Click here to learn about the zoning article -- number 10 on the town ballot.
Vote NO on the UCS bond, article 9.
* The School Board has only been interested in one hazard, the "active shooter." No risk assessment, indeed not even any casual brainstorming, has been done to consider other hazards to kids at school.
* There is but one written document analyzing this current proposal, Jen Botzojorns's notes from 2 January 2014, which explains that no one (consultant, police, government agency) would recommend the main ideas cooked up at the school board meetings during the preceding year -- no bullet-proof glass, no automatic shades, no reflective window film.
* Even though there are school security consultants, CESU/UCS did not hire any.
* At the bond hearing, with skeptical comments from citizens and no evidence to support bullet-proof glass, automatic shades or reflective window film, the School Board stripped these items, along with the expensive reception window, from the project.
* The project was never about safety, and it has turned out not really to be about security, either. With the removal of the worst ideas, what's left is the conversion of a classroom to administrative space. If there's one thing that UCS doesn't need, it's a new "administrative suite." (Architect's memo, 7/17/13)
* No population projection has been made for UCS -- We don't know if we will need that lost classroom space. (CESU has no population study for any school within the supervisory union.)
* No consideration was given to the affect of the lost classroom on the usefulness of the remaining adjacent classroom.
* There was no research in evidence to support the notion that hardening the school against "active shooters" is effective, indeed research shows just the opposite: when a school is hardened, it damages the school environment, increasing disorderly behavior.
* This proposal distracts from the important work of creating a quality learning environment.
Most kid deaths are traffic deaths. If you have been at UCS during drop-off or pick-up time, you will undoubtedly have noticed that the blind sidewalk along the multipurpose room wall is the ideal place for a kid to get a downhill running start at darting out into the school's driveway traffic. Someday, it will happen. There are other traffic-related problems around the school -- far more likely to result in calamity than the hypothetical "active shooter."
Please vote NO on the Underhill Central School Bond (Article 9).
If you have any uncertainty, vote NO. If they really think this is necessary, the school board will bring it right back to the voters, just as they do for annual budgets.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The ill effects of hard security
Here are some pointers into the literature about school climate.
Citation: There is no clear consensus regarding the effectiveness of the security measures investigated in this report. Regarding overall safety measures, studies have found that more severe and pervasive security practices can actually result in increased violence and disorder . Conversely, the most effective security practices are based on a firm but positive school climate in which students are cognizant of school rules as well as consequences for infractions.
Source: Hanover Research. "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, (2013): 4. Print. 13 January 2014.
Citation: In 2006, the RAND Corporation examined the literature regarding various measures to improve school safety such as metal detectors, security guards, and student conduct regulations, “ and found that only a handful have been evaluated, and even fewer have been deemed effective or even promising.” 11
Source: "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, n.d.: 7. Print. 7 January 2014.
Citation: a 2011 review of scholarly literature concerning school crime prevention concluded that “despite these well - intend ed efforts of prevention practices, the literature remains mixed as to their effectiveness in reducing both actual crime and fear of
crime.”
12
Source: "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, n.d.: 7. Print. 7 January 2014.
Citation: On the other hand, a construct of “ Secure Building, ” that included physical (metal detectors, locked doors, etc.) and personnel - based (security guards, etc.) actions to run a secure building, led to more disorder .
Source: "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, n.d.: 8. Print. 7 January 2014.
Citation: In the Capistrano school district in Orange County, Calif., students with the most natural light in their classrooms progressed 20 percent faster in math and 26 percent faster in reading in one year than students with the least natural light. In Seattle and in Fort Collins, Colo., students with the most natural light scored 7-15 percent higher on year-end tests than those with the least natural light.
Source: Taboola. "Half of classrooms at Burlington school lack windows." Half of classrooms at Burlington school lack windows | Burlington Free Press | burlingtonfreepress.com. Burlington Free Press, n.d. Web. 7 January 2014.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013312220014&nclick_check=1.
Citation: A welcoming school climate is almost universally considered to be a requisite for family and community engagement, as researchers commonly consider a welcoming environment to family and community partnerships. In other words, school climate is the glue that holds all other manners of family and community engagement together.
In general, schools that successfully promote parent involvement also promote a broad sense of community and build relationships of mutual trust between families and school staff. According to a report from the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools:
When programs and initiatives focus on building respectful and trusting relationships among school staff, families, and community members, they are effective in creating and sustaining family and community connections with schools.
Source: "Best Practices in Family and Community Engagement." Best Practices in Family and Community Engagement | Hanover Research. Hanover Research, n.d. Web. 15 January 2014.
http://www.hanoverresearch.com/insights/best-practices-in-family-and-community-engagement/?i=k-….
Citation: In 1971 Stanley Cohen investigated a series of "moral panics." Cohen (1980) used the term "moral panic" to characterize the reactions of the media, the public, and agents of social control to youth disturbances. This work, involving the Mods and Rockers, demonstrated how agents of social control amplified deviance.
