NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Talk of the Sound recently obtained several reports and other documents related to School Safety and Security in the New Rochelle school system from the period 2009 to 2012. Some are low quality photocopies. We will present several of them over the coming weeks.
In 2009, 2010 and 2011 there were comprehensive reports on 5 Elements: (1) Safe School Environments and Violence Prevention Activities; (2) Alcohol and Drug Prevention Activities; (3) Student Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Supports; (4) Mental Health Services; (5) Early Childhood Social and Emotional Learning Programs.
To the best of our knowledge these annual reports were never shared with the public. We are publishing 5 articles based on the 5 Elements contained in the the 2012 report that covers 2009, 2010 and 2011.
This is the first of the five:
Element 1: Safe School Environments and Violence Prevention Activities
Goal I: To reduce overall violence in schools and comm unity and achieve safe and orderly schools so that New Rochelle youth can learn effectively.
Objective 1: There will be a 1O% decrease in the number of students who have been in a physical fight on school property from the baseline school year (2008-2009) to the end of the fourth year (2011-2012).
Objective 2: There will be a 1O% decrease in the number of students who did not go to school one or more days because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to and from school from the baseline school year (2008-2009) to the end of the fourth year (2011-2012).
Objective 3: There will be a 10% decrease in anti-social behaviors, including attacking someone with the intent to harm, being arrested, carrying a handgun, and selling drugs from the baseline school year (2008-2009) to the end of the fourth year (2011-2012).
Objective 4: There will be a 10% decrease juvenile arrest from the baseline year (2008) to the fourth year (2011).
To assess Objectives 1 through 3, data were collected from the students through the Communities That Care (CTC) Youth Survey, which was administered to students in grades 6,8,10,12 in May 2009, 2010, and 2011. The survey and administration procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Teachers College, Columbia University, where the Local Evaluator is an adjunct professor. A month prior to the administration of the survey, a passive consent letter, written in both English and Spanish, was sent to parents/guardians explaining the survey. The number of valid surveys that were completed each year: 2,249 surveys in 2009; 2,267 surveys in 2010; and 2,108 surveys in 2011.
In 2011, regarding Objective 1, 17.0% of students indicated that they had been in a physical fight on school property at least once during the past 12 months, which is a decrease from baseline year 2009 (19.1%), but a slight increase from 2010 (16.2%). In 2011, students in 6th grade reported the highest rate of23.6%, followed by 8th graders (15.7%), 10th graders (13.9%) and 12th graders (11.3%).
In 2011, regarding Objective 2, 8.2% of students indicated that they had not gone to school because they felt they would be unsafe at school or on the way to school during the past 30 days, which is similar to 2009 (8.0%) and 2010 (8.1 %). In 2011, students in 6th grade reported the highest rate of 9.9%, followed by 10th graders (9.4%), 8th graders (6.6%), and 12th graders (5.5%).
In 2011, regarding Objective 3, 6.0% of students indicated that they had engaged in antisocial behaviors, which is a scale that consists of eight survey questions. This is a decrease from 2009 (6.6%), but a slight increase from 2010 (5.4%). In 2011, across all grades, 11.8% of students reported Being Drunk or High at School in the past year and 11.8% of students reported Getting Suspended, making these two behaviors the most prevalent of the eight antisocial behaviors. Attacking Someone with Intent to Harm was the third most prevalent antisocial behavior, with 11.3% of students reporting this behavior. Students in New Rochelle School District reported low levels of participation in the following antisocial behaviors: Selling Drugs (4.4%), Being Arrested (3.7%), Carrying a Handgun (2.7%), Attempting to Steal a Vehicle (1.2%), and Taking a Handgun to school (0.8%).
Regarding Objective 4, the number of juvenile arrests in New Rochelle during the 2011 year was 111, which is a slight increase of 6% from the baseline year of 2008 (105 juvenile arrests); however it is a large increase from both 2009 (73 juvenile arrests) and 2010 (84 juvenile arrests). The objective of a 10% decrease in juvenile arrests was achieved in 2009 and 2010, but has not been sustained in 2011. We will continue to measure and monitor this objective to determine if it decreases or at least stabilizes over the duration of the grant.
The activities that are being funded by the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) grant initiative under this clement are the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education And Training) program, safety audits, training for security staff, the revision of the District’s Policies and Procedure Manual and the development of a Security Personnel Handbook.
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) has been implemented in all seven
elementary schools and in both middle schools. As part of the SS/HS Initiative there is one OBPP Coordinator and one part-time Supervisor from Student Assistance Services, Corp. The implementation process includes providing an overview to school administrators and well as the administration of the Bullying Questionnaire in order to determine the prevalence of bullying behavior, attitudes, and related issues in the school environment. The results of the Bullying Questionnaire are helpful when planning program activities and in redesigning supervision in bullying «hot spots.” In addition, the results provide the schools with a baseline from which to measure progress and success in reducing bullying. The Local Evaluator works with the OBPP Coordinator and Supervisor and creates a PowerPoint as well as a two-page summary report of the results of the survey specific to each schooL The results are then discussed during each school’s Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee (BPCC) Training. Each school’s EPCC consists of school staff with a designated committee co-chair along with representatives from the different segments of the school community; including administration, teachers from each grade level, school based mental health professionals, special area and special education teachers, and representatives from non-teaching staff. The BPCC assists in preparing for the staff training on the OBPP which makes the training a collaborative and sustaining effort.
