SchoolRisk News |
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Corporate Partners |
Munich RE
Arthur J. Gallagher
SchoolDude
CBIZ
JDI Data Corp.
Markel Underwriting Managers
PublicSchoolWORKS
Holborn
Genesis Underwriting Mgt.
Willis
Company Nurse
Target Safety
Norman Peterson & Assoc.
Selective Insurance
MediCor
Core Management Resources Group
AssetWORKS Alernative Service Concepts
School Bus Safety Company
to learn more about our sponsors and links to their webpage or to find information about the corporate partner program please visit
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Founding
School Risk Groups |
Florida School Boards Insurance Trust
Minnesota School Boards Insurance Trust
New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal
Schools of Ohio Risk Sharing Authority
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Insurance Trust
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Founding
School Districts |
City of Atlanta, GA City of Chicago, IL Clark County, NV
City of Cleveland, OH
Dekalb County, GA Fairfax County, VA
Francis Howell, MO Fulton County, GA Miami-Dade, FL Rockdale County,GA San Francisco USD, CA
Wake County, NC
Other districts that are direct or associate members now number more than 1,300 .
To find out how to join, click here!
SchoolRisk.org
School leaders who are members can search the directory and find districts with similar risk management interests
If you are a member of PSRI, remember to use the Institute's
Fast Answer
for access to top risk management professionals. Reports are compiled, distributed and archived to save time and money.
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First Days of School 2009 Issue 9
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Risk management is... a vital business process. |
School Start Brings New Season of Hope
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As schools got underway across the country, a California district with student enrollment of about 60,000 students managed to keep intact a ten person risk management department. Not far away in another California district about the same size, the risk manager was successful increasing his staff from one to two. Meanwhile, across the country two neighboring Georgia districts about the same size as the ones in California were experiencing staff changes of their own. The first one terminated its risk manager in July. The second promptly took advantage of the chance to fill a newly created claims assistant position by hiring the former employee of its neighbor district.
Almost 200 representatives of school district risk sharing
groups were among the 900 or so attendees of the California Association of
Joint Powers Authorities Annual Conference, September 8-11. The attendees were treated to presentations covering a wide
range of topics and issues.
Service providers filled exhibit booths, distributed materials, discussed their capabilities and many
hosted dinners. Staff members of more than a dozen school risk groups were on hand, along with superintendents, business officers, risk managers, HR directors, and even a few teachers. The optimistic spirit of CAJPAs founders and leaders helped overcome the gloomy reports of budget woes and anxiety for student safety.
In a Florida school district, a principal would not release an elementary school child to her mother who decided to ride to the school on horseback as a protest against long waits in the car lane. Police delivered the child home safely. Numerous comments of outrage toward the principal were posted on the news website.
School administrators and teachers may be remembering the words of Charles Dickens from Tale of Two Cities - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was
the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season
of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going to Heaven......" These are just a few of the highlights of the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year, and there is
a new leader in the White House and a new kind of flu on playgrounds and in
locker rooms.
It seems now is the time for risk management committees everywhere to be empowered to make a difference.
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Ethics Education Can Transform School
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According to Joseph Mazzola, executive director of the Character Education Partnership, academic dishonesty and bullying are signs of a decline in positive youth development. Establishing an effective character education program requires "visionary thinking, strong leadership and total dedication," "To work, the strategy must go beyond hallway posters, catchy slogans, or occasional student assembly." To download The Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education click here.
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What the Courts Said
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"The court is appalled at the decline of manners and conduct in the
public school system. Moreover, the toleration of vulgarity and
coarseness by our culture can only portend further decline." --- U.S.
District Judge Avant Edenfield, a 30 year veteran of the federal
court, writing in a case involving a complaint from a student who was
the victim of an attempted rape.
Fortunately for the school district,
the case was dismissed when the evidence failed to show that the
officials were deliberately indifferent. However, in his ruling, Judge
Edenfield suggested that school officials should "worry less about legal
liability and more about their responsibility to instill a measure of
discipline in the students who come into their schools each day."
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Risk Leaders in the Spotlight
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Marlon Robbins, risk
manager, Elk Grove Unified School
District (CA) has published an article titled, "The Interactive Process and Impact of the Americans with
Disabilities Act Amendment."
Sandy Elliot, risk
manager, Cobb County Schools, (GA)
was a panelist on the subject of "The Cost of Pain" at the Annual
Educational Conference of the Georgia Workers' Compensation Board, August 31.
Jan DeGracia, North Bay Schools Insurance Authority, and Shaw Bubb, Montana Schools Group Insurance Authority will be guest experts for Essentials in Risk Pool Management, a multi-session online course that started September 17.
Please send us news about presentations and publications by
school risk management leaders.
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Training Table Update
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The Institute is continuing to explore ways to help its members and
produce reliable information needed for evaluation and implementation
of effective training programs for risk control and safety. Below are some notes on new courses, events, and vendors of interest:
- Community Matters is a nonprofit based in Santa Rosa, CA that has trained Safe School Ambassadors in more than 600 schools from coast to coast over the past ten years. Rick Phillips is the executive director. His new book is an excellent guide that clearly explains the rationale for "inside-out" training to reduce bullying and improve school climate. To learn more about what this program can offer, click here. or call 707 823-6159.
- Ethics Ed is circulating a compelling case story to help explain the
benefits of their online course titled "Preventing Sexual Misconduct and Abuse in Schools." The case study examines the work of Neil Trautman, Ph.D., helping a school that experienced repeated incidents of educator abuse of students during a very short period of time. It reveals the denial by those who first thought the abuse was an isolated event by an individual teacher. Dr. Trautman applies the lessons learned in the online course. Chuck Origer is the primary contact in Austin, TX for the course. Click here or call 512 794-8440.