Source: n.p., n.d. Web. 17 January 2014.
http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is3/killingbeck.html.
Citation: There is no clear consensus regarding the effectiveness of the security measures investigated in this report. Regarding overall safety measures, studies have found that more severe and pervasive security practices can actually result in increased violence and disorder . Conversely, the most effective security practices are based on a firm but positive school climate in which students are cognizant of school rules as well as consequences for infractions.
Source: Hanover Research. "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, (2013): 4. Print. 13 January 2014.
Citation: In 2006, the RAND Corporation examined the literature regarding various measures to improve school safety such as metal detectors, security guards, and student conduct regulations, “ and found that only a handful have been evaluated, and even fewer have been deemed effective or even promising.” 11
Source: "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, n.d.: 7. Print. 7 January 2014.
Citation: a 2011 review of scholarly literature concerning school crime prevention concluded that “despite these well - intend ed efforts of prevention practices, the literature remains mixed as to their effectiveness in reducing both actual crime and fear of
crime.”
12
Source: "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, n.d.: 7. Print. 7 January 2014.
Citation: On the other hand, a construct of “ Secure Building, ” that included physical (metal detectors, locked doors, etc.) and personnel - based (security guards, etc.) actions to run a secure building, led to more disorder .
Source: "Best Practices in School Security.pdf." Best Practices in School Security.pdf, n.d.: 8. Print. 7 January 2014.
Citation: In the Capistrano school district in Orange County, Calif., students with the most natural light in their classrooms progressed 20 percent faster in math and 26 percent faster in reading in one year than students with the least natural light. In Seattle and in Fort Collins, Colo., students with the most natural light scored 7-15 percent higher on year-end tests than those with the least natural light.
Source: Taboola. "Half of classrooms at Burlington school lack windows." Half of classrooms at Burlington school lack windows | Burlington Free Press | burlingtonfreepress.com. Burlington Free Press, n.d. Web. 7 January 2014.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013312220014&nclick_check=1.
Citation: A welcoming school climate is almost universally considered to be a requisite for family and community engagement, as researchers commonly consider a welcoming environment to family and community partnerships. In other words, school climate is the glue that holds all other manners of family and community engagement together.
In general, schools that successfully promote parent involvement also promote a broad sense of community and build relationships of mutual trust between families and school staff. According to a report from the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools:
When programs and initiatives focus on building respectful and trusting relationships among school staff, families, and community members, they are effective in creating and sustaining family and community connections with schools.
Source: "Best Practices in Family and Community Engagement." Best Practices in Family and Community Engagement | Hanover Research. Hanover Research, n.d. Web. 15 January 2014.
http://www.hanoverresearch.com/insights/best-practices-in-family-and-community-engagement/?i=k-….
Citation: In 1971 Stanley Cohen investigated a series of "moral panics." Cohen (1980) used the term "moral panic" to characterize the reactions of the media, the public, and agents of social control to youth disturbances. This work, involving the Mods and Rockers, demonstrated how agents of social control amplified deviance.
Source: n.p., n.d. Web. 17 January 2014.
http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is3/killingbeck.html.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Assistant Superintendent's Report 20140102
Jen Botzojorns issued some notes about the ideas for hardening the school. She could find no evidence to support window shades or bullet-proof glass.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Reflective Window Film notes 20130926
Jen Botzojorns issued notes about questions and answers on reflective window film from Gordon's Window Decor.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
UCS Board Meeting 20130604
The UCS school board has sporadically recorded their meetings. The 4 June 2013 meeting has some discussion of the bond project.
The discussion of the proposal begins at 40:50
Barb:
"I can't imagine that it would cost $100,000 to turn that space into an office."
"In a real emergency, teachers aren't going to do it; they are going to get their kids to safety."
"In a new building, you'd have air conditioning and motorized shades, not these big windows."
"When the first site evaluation was done, Pati Danis's room was not occupied, and that was the reason for looking at that room for the office."
56:10
Tony: "Plumb it out so air conditioning could be easy to add. (Barb giggles)"
1:07:00
Barb:In a true emergency you are just going to use common sense.The last thing you are going to is pull down the shades.
Jen: Reading from Gordon's Window Decor discussion."Vermont Crisis Guide has steps that we are supposed to follow.""This room would be $10,000 at $500/shade"
The discussion of the proposal begins at 40:50
Barb:
"I can't imagine that it would cost $100,000 to turn that space into an office."
"In a real emergency, teachers aren't going to do it; they are going to get their kids to safety."
"In a new building, you'd have air conditioning and motorized shades, not these big windows."
"When the first site evaluation was done, Pati Danis's room was not occupied, and that was the reason for looking at that room for the office."
56:10
Tony: "Plumb it out so air conditioning could be easy to add. (Barb giggles)"
1:07:00
Barb:In a true emergency you are just going to use common sense.The last thing you are going to is pull down the shades.
Jen: Reading from Gordon's Window Decor discussion."Vermont Crisis Guide has steps that we are supposed to follow.""This room would be $10,000 at $500/shade"
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