Albert Leonard Middle School initiated OBPP in February 2011 with administering the Bullying Questionnaire to all students. The BPCC planned the school-wide staff training which took place on March 16 and 25, 2011. During this training, the results of the survey were shared and discussed with the staff. The committee planned a student “kick-off’ in which a variety of activities (e.g., poster contest, rap contest) were organized for students during their lunch period for a week in April. A BPCC subcommittee met in August to plan for refresher staff training and identified class meeting topics for the fall 2011.
Isaac E. Young Middle School administered the Bullying Questionnaire during the spring of 2009, the first year of the grant. The questionnaire was re-administered in the spring of 2011 to determine if there were changes. Results indicated that there was a decrease in bullying behavior: In 2009, 13% indicated they have been bullied 2-3 times or more in the past month and in 2011, this decreased to 10%, which is below the national average of 14%. In 2009, 15% reported bullying others 2-3 times or more in the past month and in 2011, this decreased to 7%, which is below the national average of 10%. These results were positive and indicated that the program is successfully being implemented in this school. A summary report of these results were compiled by the Local Evaluator and shared with the school staff in the spring 2011. The BPCC at this school has planned numerous events included an Anti-Bullying rally in May 2011, a presentation to the PTA on OBPP in October 2011, a school-wide Stand-Up to Bullying day in December 2011 and an additional parent event in December. These activities demonstrate that this school has embraced the program and it is anticipated that OBPP will continue to be sustained after grant-funding.
Each of the seven elementary schools is at different stages of OBPP implementation. The Davis Elementary School was the last elementary school to begin the program, which it did in the spring 2011 with an overview of OBPP to their staff on March 25th. Meetings were held in Fall 2011 to discuss next steps include the administered the questionnaire in October. The BPCC was organized in December and the two-day OBPP training took place in January 2012.
Although the Barnard Elementary School has been trained and has received materials, they have found that the program is not as relevant to them since they educate students from pre-K to grade two. However, Barnard Elementary School has embraced the PBIS program and we anticipate that they will incorporate the best practices of OBPP into their PBIS work.
The other five elementary schools continue to implement the program with each school deciding how to organize the classroom meetings and training additional school staff. In the fall 2011, a Bullying Prevention Newsletter as well as parent brochures on bullying were distributed throughout the schools on Back-to-School nights.
G.R.E.A.T. (Gang, Resistance and Education Training) Program
In March 2011, Albert Leonard Middle School began implementing the G.R.E.A.T. program in a condensed form and presented the program in both small and large group settings. All three officers will be involved at Albert Leonard in the G.R.E.A.T. program.
In September 2011, the three New Rochelle Police Officers met with the Isaac Young Middle School administrators and established a schedule for the 2011-2012 school year. The G.R.E.A.T. Program began in October 2011 and ended in January 2012 with all students in 6th grade. At the end of the program, 332 students completed an evaluation form which indicated the program was extremely well-received. Examples of comments included, “I got to learn new things every week;” “I learned how to make good choices;” “The projects due at the end of the program were really fun;” “I loved how a real police officer came into our class and taught us.” Isaac Young Middle School makes the effort to include the G.R.E.A.T. officers in school events which indicates that they value their partnership with the police.
School Safety Activities
Prom February 1, 2011 through January 31, 2012, there have been 30 school safety visits through the contract with BOCES Southern Westchester. The safety visits focused on the roles and responsibilities of safety team members, lockdown and lock-out drills, tabletop exercises, and evacuation planning. To date, four lockdown and two tabletop exercises have been observed by the consultants, Isabel Burk from BOCES, and the Project Director. The Project Director (PD) is now included as a member of the District Safety Team and attended the team meetings in March, October, and January.
Each school in the district received lanterns and flashlights from the Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant funds. The need for these items had been identified through previous safety visits. School Safe Locks for classroom doors were ordered for Barnard and Webster Elementary Schools. These devices were needed to facilitate lockdowns. Three elementary schools have been targeted for camera and buzzer systems on front and rear doors as well as keyless entry systems. It is anticipated that these systems will be installed in spring 2012.
In February 2011, there were two half day workshops on documenting incidents with a total of 23 security personnel attending. Participants learned why reports should be written and how to fill out the incident report, as well as practiced report writing. In March 2011, a Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Refresher Training was conducted with 25 security staff. In June 2011, there 46 staff members who completed the two day Non-Violent Crisis intervention Training and 10 who completed the Refresher Training. Both trainings provided information and resources on safe behavior management best practices as well as allowed for practicing of nonviolent crisis intervention techniques. On November 8, 2011, there were 48 security employees who attended a training conducted by Steve Clark, an outside expert on security. The training covered security professionalism, sexual harassment, and awareness of youth mental health issues. On January 11,2012, a training was held on the Security Personnel Handbook for seven staff members who were unable to attend the training last year. All security staff members have now been trained on this new and approved handbook. On January 26 and 27, 2012, there were 23 security staff and general school aides who completed the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Refresher Training.