CFSS Executive Director Participates in School Violence Webinar

CFSS Executive Director Participates in School Violence Webinar

N.C. Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen W. Fairley on Thursday, Dec. 1 served as a panelist for a Homeroom with Education Leaders webinar hosted by The Hunt Institute, a Cary, N.C.-based nonprofit that pursues research, educational partnerships and events related to improving education policy.

The webinar – titled “A Growing Epidemic: Addressing Violence in American Schools” – discussed how school violence impacts students and educators; its disproportionate impact on students of color; and what states, districts and organizations across the country are doing to prevent future incidents in schools.

Fairley spoke about current and future CFSS school safety initiatives. She said those initiatives are the result of solid relationships with both N.C. Department of Public Instruction leadership and the N.C. General Assembly.

“I have been fortunate that school safety has been a nonpartisan issue,” Fairley said. “Every child deserves a safe school.”

Fairley said it’s important to focus on individual districts, as safety issues in mountain schools might be different from those in coastal schools.

“We are definitely wanting to ensure that schools get whatever resources we can give them,” she said. “We want our districts to know we support their efforts.”

The CFSS plans student engagement initiatives, and Fairley also touted an upcoming training facility that will focus on school safety. She added that it’s important to hear from stakeholders.

“Our administrators and teachers are part of the multidisciplinary team we have created,” Fairley said. “We’re all in this to ensure that everyone goes home at the end of the day.”

Among the challenges addressed during the webinar were student mental health and the prevalence of social media among youth. Fairley said administrators and teachers must be engaged, but it all begins with parents, who have a “vitally important role” in school safety.

“We want to hear from them,” she said, adding that N.C. State Superintendent Catherine Truitt has created a parent advisory group. “We understand that to support educators, we have to start at home.”

Fairley also touted the School Safety Grants the CFSS awarded to 200 districts and charter schools in October. The $74 million in funding in part went toward resources for students in crisis and school safety equipment, including cameras, window tinting and digital support.

“We constantly want to ensure our districts and charter schools have what they need,” Fairley said, adding that the General Assembly was “very generous” in providing the funding.

“They understood the need and the seriousness of school safety,” she said. “We are anticipating great midterm reports in the spring on what was actually accomplished.”

$33 million of the grant funding went toward the hiring of school resource officers. Fairley said SROs are not intended to be “punitive,” but are in schools for support. She said the CFSS will provide training to school administrators on how to best utilize SROs.

“We are working with the Justice Academy to enhance curriculum to address racial disparities,” Fairley said. “We are going to do what’s necessary to make our children feel as comfortable as we can.”

Joining Fairley on the panel were Dr. Eric Mackey, Alabama state superintendent of education, and Robert Runcie, interim leader of Chiefs for Change, who was superintendent of Broward County Schools at the time of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla. The webinar was moderated by Erica Vevurka, director of K-12 for The Hunt Institute.

About the Center for Safer Schools

The Center for Safer Schools serves to promote safe learning environments for North Carolina K-12 schools. The CFSS serves as a hub of information and technical assistance on school safety to school faculty and staff, law enforcement, youth-serving community agencies, juvenile justice officials, policymakers, parents/guardians and students. CFSS staff focuses on school climate, school discipline and emergency preparedness concerns for North Carolina’s public K-12 schools. CFSS staff is available to provide training, guidance and technical assistance upon request for school faculty and staff and those working with children and adolescents. The CFSS is headed by Karen W. Fairley, executive director.

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