Safety Thought: New Policies for School Discipline

As the new school year approaches, the North Carolina General Assembly has approved legislation that will change 32 policies for the 2011-12 academic year. The policy changes, are being implemented to reduce the number of school suspensions. According to the new set of policies, only the possession of a firearm on school property will result in a 365-day suspension. In addition, long-term suspensions are being limited to incidences that disrupt the educational environment or threaten staff, student or school visitor safety.

What policies are you putting in place for your school this year? What policies do you have to ensure both student attendance and school safety? Share your stories with us on Twitter@PSWORKS.

Source: The Mount Airy News

Spotlight on School Kickback Scheme

Former North Chicago School Board Member, Gloria Harper, and the head of district transportation, Alice Sherrod, along with three other contractors, face a 26-count indictment because of a kickback scheme. According to the Chicago Sun Times, beginning in 2001, both women were said to be collecting money in exchange for providing business to suburban bus companies. This indictment calls for the forfeiture of 48 busses and vans, seven personal automobiles and nearly $10 million dollars.

Some school districts do not provide staff with the ability to report issues such as fraud, which can lead to incidences like those in North Chicago. PublicSchoolWORKS’ Fraud Reporting System, which is a part of its award-winning EmployeeSafe Suite, provides school staff with the ability to quickly report fraud, suspicious activity, harassment and other risk issues. Once a report has been entered, the system quickly notifies the appropriate people to intervene. This helps schools address situations that could otherwise go undetected for long periods of time before ever being investigated. Being able to intervene more quickly can help to limit the legal exposure often associated with these issues and can help administrators answer the question, “What did you do?” Has your school or district been a victim of employee fraud? Share your stories with us on Twitter @PSWORKS.

Source:The Chicago Sun-Times

StudentWatch: Youth Violence –Florida Teen Tips off Friend before Murdering Parents

In West Palm Beach, Florida, seventeen year old Tyler Hadley is being held without bond after being charged with the murder of his parents. A sad addition to this story is that Hadley told his best friend he was going to kill his parents several times before he actually committed the crime. This same friend later tipped off police to the killings after Hadley showed him his parents’ bodies at a party he threw after he killed his parents. Hadley’s public defender has entered a plea of not guilty.

Would this friend’s timely communication to authorities or school administrators through a tip line have changed the tragic outcome of this event? How do we instill in students the importance of treating threats to others seriously? While this teen had threatened to harm his parents before, any and all threats should be reported. If authorities had been could have involved in threats earlier, just by him knowing that other adults were aware of his thoughts it could have changed the outcome of events. In addition, authorities could have sought appropriate counseling for him and his parents.

Have you been made aware of a situation that could have escalated to violence with one of your students? If so, what did you do about it? Share your comments on our Facebook page.

Source: The Huffington Post Online

EmployeeWatch: Spotlight on School Theft

Theft by school staff and officials is a topic that frequents media headlines. In Wildomore, California Jose Cavajal, an ex-Lake Elsinore Unified School District official has been charged with draining approximately $5,000 from a district purchasing account. Cavajal is being charged with one felony count of embezzlement for allegedly stealing the money after his employment ended in 2010. Cavajal served as a public information officer for the district and had access to the account.

PublicSchoolWORKS’ Fraud Reporting System, which is a part of its award-winning EmployeeSafe Suite, provides school staff with the ability to quickly report issues such as fraud, suspicious activity, harassment and other risk issues. Once a report has been entered, the system quickly notifies the appropriate people to intervene. This helps schools address situations that could otherwise go undetected for long periods of time before ever being investigated. Being able to intervene more quickly can help to limit the legal exposure often associated with these issues and can help administrators answer the question, “What did you do?” Has your school or district been a victim of employee fraud? Share your stories with us on Twitter @PSWORKS

Source: Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch

Safety Thought: Prevent Your School from Closing

What would you do if there were cracks in your schools chairs and broken desks? Who would you contact if the bathrooms at your school had no soap in the dispensers or toilet paper in the stalls? As result of the Guam Department of Educations’ (DOE) failure to address various health violations, the Department of Public Health and Social Services closed Simon Sanchez High School. The closure resulted from numerous violations including baseboards in disrepair, cracked floor tiles, empty toilet paper dispensers and leaking ceilings. The Guam DOE Superintendent Nerissa Bretania Underwood said the first inspection had a specific list of violations and at least several of them were addressed.

How could this have been prevented? What is your school doing to make sure that staff and students are safe? Are you in jeopardy of closing your doors? Share your stories with us on Twitter @PSWORKS.

Source: Guampdn.com

Safety Thought: School Safety Policies

According to Philly.com. a federal grand jury has indicted two former top charter school officials, Hugh C. Clark and Ina M. Walker, in Northwest Philadelphia on charges of stealing $522,000. Clark, the president of the charter’s board and Walker, the charter school’s chief executive officer, allegedly used the money slated for New Media Charter School to pay expenses at another small private school they controlled called Lotus Academy. They also used the money to fund personal businesses, including the Black Olive health-food store and restaurant in Mount Airy. Lastly, they used some of the money for personal expenses, including meals and credit-card bills. The Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC) forced the pair to step down and cut all ties to the charter school. The SRC also required all members of the charter board to step down.

PublicSchoolWORKS’ Fraud Reporting System, which is a part of its award-winning EmployeeSafe Suite, provides school staff with the ability to quickly report issues such as fraud, suspicious activity, harassment and other risk issues. Once a report has been entered, the system quickly notifies the appropriate people to intervene. This helps schools address situations that could otherwise go undetected for long periods of time before ever being investigated. Being able to intervene more quickly can help to limit the legal exposure often associated with these issues and can help administrators answer the question, “What did you do.” Has your school or district been a victim of employee fraud? Share your stories with us on Twitter @PSWORKS.

Source: Philly.com

Youth Violence: School Bullying Correlates to Partner Violence

Have you ever heard someone say, “They are just being kids?” Has anyone ever told you, “I’m sure they will grow out of it?” According to two online studies published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine and the Archives of General Psychiatry, boys who bully their peers as a children are more likely to commit intimate partner violence (IPV) as adults. In a sample of 1,491 men from ages 18 to 35 the study found that men who are violent have increased gray matter volume in their mesolimbic reward systems.

Rather than ignoring bullying use PSW’s Student Bullying Reporting System. It provides 24/7 online and telephone systems with built-in communication tools that immediately notify school administrators when an issue is reported. How often do your students/parents report bullying? Do you have a way to track bullying issues in order to address them before the situation gets out of hand? How do you prepare parents and students to deal with bullying? Share your answers to these questions by joining the discussion on our Facebook page.

Source: Doctors Lounge Online