Funding News:

• Just Released – Distribution of Safe School funds fiscal year 2011 details

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 & Public Playground Safety Handbook
• 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 Conference:

• Safe & Healthy Schools and Student Conference
  -Save the Date- November 15-16, 2010

Now Available:

• 2010 - 2011 Training Calendar for Schools and Communities

• Bullying can happen anywhere, but home is often first line of defense – Sept. 1, 2010 - ABC News - Bullying is particularly prevalent among elementary and high school students, and as 55 million students return to classrooms this month, the effects from...

• Gunman killed at Sullivan Central  - TriCities.com (TN) - Aug 30, 2010 ... On Monday morning …for about an hour, Cowan’s armed invasion spread panic throughout the school before a burst of officers’ gunfire brought him down. No others were injured. …

• Back-to-School: Safety on the playground – Aug. 30, 2010 - ConsumerReports.org - Your school’s playground should meet the latest safety standards set by ASTM-International. You can audit the safety of the playground yourself, or encourage your school administrators to do it, by using the CPSC’s Public Playground Safety Handbook (PDF download) ...

• 'Authoritative' parents best defense against cyber-bullies – Aug. 25, 2010  FoxNews- With cyber-bullying becoming a growing problem for adolescents, parents have reason for concern. A study from Florida State University revealed Tuesday that...

• Back-to-School: Hop on the bus, Gus, with these safety tips – Aug 24, 2010 – ConsumerReports.org - School bus safety is—if you'll pardon the pun—a two-way street. Take some time to teach children the do's and don'ts of riding the school bus. ...

• Cyberbullying, 'sexting' major problems for schoolkids – Aug. 20, 2010 - U.S. News & World Report - Research suggests that as many as 25 percent of children in the United States report being subjected to cyberbullying, which is the use of technological ...

• K-12 School equipment safety standard in the works – Aug 20, 2010 - Occupational Health & Safety - The standard will be the first comprehensive standard to certify health, safety, and environmental aspects of products and equipment used in an educational setting. …

• Online safety tips for kids heading back to school – Aug 13, 2010 – School Library Journal - As kids head back to school over the next few weeks, librarians can offer parents some helpful tips when it comes to online safety. …a list of Internet safety tips for ensuring that students' online experiences remain a positive one. ...

• The Myths about bullying: Secretary Arne Duncan’s remarks at the Bullying Prevention Summit  – Aug 11, 2010 – Ed.gov (Department of Education) - … This is an important day in so many respects. It is the very first federal summit on bullying. We have an extraordinary range of NGOs, corporate leaders, state and local officials on hand, as well as the members of the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Working Group. ...

• U.S. Department Secretary to keynote department’s first-ever bullying summit – Aug 11-12, 2010 – Ed.gov – When children feel threatened, they cannot learn—that’s the message U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will deliver at the Department’s first-ever bullying summit to be held August 11^th  and 12^th  in Washington, D.C.  The goal of the summit is to engage governmental and nongovernmental partners in crafting a national strategy to reduce and end bullying. ...