On June 28 and 29, over one-hundred students and their chaperones came to Frankfort to participate in the 2010 Youth Leadership Symposium.

Back to School Safety Checklist

• School Bus and School Grounds
  --KDE Guideline and Updates for School Transportation
  --District and School Building Hazard Hunts
  --For Emergency Purposes Number Doors and Windows
  --Hazards in School Facilities-Downloadable guides
  --School Chemicals Cleanup -Science, etc...
  --Play Ground Checklist
• Update Students and Staff Handbooks (Review Policies Related to Safety Issues)
  --Discipline policies
  --Cell phone policies
  --Bullying policies
  --Internet Usage - Accessible Use Policies
• Update Emergency Management Manual (Classified and Certified Staff)
  --Assembly Sites (on campus and off-update MOAs)
  --District/School Safety Team Assignments
  --Students and Staff Needing Additional Assistance
• Training and Professional Development
  --Emergency Management Manual Update Review
  --Practice Table Top Scenarios
  --Discuss After-Action Reviews from last school year
  --Staff Skills Inventory
  --NIMS 100 for Schools On-Line Course
  --Classroom Management
  --Meet with First Responders during safety training and updates
  --Plans for attendance at the Annual Safe School Conference (Nov 15-16, 2010)
  --Plans for observing Safe School Week (October 17-23, 2010)
• Embed Specific Strategies and Curriculum Addressing Safety Issues/span>
  --Internet Safety (cyberbullying)
  --Violence Prevention
  --Anti-Bullying
  --Substance Abuse
  --Gun Safety
  --Natural Disasters
  --Suicide
  --Choking
• Check Safety Equipment
  --Check Safety Toolkits at District Office and in each School
  --Radios
  --Surveillance equipment
  --Flash lights (batteries)
  --First Aid Kits
• Communications
  --Create or revise e-mail distribution lists for communication with staff, parents, key community members, first responders
  --Prepare sample letters for use later in the year
  --Meet with area media and exchange e-mail and current contact information
  
  ** This is a brief checklist of items to consider when "Preparing for Back to School."  It is not exhaustive.  Hopefully we at Kentucky Center for School Safety have heightened your awareness of items to address as Opening Day approaches, and if we can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to call on us.

Steve Kimberling- Youth Leadership in School Safety Award
The Kentucky Center for School Safety and Kentucky School Boards Association would like to acknowledge youth who have taken an innovative leadership role in school safety.  This award will reflect the mission of its namesake, the late Steve Kimberling, who was the catalyst of the Safe School Conference. The Youth Leadership in School Safety Award will be presented at the 16^th Annual Safe Schools Conference, November 15-16, 2010 at the Galt House in Louisville...Guidelines

Upcoming Conferences:

• Safe & Healthy Schools and Student Conference
  -Save the Date- November 15-16, 2010
  -Call for Presentations
• National Association of School Resource Officers Conference - Aug 2-6, Louisville

• There's only one way to stop a bully – July 22, 2010 - New York Times - …In a 1995 study in Canada, researchers placed video cameras in a school playground and discovered that overt acts of bullying occurred at an astonishing rate of 4.5 incidents per hour. …

• Awareity CEO selected as school safety trainer for NASRO's 20th annual conference – July 21, 2010 - eSchool News- Rick Shaw's presentation, “Connecting the Dots to Improve Campus Safety”, will highlight lessons learned from other campuses, incidents, headlines and ...

• Kids who do poorly in school more likely to become bullies – July 16, 2010 – BusinessWeek - The findings appears in the journal School Psychology Quarterly. "We hope this knowledge will help us better understand the conditions under which bullying ... Article: “Predictors of Bullying and Victimization in Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-analytic Investigation,” School Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 25, No.2.

• Drug-testing reduces students' drug use, study says - Jul 13, 2010 - Education Week - Students involved in extracurricular activities and subject to in-school random drug testing reported less substance use than their peers in high schools that didn’t have drug-testing programs, according a federal evaluation of 4,700 students spread across seven states. ...

• Uniforms gaining popularity in school districts - July 12, 2010 - Examiner.com (Louisville) - Over the summer, school administrators review policies including whether or not to implement a school uniform code. Although not in all areas, school uniform policies are gaining momentum. Researchers estimate that almost 25% of public schools now have uniforms. …

• NYC DOE tightens sexting, cyberbullying rules – July 9, 2010 - School Library Journal - Concerns about sexting and cyberbullying have grown recently, presenting themselves in a myriad of ways, from a boyfriend or girlfriend forwarding a private ...

• Mental health woes plague 'cyberbullies' and their victims – July 6, 2010 – BusinessWeek - Teens who "cyberbully" others via the Internet or cell phones are more likely to suffer from both physical and psychiatric troubles, and their victims are at heightened risk, too …

• Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray- June 28, 2010 - New York Times - The girl’s parents, wild with outrage and fear, showed the principal the text messages...

• School is out, keep your kids safe at camp this summer - June 24, 2010 - FOXNews - ...This extra effort comes in the form of more than 300 health and safety guidelines, which ACA accredited camp personnel are required to follow ...

• NSC releases white paper on brain distraction during cell phone ... National Safety Council ... released a white paper describing the risks of using a cell phone while driving. The white paper …addresses the lack of understanding about the dangers of cell phones and hands-free devices. ... Cell phone use while driving not only impairs driving performance, but it also weakens the brain’s ability to capture driving cues. The white paper is available for free download on the NSC Website.