Losing some school safety.

Yesterday’s Bergen Record had a story about budget cuts forcing school districts to lose their School Resource Officers. Ridgewood lost its SRO and it’s definitely a loss for our students.

It may surprise some people that I am a fan of police officers in schools for any reason, but the SRO is not simply an armed-guard. Rather than intimidating students, frisking kids, searching lockers or chasing down youthful offenders, the SRO’s benefits are more subtle and long term. In Ridgewood, our SRO formed relationships with students in the high school and middle schools. Actually, elementary school students became acquainted with him as he would occasionally talk to their classes, then when they got to middle school they’d see him more often and perhaps get to know him one on one. And then by high school they were comfortable enough to share information about activities and interests of kids in Ridgewood – things that might happen in school or outside of school. The SRO got to know many students by name, he had his ear to the ground, and heard stories about parties or incidents. He knew who had bad home situations. He helped get assistance for kids with substance problems. And the kids felt he genuinely cared about them. Students could come to him for advice. If he heard about an issue that was in the principal’s purview, he’s share that info. And vice versa. Without a doubt, the SRO prevented some crimes from happening and when there were incidents, he was able to follow-up with more precision and success.

It’s nice to read that some towns, such as New Milford, stepped in with funding from the town budget, to keep SROs in place. Our BOE was unsuccessful in getting the Village of Ridgewood to fund our SRO when grant funding ran out. So the Ridgewood SRO was reassigned to “regular” police work.

Does my opinion of the SRO program conflict with my opinion of extracurricular codes that punish kids for activities that take place outside of school? Absolutely not. I still am not comfortable with a school imposing sanctions – such as barring a student from sports or clubs – because of something they may have done on a Saturday night. But the SRO program was different. It was about communication and rapport and the “it takes a village” mentality, not simply a shortcut to official police reports.

It’s too bad we lost it.

They are busy in Trenton.

As if creating a budget and dealing with the state's deficit weren't enough, you'll be happy to know that our state legislators are also busy crafting other vital legislation. Here's a sample of recent bills:

A-3140 Spencer (D-29); Wagner (D-38) Requires boards of education to calculate body mass index for students in first, fourth, seventh, and tenth grades.

Oh, boy, for all those parents who feel schools intrude too far into the personal lives or home lives of students, how is this? Under this bill, we'd be calculating weight and body fat and, presumably, tracking this info over time.

A-444/S-295 Spencer (D-29), Caputo (D-28), Quijano (D-20), Rodriguez (D-33) Requires school board members to undergo criminal history background checks, and it would disqualify members convicted of any crime that would disqualify a person from working in a public school.

OK, this isn't so bad, I suppose. The NJ School Boards Association already supports disclosure of past criminal convictions by current and prospective school board members. I think it's a little annoying that the school board member would be required to pay the cost of the background check...and I certainly agree with critics who wonder why background checks wouldn't be required of charter school trustees -- or all elected officials?

A-1019/S-438 Spencer (D-29), Caputo (D-28), Quijano (D-20), Rodriguez (D-33) (passed the Assembly on June 28 by a 74-2-1 vote, and now in the Senate Education Committee) would require background checks of all school volunteers.

Yikes, can you imagine? Mandatory background checks for everyone who works at an HSA book fair, who serves cupcakes at the faculty breakfast, who checks-in books at the library, or who reads a story to kindergartners? And, of course, the cost of the fingerprinting, etc., would be borne by the volunteer! This would be difficult to implement, at best, and the hassle factor alone would definitely keep people from volunteering. Silly, if you ask me.

Internet Safety for Parents: June 9 @ BF Middle School

As just ONE part of the complete conversation we should all be having on students' online lives, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit will be presenting an in-depth presentation on Internet Safety, hosted by Ridgewood, Allendale, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Paramus on June 9, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. The presentation, entitled “Staying Safe in Cyberspace – Internet Safety for Parents,” is described as "a comprehensive examination of today’s Internet and the dangers that lurk inside chat rooms, instant messages, e-mail and blogs."

