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NOVEMBER 2022
The North Carolina Center for Safer Schools (CFSS) serves to promote safe learning environments for North Carolina K-12 schools. Center staff are available to provide trainings, guidance, resources, and technical assistance upon request for school faculty and staff, and those working with children and adolescents. |
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In this month's newsletter
Welcome back to the Center for Safer Schools’ monthly newsletter!
Our public relations specialist position was vacant for some time, and we were not able to get our newsletter out. But we’re happy to resume it, with the addition of our new public relations specialist, Charles Kinnin (see a little bit about him below).
We have had a very eventful year, with the announcement of our new training facility in Biscoe (Montgomery County); generous funding from the General Assembly for the School Safety Grant Program of over $74 million; the anticipated hiring of additional CFSS staff; and the securing of an additional $1.5 million in federal funding to hire staff to support our eight school regions. We have conducted Threat Assessment Team Development Training and added new programs to support our “student engagement” initiative.
I am looking forward to a great remainder of this school year. And we look forward to bringing you a regular newsletter and being active on social media, so you know what the CFSS is doing to support you.
Thank you for your patience and our continued partnership.
— Karen W. Fairley
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The Center for Safer Schools in October awarded more than $74 million in funding from the School Safety Grant Program. The funding will be used in part for safety equipment and school resource officers for elementary, middle and charter schools across North Carolina. Award recipients have been notified.
CFSS staff members scored 200 grant applications. Coordinating those efforts was Assistant School Safety and Program Director Karen Everett (pictured).
Karen, who has worked for the CFSS since January 2015, combed through each application to ensure all funding requests followed the guidelines of the grant. She also checked supporting documents, delegated scoring responsibilities and helped craft award letters and checklists.
“Karen worked tirelessly to ensure the integrity of the process,” said CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley. "Although each application was reviewed twice, by two different reviewers, Karen went above and gave them a third review."
Thank you to Karen Everett for leading this effort and a special thank you to the team of reviewers both in and outside of the CFSS.
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Officers participate in EKG² Train the Trainer in Randolph County on Oct. 5. (Photo by Lisa Jayne)
The Center for Safer Schools held EKG² Train the Trainer in Randolph County on Oct. 5. Randolph County is one of 12 pilot sites in which the EKG2 program for seventh-grade health classes will be implemented.
EKG² normalizes discussions of a once-taboo topic and builds relationships between students and law enforcement officers. This CFSS program is in partnership with Gang Free NC and the three U.S. Attorney’s Offices in North Carolina.
The EKG² training curriculum engages seventh-graders through a two-hour interactive classroom presentation by law enforcement during health class. EKG2 teaches students about the legal, medical and emotional consequences of youth gun possession, substance abuse and related gun violence.
Curriculum resources include the 30-minute educational video “Choices,” which illustrates the negative consequences of dangerous behaviors. The video challenges youth to consider safe options when facing potentially violent situations.
Upon completing the program, students receive substance abuse, gun and gang prevention material in an e-booklet on a USB.
For more information on EKG², contact Lisa Jayne (Lisa.Jayne@dpi.nc.gov, 984-236-2070).
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Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen W. Fairley and Student Engagement Coordinator Michael Wheeler wear orange on Unity Day 2022. (Photo by Charles Kinnin)
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Unity Day
Students and school staff wore orange on Unity Day, which this year fell on Oct. 19. Unity Day is the signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month, and orange is a warm color associated with safety. Center for Safer Schools staffers wore orange and invited Department of Public Instruction employees – as well as students and school staff across North Carolina – to submit photos to share on social media. We appreciate your support in our efforts to create a world free of bullying!
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The Center for Safer Schools in October held free, virtual School Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training. The sessions on Oct. 21 and 28 were hosted by the CFSS in partnership with the BeTA Unit of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and were conducted by SIGMA.
Behavioral threat assessment is the best practice for helping to prevent active shooter incidents, stalking and other targeted violence in K-12 schools and school districts. An effective, functioning behavioral assessment team is a critical component of keeping schools safe and preventing violence. Behavioral threat assessment and management provides a proactive, evidence-based approach for identifying individuals who might pose a threat and for providing intervention before a violent incident occurs.
BTAM training provides fundamental information about school violence and how prevention is possible. The sessions cover how to build and operate a school threat assessment team at the school or district level.
BTAM training provides detailed instructions on specific procedures to use when addressing threatening behavior in school, including how to screen cases, gather information, analyze the information, make an assessment and implement an intervention plan when needed. The sessions include multiple group exercises in which participants can practice using these procedures.
For more information on School Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training, contact SAC Brent Culbertson (bculbertson@ncsbi.gov, 828-782-0324).
Graphic by Charles Kinnin
The Center for Safer Schools on Oct. 25 launched a new feature on its social media channels: Teen Tech Talk Tuesday. Topics covered each week will include tips for teens on how to stay safe online. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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Charles Kinnin joined the Center for Safer Schools as public relations specialist in September. He is a Tarboro native and graduate of N.C. State University who worked nearly 20 years as a reporter, copy editor and designer for newspapers in several states, including North Carolina.
Charles’ duties include preparing the CFSS monthly newsletter and maintaining our social media channels. If you have something to submit, feel free to email him at Charles.Kinnin@dpi.nc.gov.
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The Center for Safer Schools welcomes newsletter submissions about school safety events and initiatives from school districts and charter schools across North Carolina. Please email your information and photos to Charles.Kinnin@dpi.nc.gov.
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