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Filmmaker Hosting All-Day Anti-Bullying Seminar | National speaker and award-winning educational filmmaker, Thomas Brown, decided to address the school bullying problem by making a film called "Broken Toy." This film shows what happens when bullying goes too far and tormenting behavior almost turns to tragedy.
The film has been shown in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Shortly after making the film, Brown started his program, "The Broken Toy Project" and began speaking in schools and made appearances on several news and talk shows.
Brown is holding an all-day anti-bullying seminar on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at Magruder Hospital, Port Clinton, Ohio in Conference Room A. Brown will present his anti-bullying awareness program and you will learn common-sense strategies for homes and classrooms that will help you reach the goal of ending bullying in today's schools.
For information about this program, or if you would like to be involved in the seminar, e-mail Brown at film1x1@roadrunner.com |
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Child Abuse Response Varies in British Columbia Schools |  Increased awareness for teachers and administration can curtail many of the problems that arise in today's schools. Many times, if employees know how to respond to incidents, problems are dealt with properly and the proper authority controls the issue. Many districts in British Columbia, Canada do not have strict regulations on how to deal with child abuse. Many parents in districts in Canada have explained that incidents were reported to school personnel and, while they felt action would be taken, nothing was ever reported to police. In light of this, administrators should not assume that their employees know the correct way, or even who, to report to about the situation.
Some contact police and await direction, others contact district administrators or Child protective services, and some still just rely on in-house investigations, but due to privacy laws say they cannot share the findings. More than 12 British Columbia districts have no law requiring the districts to contact police or notify Ministry of Children and Family Development, so what do these districts do to protect staff and students? Some have set up inter-agency protocols while others have no system in place. What does this mean for students and what can students or others do to prevent abuse in schools?
PublicSchoolWORKS helps districts deal with child abuse issues. The company's program includes a staff/parent training program, along with an anonymous Student Safety Reporting System for students, parents and staff that will assist in alerting the proper administrators and ensuring that all employees are doing the right thing the first time an issue arises.
Source: Vancouver Sun, June 2010 |
| Fraud in Utah | |
Former Davis School District employee, Susan Ross, of Layton, Utah, was accused of stealing nearly $43 million from the district in a textbook purchasing scheme. Ross and her husband were charged with selling photocopies of books to schools that received federal Title 1 grant money to help disadvantaged students. They invented a fake company, E.B. Smith Company, for the sole purpose of defrauding the school district.
Ross directed federal programs for the Davis School District, while her husband was in charge of getting grant money from the U.S. Department of Education. The couple was indicted in November 2006 on 47 counts of mail fraud, money laundering, theft and copyright infringement. While the indictment covered a period from January 2000 to May 2005, U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman said that the scheme actually began in 1985.
Authorities have called it one of the biggest school fraud cases in state history. To see more on this story go to KSL-TV
Don't let your district be a learning opportunity for others, control fraud issues with the Fraud Reporting System by PublicSchoolWORKS.
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| Anti-Bullying Laws Coming to a State Near You | |
In 2010, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Georgia passed or strengthened their anti-bullying laws. This brings the national total to 43 states that have anti-bullying laws. Many states have included or updated their laws to include cyber-bullying and electronic harassment in their definitions of bullying.
The following is a list of steps that schools can take to combat cyber-bullying (from the soon to be released PublicSchoolWORKS course "Electronic Safety for Students"):
1.Examine your school's anti-bullying policy to see if it needs to be modified to include electronic aggression.
2.Explore evidence-based programs for the prevention of bullying and youth violence. Many of the programs developed to prevent face-to-face aggression address topics that are likely to be important for the prevention of cyber-bullying and electronic aggression.
3.States, school districts, and boards of education should work in conjunction with attorneys to develop electronic conduct policies that protect the rights of all students and also meet the needs of the state or district and those it serves.
4.Encourage classroom teachers to lead discussions on using electronic media safely and about the impact and consequences of cyber-bullying.
5.Offer educators and administrators training on cyber-bullying.
6. Create a positive school atmosphere. Students who feel connected to their school, who think their teachers care about them, and who think the school rules are clear and fair are less likely to perpetrate acts of violence or aggression, including electronic aggression.
7.Frequently, classroom teachers are aware of electronic aggression, but do not share this information with technology (IT) staff. Administrators must create the infrastructure and support necessary for classroom teachers to work with IT staff to keep them aware of issues affecting young people so they can develop strategies to minimize risk.
8. Be proactive in developing a thoughtful plan to address problems and concerns. When students are made aware of and understand the plan they will be more likely to come forward with concerns and may support the appropriate handling of a situation when it arises.
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) |
| About PublicSchoolWORKS |
Since its founding in 2000, PublicSchoolWORKS has been committed to providing top-quality, practical and cost-effective solutions to the constantly changing environmental, health and safety requirements affecting the nation's educational systems. The company has gained an exemplary reputation for the innovation and technical superiority of its comprehensive and integrated safety and compliance management systems, which combine administrative software tools and resources to dramatically reduce the time and cost required to develop, implement, and sustain safety compliance programs. For more information visit us on the web at www.publicschoolworks.com.
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This Just In |
The PublicSchoolWORKS Catalog now includes more than
220 courses.
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| Product of the Month |  |
Student Accident Management System
The Student Accident Management System automates the reporting, tracking and management of student accidents, including online documentation of first aid administered, investigations, witness statements and other follow-up activities.
As reports are submitted, the Student Accident Management System immediately notifies and mobilizes key administrators, supervising adult and accident investigators to address their specific responsibilities. In addition to improving safety, the system ensures compliance with school district and local, state and federal requirements.
Administration is no longer burdened with the responsibility of tracking and managing every step in the accident management process because the system manages the process for them.
Features include:
Student Accident Reporting & Management System
Accident Investigation Management System
Accident Records Library
Accident Trend Reporting |
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