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Student services highlights safety drills, mental-health partnerships and anonymous tip tools
Summary
The district’s student services leader described counseling, social-work capacity, the See Something Say Something tip system, Rave and monitoring tools and plans for an all-staff active-shooter drill this summer.
Deacon Ward, director of Student Services for Burke County Public Schools, told the board the department oversees counselors, social workers, nurses, school resource officers and other student-support functions that address academic, social, emotional and mental-health needs.
Ward said the district currently employs 41 student-services staff (nine social workers and the remainder counselors), and described roles including foster-care coordination, McKinney-Vento services for more than 100 students identified as homeless this school year, and transportation-of-origin support for students who change housing. He also described homebound instruction arrangements for students absent four weeks or longer.
On school safety, Ward said the district conducts individual school safety planning and coordinates with local law enforcement and Homeland Security partners. He announced a districtwide active-shooter drill planned for summer staff training (anticipated in June) and monthly scenario practice with principals.
Ward highlighted technology tools used to detect threats: the See Something Say Something anonymous tip system (he said he receives several daily alerts and law enforcement will respond to credible tips), the Rave emergency app that geo-maps incidents and calls police when activated, Gaggle and GoGuardian for monitoring Google platform activity and web browsing for concerning keywords, and plans to continue school-based mental-health MOUs with community partners.
Board members asked if the See Something Say Something tool is being used; Ward said it is used frequently, with some misuse for attention but mostly legitimate reports. He also noted mobile crisis and suicide-risk assessment partnerships and programs such as KIND and SAVE clubs and substance-recovery classes for students involved in vaping or substance incidents.
The report was informational; no board action followed.
