The world 060822

By Linda Johnson, Executive Director, Prevent Child
Abuse Vermont
It is difficult to comprehend that there is yet another mass
murder of children in our country. Nonetheless, a young
18-year-old boy who appears to have been bullied, dropped
out of school, was unemployed, fighting with his parents and
without a plan for his future, has committed the unthinkable.
In his hands a weapon of war, an AR-15 machine gun, created
for soldiers on the battlefield, not a classroom, ended the lives
of 19 human beings.
Guns are now the leading cause of death among children
and adolescents in our country. This is the ultimate form of
child abuse. Although gun laws are controversial, and we are
divided on the changes that need to be made, political leaders
across this country need to take action to restrict gun ownership
in order to keep children and youth safe.
Guns in the home increase the risk of youth accidental
death, fatalities resulting from familial disagreements, and
youth and adult suicide! Additionally, guns make situations
like home invasion more deadly. If you or someone you are
close to owns gun, ask: Is it necessary to be a gun owner, and
if so, why?
If you do own a gun and are rethinking your decision, consider
looking into a gun buyback program and ALWAYS making
sure that it is always stored safely. Take care that it is safely
locked up, with the ammunition stored in a separate place.
There are gun safety classes available to gun owners as well.
Gun Violence Is Child Abuse
State Reviewing Safety and Security Supports for Vermont Schools
By CompassVermont.com
In the wake of the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,
and several concerning reports in Vermont, the Agency of Education
and Department of Public Safety are reviewing and updating
state safety and security supports for Vermont schools.
This type of review occurs regularly and is especially important
any time there is a critical incident or threat affecting
schools in Vermont or in the wake of national events.
“Our first responsibility is to do whatever we can to reduce
the likelihood of a serious threat to the safety of Vermont students,”
said Secretary of Education Dan French. “I urge Vermont
school leaders to continue to work with the Vermont
School Safety Center and School Crisis Planning team to ensure
our schools are prepared and have the tools they need to prevent
and respond to school safety threats while also supporting the
mental health and social-emotional needs of their communities.
Our goal is not only for students, staff, and teachers to be safe at
school, but to feel secure in their learning environment.”
One simple thing we can all do to address problems before
they begin is to simply speak up when one sees concerning
behavior. The “See Something, Say Something” campaign encourages
students to talk with adults if they are aware of other
students considering harming themselves or others. This is one
of the key programs of the Vermont School Safety Center.
The Vermont School Safety Center was organized in 2016
by the Vermont Department of Public Safety and Agency of
Education to provide safety resources and planning assistance
to schools and districts (https://schoolsafety.vermont.gov/planning).
The Vermont School Crisis Planning Team is a task force
consisting of state, federal, and local leaders in education, public
safety, mental health, and other specialties who guide school
safety efforts in the state.
“Our statewide approach to school safety is designed to create
a fabric of initiatives and funding to do everything possible
to prevent critical incidents by enabling early identification of
hazards and threats, and to respond swiftly and decisively in the
event of an incident,” said Public Safety Commissioner Michael
Schirling.
In the past three years the state of Vermont has dedicated
nearly $6 million to enhance school safety through capital improvements
and training for school administrators and staff.
Training focuses primarily on violence prevention and preparing
for a response in the event of an incident. These initiatives
were informed by a statewide survey completed by school administrators
who were asked to identify areas for improvement
and investment in security and planning.
Synopsis of recent investments and initiatives:
Behavioral Threat Assessment Training
$357,480 in federal grant funding has been utilized to provide
training to schools to establish at least one threat assessment
subject matter expert. Behavioral threat assessment is a process
designed to identify, analyze, and manage threats to prevent violence.
School staff and administrators were trained in behavioral
threat assessment and administrators were taught how to teach
their staff how to recognize risks.
School Safety and Security Grant Program
Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont legislature allocated a
total of $5.4 million in the state’s 2018 and 2019 capital budget
to enable Vermont schools and supervisory unions to install
• • •
• • •
Hunting for food makes sense. In Australia, people store
their hunting rifles at their local police stations and sign them
out during hunting season. This way, they are protecting their
family from accidental tragedy and still continuing their tradition
of hunting.
