schools’ safety plans. Administrators work hard to improve school climate and culture, upgrade mental health support for students, encourage student reporting of safety concerns, and strengthen prevention and intervention resources to prevent crises. Glaring Gaps Even with all of the positive strides over www.DistrictAdministration.com the past decade, glaring gaps remain. Some of the more common gaps include: • Staff, student, and community awareness. The first and best line of defense is always a well-trained, highly alert staff and student body. The time and funding for staff training have steadily decreased, particularly following the introduction of No Child Left Behind. People will always be the weakest link in school security and emergency plans. The question is, how weak will we allow them to be? • Crisis plans on the shelf. Most schools have crisis plans, but many are outdated and collecting dust upon school shelves. Plans are still not being put together by diverse teams, nor are they reviewed and updated annually, which is a best practice. April 2009 29 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - April 2009

District Administration - April 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Assessment
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Education’s Shot in the Arm
Lessons Learned from Columbine’s 10th Anniversary
An Interview with Columbine’s Superintendent, Cynthia Stevenson
Keeping Track of Technology
Classroom Technology Integration
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Professional Opinion
Research Center
New Products
Product Focus
Online Edge

District Administration - April 2009