As I've stated before, I believe we as a community need to keep talking about our attitudes toward technology in general and our expectations, hopes and plans for technology in our children's lives. Safety is of course important, so this session -- which has been in the works for a long time -- is worthwhile. But I don't want parents to be so scared that they try to hide their kids from the Internet in general. I hope we will be able to schedule some meetings on the positive side soon!

Anyway, back to this event, according to the press release from the Prosecutor's Office, "Through their dynamic, intriguing and eye-opening presentation, complete with vivid graphics and streaming video clips, the Computer Crimes Detectives hope to educate parents about the seedier side of the Internet. The goals of this presentation are to discuss the basic functions of the Internet, to highlight current Internet trends and to illustrate the associated risks facing children of all ages. After what will be a shocking display of the dangers associated with online communication, they will turn to preventative measures and effective solutions to protect children, many of whom know more about computers than the average parent."

“The explosion of the Internet has proven to be most influential with the youngest of generations, namely our children,” said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. He continued, “Protecting them on the World Wide Web, a truly unregulated atmosphere, is a tremendous task that needs to begin at home, where children are indeed most vulnerable.”

The press release continues, "The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit, including the complementary Bergen County Computer Crimes Task Force, consists of Investigators from around the County and has the vast responsibility of deterring and detecting Internet crime. Many of their cases involve predators who target children through the Internet. To that end, Detectives who combat Internet crime have recognized that their approach must also include a strong education initiative involving parents and children who surf the Web. This proactive mechanism is in place in order to prevent children in Bergen County from stumbling into areas of the Internet where they can fall prey to an online predator."

"Prosecutor John Molinelli and Chief Steven Cucciniello urge all parents and guardians to attend this Internet safety presentation. It is their hope that by having skilled, well-versed computer crimes Investigators, coupled with parents armed with a working knowledge of the Internet and its pitfalls, the children of this County are well-protected while exploring the World Wide Web."

For additional information about this event, please contact Maureen Rusnak of Ridgewood Public Schools at mrusnak@ridgewood.k12.nj.us. For information about Internet Safety related issues, please contact D/Lieutenant Andrew W. Donofrio at ADonofrio@bcpo.net or Educational Outreach Coordinator D/Sergeant John DeVoe at JDeVoe@bcpo.net.

Increase in dangerous "dip" in Ridgewood

Chew. Chaw. Dip. Packing a lip. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it from a number of reputable sources over the past few months, but it's a fact that the use of smokeless tobacco among Ridgewood youth -- primarily teen boys -- is rising dramatically. I'm told that athletes and non-athletes alike are using chewing tobacco at night, on weekends and even during the school day. It seems they think it's a "healthy" alternative to smoking. And it delivers a real buzz, without sneaking liquor from your parents cabinet or hiding from the cops in the woods.

Obviously it's easy to carry some dip in your pocket without anyone knowing. I'm not sure where the kids are buying it...probably older siblings are buying it for them?

If you've got teenage boys, please talk to them about this disgusting, dangerous and highly addictive activity. Smokeless tobacco is a leading cause of mouth and throat cancers. The kind of cancer that can result in the victim losing his tongue, jaw, cheeks, neck muscles...get the (gory) picture?

Below are some great website resources.

National Spit Tobacco Education Program

My Last Dip

Why Quit: Story of Gruen Von Behrens (sad, scary, shocking story to get kids' attention)

In my opinion, in many ways this is worse than teen drinking. No teen is walking around sipping vodka during the school day.

Has anybody else noticed this phenomenon growing?

Any ideas for how to stop it?

Bergen Record mistake: no safety grant for Ridgewood

You may have seen the article in the Bergen Record last week -- saying that Ridgewood and Fair Lawn would be sharing a $100,000 grant for school safety. Well, that was a mistake. It's RIDGEFIELD that got the grant -- which is intended for things like metal detectors, locks and security lighting. I thought it was odd when I first read about the grant (do we need metal detectors?)...and no one at the District knew anything about it. Turns out, reporting mistake.

Am I the only one who thinks the Record is not the paper it used to be?

Blogged with the Flock Browser