School Safety: It Takes a Village
Sue Chase, Superintendent, Cass Lake-Bena Schools
Are my kids safe at school? What is the school doing to keep kids safe? What about bullying? As a school administrator, these are questions I get asked frequently. As a grandparent of children in Cass Lake-Bena Schools I understand the concerns families have expressed. I share those concerns. As someone closely connected to the school, I can also say that we take the topic of safe schools very seriously. School safety includes a number of factors. Safety in terms of building security and plans for responding in the event of an intruder. Safety in terms of keeping violence that occurs in communities from spilling over into the school. Safety in terms of emotional security (a sense of belonging; concerns about bullying & harassment). And safety in terms of physical safety (free from physical threats, fights, etc.)
The district has policies and procedures to address all these areas. Policies can be found on the website, procedures and additional rules in the student handbook are also on the website. We have a crisis response manual, and staff implement restorative practices, Positive Behavior and Supports (PBIS) and Social Emotional Learning lessons. Even with all of this in place, we still experience fights at school, which are often begun outside of school. Social media has played a huge role in escalating conflict between students. We still see and respond to acts of bullying and harassment more often than we’d like. So, how do we become proactive in preventing these things, instead of reactive?
In response to concerns expressed around school safety in general, the district has established a school safety committee that has been meeting monthly. While the committee initially spent time on answering concerns of staff about emergency preparedness, responses to intruders, and gang activities, the group has now turned its attention to reducing the acts of bullying, harassment and physical aggression occurring in school. The committee is made up of school board members, American Indian Parent Committee (AIPAC) members, teachers, support staff, administrators and staff who have children in our schools. Representatives from Leech Lake Tribal Police Department, Leech Lake Health Division, Cass County Sheriff’s Department and Cass County Probation have joined our meetings. High school student council members have been invited to be part of the committee and we will be seeking middle school student representation. Parents/Guardians who would like to be part of this committee, please call your child’s school, or communicate with your child’s teacher or call the district office (218) 225-2203. The next meeting is November 16 at 3:45 in the middle school. The district understands that we are more powerful when we work together and that we need our community with us to reduce aggressive behavior.
This year, the district and the Boys and Girls Club are partnering in a number of new endeavors to help expand the knowledge and power of our families when it comes to safety. As part of two different grants (21st Century Learning Community and the Achievement and Integration) the district will be offering monthly family nights at each school, where information will be shared on topics that families have indicated they want more information. As I write this, Leech Lake Tribal Police Department members are preparing presentations on topics including social media, human trafficking, sexual assault and domestic violence topics. We will also be providing family fun nights, to bring families together as a community. To make it easier for families with young children to participate, we will be working with the student council to provide childcare. We’ll also be surveying families to learn more about other topics you are interested in. These grants will allow us to offer Saturday Night Live events two Saturdays a month. The grants will also provide us the opportunity to expand after school offerings and include more cultural activities and youth sports camps. We will be working hand in hand with the Boys and Girls Club to accomplish this.
What do these activities have to do with addressing school safety? We know that involvement in activities helps build student resilience and sense of belonging. They also help build a sense of accomplishment. Experiencing culturally based activities will help grow student self-esteem and will build empathy for others. The family, as a child’s first teachers, is the most powerful asset in combating bullying and other aggressive acts. And sometimes, we don’t necessarily know how to help. The monthly topic nights will help provide information to families. The Choose Kindness Project has developed a parent toolkit to help families navigate bullying. I’d encourage you to visit their website and see what’s available. It can be found at: https://www.thechoosekindnessproject.org/parents-playbooks-landing-page/
Most importantly, if you have a concern about school safety, contact your student’s school -- the teacher(s), the principal or assistant principal or home-school advocate. We are all in this together, and we all want school to be a safe place.