The Second Amendment was written at a time when guns
were one shot at a time blunderbusses. We were in the middle
of a war on our soil and militia groups were actively participating
in this revolution. This Amendment was one that
needed amending a very long time ago… probably more than
200 years ago give or take. The founding leaders of our nation
could never have imagined the types of military weapons now
in the hands of Americans, young and old. Honestly, they
could not have foreseen the now common killing of children
from stray bullets, mass murders of children in schools, citizens
sitting in houses of worship, or grocery stores.
I know I am far from alone in thinking we must change this,
and we must be very brave now about forming our much more
perfect union. If our nation does not allow for the safety of its
children, youth and all folks then what have we created?
Healthy, safe communities that protect children are in line
with the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
that the founders of our nation intended. It is time to use every
one of our voices to consider what we need to do about this
overwhelming gun problem. It is one that is killing our children
and our future as a society. Child abuse is preventable
and gun violence is child abuse.
equipment and implement building upgrades to enhance security.
Priority was given to exterior and interior door locking
mechanisms and public address systems to ensure all those in
and outside school buildings can be informed of an emergency.
Other improvements funded through these grants include security
cameras, window shading and other projects. More than 700
improvements at more than 250 schools were funded through
the program.
School Safety Anonymous Tip Line
A $173,000 Department of Justice grant established a comprehensive
communication system designed to provide students,
school personnel, or other members of the public with
a safe and anonymous or confidential way to report a threat or
potential threat to student or school safety.www.Safe4vt.org
Phone: 844-723-3488 (844-safe4vt)
Text: 274637, keyword “safe4vt” then tip
SurviVermont
SurviVermont educates Vermonters about what they can do
to protect themselves and their family members if they are confronted
with an Active Shooter or Violent Threat situation in
any setting. It combines three easy-to-remember concepts from
established federal public safety programs: See Something,
Say Something (campaign to encourage students to talk with
adults if they are aware of other students considering harming
themselves or others); Run, Hide and Fight; and Stop the Bleed
(grassroots effort that encourages bystanders to become trained,
equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before
professional help arrives.)
Training, Exercise, and Drill Guidance
The Vermont School Safety Center hosts trainings (https://
schoolsafety.vermont.gov/training) throughout the year focusing
on preparedness, awareness, and response. Subjects include,
de-escalation, family reunification, tabletop exercises, optionsbased
response (Run, Hide, Fight) and more. The VSSC also
offers schools recommendations and guidance in the conduct
of egress, fire, violent intruder, and school bus evacuation drills
(https://schoolsafety.vermont.gov/exercises).
Vermont School Crisis Planning, Training, and Exercise
Initiative
A 2018 statewide safety assessment of 422 schools conducted
by local, county, and state law enforcement in partnership
with Vermont schools identified school crisis planning, training
and exercise strengths and opportunities for improvement
in schools. Regional workshops were held in the following
months, and trainings and tabletop exercises developed in the
following months to address areas for improvement.
Planning Resources
The VSSC website (https://schoolsafety.vermont.gov/) offers
all schools guidance on Emergency Operation Plan development,
the state School Crisis Planning Guide, and communication
templates among other tools.
More information on these resources can be found on the
Vermont School Safety Center website at https://schoolsafety.
vermont.gov/.
CompassVermont.Com is an independent publication founded
by a native Vermonter, providing non-editorial news and stories
presented in concert with the culture, mindset, and values of
the Green Mountain State.
DESTRUCTION OF SPECIAL
EDUCATION RECORDS
MONTPELIER ROXBURY
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Let this serve as notice that special education
school records of students who were in our
school system and graduated or left school in
the 2014/2015 school year are being destroyed.
Anyone who would like his or her records
should call Cassandra Estrada at the Support
Services Office at (802) 225-8152 prior to July
06, 2022 to make arrangements for pick-up.
Bill Deiss
Director of Support Services
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June 8, 2022 The WORLD page 11