School Safety VADIR Script
- The title, "School Safety, A New York State of Mind" emphasizes that one of the most important goals that we have as school officials is ensuring that students and teachers attend schools that are safe and provide a positive and supportive educational climate.
- During this presentation ideas and strategies will be shared that should be useful in helping you to establish a school climate that is conducive to the overall growth and development of the students in your school.
- The issue of school safety will be examined from the perspective of the Violent and Disruptive Incident Reporting System (VADIR) and will include legal requirements of the system, analysis of VADIR data, ideas regarding how to use the data, staff development that is planned by the Department and contact people who can assist you in your efforts.
- When examining the issue of school safety and violent incident reporting it is important to understand why we do what we do. There are State and federal legal requirements that establish the basis for the VADIR system.
- The State requirement is the SAVE –Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act. This act was signed into law in 2000. It provides for a number of safety considerations such as Safety Plans, Code of Conduct, Finger Printing for teachers and whistle blower protection. It also requires that the SEA develop a uniform system of violent and disruptive incident reporting.
- The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 establishes federal requirements for the reporting and utilization of violent incidents that occur in schools. Title IVA-SDFSCA requires the SEA to develop a Uniform Management Information System-UMIRS. One component of the UMIRS is violent incidents that take place in schools. The second federal legal provision that impacts the system is the Unsafe Schools Choice provision that states that the SEA needs to develop a system to identify schools that are persistently dangerous.
- We know however that data reporting and collecting is just part of the equation leading to safer schools. A careful examination and analysis of the data is necessary to determine what information can be gained.
- The 2006-07 VADIR data has helped us learn that about 90 percent of the reported incidents are in less serious categories. Almost 40 percent of the incidents that are reported are in the IHMB and Minor altercation categories. These are two categories that provide significant insights into the school climate. The more that students in a building are being subjected to verbal or physical threats increases the likelihood that the climate needs to be improved. {Chart 1}
- We have learned that although most of the incidents are reported at the high school level, proportionately more weighted and unweighted incidents per 1000 students are recorded on the middle school level. We have also learned that for two successive years the statewide SVI has been about .23 or 1 serious incident per 100 students. { Chart 3}
- A comparison of VADIR data from 2005-06 to 2006-07 shows a reduction in the total number of weighted and unweighted incidents. This decrease occurred in all Needs Resource Capacity Groups except for Hi-Need Rural and charter schools, and for all levels of education except for weighted incidents on the Elementary level. {Chart 2}
- Let’s now explore the actions that schools are taking to produce positive results. We know that good data collection, reporting and analysis results in increased learning by helping school staff focus efforts, manage resources and promote school safety.
- We also know that a combination of objective and subjective measures should be used to determine how safe a school is. School administrators who have the best understanding of their school building environment rely on hard data in addition to their own opinion of how safe the school is. They have established a regular formal review of VADIR and other school related discipline data to determine how well students are responding to the school structure.
- We also know that school administrators who provide the safest environments ensure that all behaviors that require attention are responded to. They do not make exceptions or justifications for certain types of behavior. They create environments where the little things in terms of school personalization are valued and supported.
- Recently the Department in concert with the New York State Police, the NY State Office of Homeland Security and The NYS Emergency Management Office released the New York State School Safety Guide. The message in this guide is simple and compelling, " if you see something say something. The reason for this message is that research is replete with evidence, that violent shooting incidents in particular, are often preceded by behaviors or statements whereby other people knew about the attacker’s idea or intent to attack.
- Resources are available to schools through the SDFSCA. Each school district receives an allocation based on a formula that factors the number of students in the district. A review of how these funds are being utilized by your colleagues shows that 32 percent of districts use the funding to establish programs that involve prevention curriculum, instruction or training programs. Another 21 percent use the funding for counseling services or other means to change the culture or the climate of the school.
- The 7 steps identified on the next slide provide valuable guidance to school officials in creating a safer school environment. The code of conduct for the district should be reviewed and updated annually and enforced equitably for all students within the district.
- Safety plans need to also be updated annually but equally as important is that drills and practice sessions need to be scheduled during the year. The wise administrator understands the importance of practice to better prepare students and staff to maintain their composure during trying and stressful situations.
- The personalization of the school environment may be the single most important factor in achieving a climate conducive to learning and growth. The publication, "Breaking Ranks II" has considerable recommendations in how to achieve a more personalized school environment.
- The fiscally prudent administrator understands the importance of investing in programs that have proven to be successful over the course of time. There is a listing of programs on the SED web site that have withstood the scrutiny or rigorous evaluation.
- Issues that occur in the community spill into the school and incidents that happen in the school spill out to the community. Consequently, administrators recognize the importance of including key community members and parents and teachers in all conversations regarding school safety.
- As the year proceeds please be aware that the Department and the Center for School Safety plan to offer additional staff development. We recognize that one-shot training is not as effective as a series of coordinated staff development activities. Please visit the Department’s web site to keep informed on additional staff development efforts.
- Please also contact the following resource people if you require information or technical assistance.
- Thank you for your concern and interest in making school safety a New York State of Mind.
Last Updated:
May 27, 2009