- School Bus Safety Company is getting more orders for the Driver Training Course, an innovative 16 part DVD program that is the first recommended product of the National Association for Pupil Transportation. Jeff Cassell, who leads the program's rollout, is still on the go, most recently appearing at the Annual Member Conference of United Educators Insurance. The program is well suited for use in any size transportation operation and has gained acceptance in more
than twenty states. Click here or call 800 728-2827
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Collaborative Webs Help Risk Managers
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In his book, Group Genius: The
Creative Power of Collaboration, Keith Sawyer points out
that Boston and the area known as Silicon Valley both spawned clusters
of computer companies in the 1980s.
He reminds his readers, that the "culture of Silicon Valley encouraged
collaborative webs. CEOs thought
nothing of calling up a competitor's CEO on the phone and asking for help with
a problem. Some organizations suffered from a mindset of possessiveness. The key to
understanding innovation is to realize that collaborative webs are more
important than creative people"
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Careful Look and Creativity Help Risk Treatment
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Do you need to step back from the problem? Or is familiarity with risk a good thing? Scott Geller, Ph.D., professor at Virginia Tech and author of Psychology
of Safety, says,
"Familiarity is probably a more powerful determinant of
perceived risk than choice. The
more we know about a risk, the less it threatens us. It's so easy to tune out the familiar hazards of the
workplace. When people
perceive a new risk, they adjust their behavior to avoid it. Research has shown that hazards
perceived as familiar, understood, controllable and preventable are viewed as
less risky. This is why many
hazards are underestimated by employees."
There are many resources available to schools to help avoid the danger of familiarity and overconfidence. Commonly mentioned devices for gaining objectivity include, inspections by independent professionals, detailed exposure
surveys, review of court decisions and analysis of literature from various
scientific and engineering disciplines. And....
"A good imagination is an indispensable tool for the seasoned risk manager It's also one of the reasons why enlisting the help of a diverse group of people is essential to any risk management program. The more diverse your brainstorming group, the more imaginative you will be in identifying your critical risks and innovative responses." --- Melanie Herman, Executive Director, Nonprofit Risk Management Center.
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Risk Management Starts with Board Policy
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Article "Some school district policies on risk management and
insurance say little. Hence, they are an inadequate guide to school system
practice. If that is the case in your district, the development of a sound board
policy on these issues should be an item of high priority. " from Becoming
A Better Board Member.
Your district can find several examples of current board policies related to insurance and risk management through the Institute.
A model board policy for comprehensive risk management is also available. This model was developed through
research of existing policies and follows the format used by leading school
boards associations.
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Honor for Caring Communities and School Leaders
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Article A spring graduation ceremony in a district west of Atlanta was the scene
of a dramatic rescue of a guest who suffered a heart attack. Quick
response of a school safety officer and several teachers, along with proper
use of the district's Automated Electronic Defibrillator (AED) were
noted as the critical factors in the life saving event.
A 50 year old veteran special education teacher was fatally
stabbed in the neck by his 16 year old pupil in a Texas classroom on September
23. Two grieving families and many students will be affected by this tragedy. The education community lost one of its valued members.
These contrasting stories can be reminders that an actively caring community often experiences emotions of both joy and sorrow. Honoring the dedication and skill of education professionals is a high priority for school risk management leaders. |
The Quintessential Characteristic of Risk
Managers
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Until his recent retirement, George Head, PhD, was director
of Risk Management and Loss Control Education for the Insurance Institute of
America. In a January 1980 article titled, "Risk Management Heralds a New
Renaissance, Dr. Head stated,
"The quintessential characteristic of an effective risk manager is
universal perception - an openness to events and trends, an awareness of how
these events and trends may change the future and a sufficient familiarity with
a broad range of human knowledge and skills to see when, and general how, existing
expertise may be employed to shape the future."
Dr. Head further stated that "the effective risk
manager is able to examine all facts from all angles in their proper context.
He or she is able to see how events can cause changes in exposures to accidental
loss. The effective risk manager must have the ability to project the likely
outcomes of proposed measures in choosing between competing proposals and
demonstrate the value of chosen proposals to senior management."
Financial conditions create strains on staffing and
sometimes make it harder to find time for new projects. New regulations may raise the standard
of duty for legal liability and require immediate attention. These changes also create
opportunities for collaborating with others. In Dr. Head's view, being
effective means being able to quickly determine "whether a new cloud is
black or carrying a silver lining."
The effective risk manager, concludes Dr. Head, "is the
person who is ready to deal with the risk and insurance problems of today
and strives to stay ready for tomorrow's problems."
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Safety is Our #1 Priority and An Enduring Value |
Most, if not all, individuals and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, put school and student safety at the top of their list of priorities each day. The proposition is often heard that safety, in the best sense of the word, should be an enduring value of a world class educational system.
There are countless efforts being made across the country to make school safety both a top priority and an enduring value. The Public School Risk Institute salutes everyone who is engaged in school safety, health and wellness.
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We hope you find the Institute's newly updated website useful. Please visit regularly and let us know how we can support your efforts to advance risk management. Your input and feedback is greatly desired and appreciated.
You can now get more benefits from our interactive community at our Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Lee Gaby, Executive Director Public School Risk Institute [email protected] NEW Phone (706) 715-3381 Ext. 701
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