The Division of School Safety is dedicated to helping school districts
and administrators develop comprehensive guidelines that will integrate
all phases of violence prevention. As such, the Division of School Safety
can help the school administrator in the following areas:
- SAFE SCHOOLS AUDIT - The Office of Safe and Orderly Schools
is able to assist school districts with safe schools audits. These audits
may include an assessment of facilities and grounds, access control, usage
of surveillance equipment and deployment of security personnel. Furthermore,
these audits may include a survey of the perception of students, staff,
and parents regarding their perceptioin of school safety.
- CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLANNING - The Office of Safe and Orderly
Schools is able to assist school districts with the development of their
school safety/crisis management plans. These plans will generally include
data from an audit, a review of information from past years regarding incidents
that have occurred, provisions to address the most recent trends in school
safety planning, and coordination and linkage with agencies that may respond
to a crisis on school property.
- VIOLENCE PREVENTION TRAINING - The Office of Safe and Orderly
Schools provides training and technical assistance to school districts
in the areas of peer mediation, conflict resolution, safety awareness,
intervention techniques, and legal trends. This training can be adapted
to meet the needs of all staff as well as students and parents.
- SECURITY OFFICER TRAINING INSTITUTE - Through the Security Officer
Training Institute, annual training is provided to security personnel,
law enforcement officials who work on school campuses, violence prevention
coordinators, building level administrators responsible for discipline,
teachers, and counselors.
- SCHOOL SAFETY/CRISIS LINE - The Mississippi Department of Education
in conjunction with the Department of Public Safety will make available
a confidential school safety/crisis line. This line is designed to make
available to students and staff an avenue to address safety concerns without
fear of retaliation. This line will be available at the beginning of the
1999-2000 school year.
- SPECIAL SAFE SCHOOLS TRAINING - There are a number of school
safety issues that may be unique or specific to a district or a small group
of districts. The Office of Safe and Orderly Schools will coordinate and
in some cases develop specialized training modules to meet these needs.
School districts should simply request the desired training.
- STATISTICAL MANAGEMENT - The Office of Safe and Orderly Schools
serves as a repository of data on school violence. Data is maintained on
issues that may be of assistance in the development of safe schools plans
or in the preparation of grant applications.
- COORDINATION - The Office of Safe and Orderly Schools coordinates
school safety and crisis management issues with other state and federal
agencies. This insures that all available resources are utilized and that
the most up-to-date practices are incorporated in the planning and implementation
of the school safety initiative. Coordination is also maintained with other
offices within the Department of Education.
SAFE SCHOOL CONFERENCE
The Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Safe and Orderly
Schools, is sponsoring a safe school conference. The conference will
be held on July 19 - 20, 1999, at the Hilton Jackson Hotel, 1001 East County
Line Road in Jackson, MS.
The conference is entitled "Schools Without Fear" and will
focus on bullying. The conference is designed to be most beneficial to
security personnel, law enforcement officials, violence prevention coordinators,
building level administrators, social workers, mental health professionals,
health professionals, human service workers, teachers, and counselors.
The issue of bullying will be discussed in a comprehensive manner. Several
topics have been included for discussion. Topics include:
Legal Issues
Student-Based Initiatives
Family Issues in Bullying
Anti-Bullying Education Programs
Support Programs
The issue of bullying will be addressed by leading national, regional
and local experts. The speakers will address bullying from a physical,
psychological, and educational perspective. Strategies will be discussed
to reduce acts of bullying on school property as well as relevent legal
issues.
For information of registration and lodging information, contact Clarence
Carter, Office of Safe and Orderly Schools, 359-1028, or fax your request
to 359-3184.