Superintendent's Column

Saving Our Children from Violence

By Dr. Frank A. Tassone

New York State has mandated that every public school district in the state adopt a plan to address the issue of violence, called the Schools Against Violence Education (SAVE) Plan. At the board of education meeting on May 17, district administrators presented a draft of Roslyn's response to this new state requirement.

The required plan covers a wide range of topics, from codes of discipline and crisis response planning to violence prevention education and professional development. Roslyn's finished plan is more than 200 pages long, addressing not only those items required by law but also outlining many initiatives that were already well-established before the commissioner issued his mandate.

As always in Roslyn, the development of this plan followed a comprehensive process of input and review on the part of staff, parents and, where appropriate, students. The mandate from the commissioner of education prompted discussions by the District and Building Safety Committees, consultation with outside experts on various aspects of the plan, a review of the draft plan by the District Safety Committee in April and a public hearing, as required by regulation, by the board of education in May.

The process itself was reassuring, as it revealed that the school district was already largely in compliance with the commissioner's regulations. This is due to the safety and security measures that we, as a school district, have taken in recent years as well as a long-term commitment to the kinds of educational programs that promote an atmosphere of tolerance and nonviolence. Programs to eliminate prejudice, bullying, harassment and discrimination of all kinds are a part of the culture of our schools. The school shootings of recent years and the response of educators to these tragedies (such as the SAVE plan mandate) have only served to redouble the district's efforts to address these critical issues.

There are a number of ways in which the new regulations mirror Roslyn's philosophy and approach to these issues. Our tough but fair discipline code was updated to include some new provisions in the law, including providing some greater discretion for teachers to remove violent or disruptive students from the classroom. Our emergency management plan, which was already undergoing a comprehensive review, was brought into compliance with new state guidelines and incorporated into the SAVE document. A new fingerprinting requirement for new employees will only supplement our already thorough background checks of each new staff member.

Roslyn has been a leading proponent of character education and professional development, which the plan also mandates as among the keys to violence prevention. Programs in community service, peer counseling and mediation, prejudice reduction and multicultural studies are all examples of our commitment to addressing this issue on many fronts. Numerous inservice offerings and special programs, such as Judy Shepard's address to the entire district staff last November, demonstrate our concern that our employees continue searching for new ways to create an environment in which all children and adults are treated with dignity and respect.

As I have often said, no one can say with any certainty that an act of violence cannot happen here. We know only too well that it can. But the state's SAVE initiative reinforces the strong, positive messages that we as a school community have been trying to promulgate for many years, and keeps our attention focused on the safety and security of our children.