1. Stop Violence: Start Connecting
2. School Violence in the News
3. Why Does a Bully Bully?
4. Tools of  Terrorism
5. Learn how to become a PDS Trainer
6. Tips for Students: He who angers you controls you.
7. NEW Partnership, NEW Products
8. Anger Management

9. Tips for Parents: Understanding ADD
10. One liner
11. Tip for Teachers: Pt 3; Eliminating severe behaviors
12. Up Coming Training Opportunities
13. Homeland Security Site of the Week
14. What Others Say About Keys
15. Co-sponsor A Training In Your Area
16. Keys Now Accepts Checks On-line  -  NEW!
17. And more links....

1. Connections 

A consistent factor in almost all the school shootings in the United States has been bullying. Bullying so severe that the emotional pain has driven young people to take life changing actions such as suicide and homicide. These actions were seen as the only way because, in their perception, there were no caring adults with whom they could talk. One school has decided to make that perception go away through making sure that every student is connected with a caring adult. The results have been amazing. If you or your school is up to the challenge of stopping the violence through positive connections, read the article at https://keystosaferschools.com/connections.htm

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2. School Violence in the News

A recent news account from a state that we will not mention reported that violent crimes in schools is on the rise. In another news source from the same state a school superintendent reported to the school board that violent incidents were down. How can this be? Has our attempt at monitoring schools made them less likely to report incidents that will count against them?  Have many school Report Cards found its way to the front page of their local newspaper?

 

In another state, still not identified here, a reporter compared state prisons to public schools and discovered that they are spending several times the money per prisoner that they are spending on students. The question offered was: If we spent more on the students, would we have fewer prisoners?

This school year started off with a shooting on the first day and has gone down hill ever since. Many schools and communities are not reporting every incident of violence for a variety of reason. To see a collective list of some 20+ events of violence in and around our schools since August 2003, go to this link: https://keystosaferschools.com/violence03.htm

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3. Why Do Bullies do what they do?

"This is just the way I am !" "My dad was like this, my brothers are like this and I will be like this too." These are common statements from those who bully. But is bullying genetic? Do they simply have no biological choice but to bully?  NO! Bullying is a learned behavior. Most often bullies learn from being bullied and they are responding to others in the only way they know. So punishment alone will not stop bullying because it provides not alternative behavior. Bullying Stops When Respect Begins seeks to provide bullies with another way of seeing things and an alternate set of behaviors that are more socially acceptable. It also provides guidelines for victims, bullies, parents of bullies and victims and the school.

To learn more about this program, go to: https://keystosaferschools.com/calendar2003a.htm#cabot

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Salmonella is a naturally occurring bacteria within eggs and poultry. With refrigeration and proper cooking it is kept in control - below toxic levels. However, it can be grown with almost no technical knowledge or equipment into toxic levels. A small group of radical extremists used salmonella to inject over 700 people in a single town in the United States by contaminating salad bar restaurants. Does your school have an open salad bar? Do your food service personnel sanitize before preparation or after or both? 

What would your school do if confronted with a terrorist attack using bio/chemical weapons? Keys To Safer Schools.com has developed a guide and a training program to provide schools with measures that can be implemented within budget and community restraints. To learn more about the risk our schools face as Soft-Targets click here.

Keys will be holding yet another Train-the-Trainer in Assessing the Potentially Dangerous Student (PDS) in Battleboro, NC, (18 mile from Rocky Mount, NC) on November 6-7, 2003. This is an opportunity for you to be Certified or have someone from your school Certified as a Trainer in this most unique program for identifying students who are in need of help and which provides training on determining what help they need most. Your entire staff can then be trained in-house to know what the Early & Imminent Warning signs are and to whom they should report if they observe any of them. If you or your school already use this program, this training will serve as your 2-year refresher and Certify you to conduct the refresher/renewal training for all other Risk Assessment Team members in your school. This is a tremendous cost savings over having to send staff members for renewals. Make plans now before these classes fills up.

• Battleboro, NC, (18 mile from Rocky Mount, NC) on November 6-7, 2003 - Click here to Register   

Unlike ADHD (the "H" standing for Hyperactivity) the disorder ADD in children does not present itself with the hyperactivity component.  This may be seen as less disruptive in the classroom and their behaviors not necessarily as annoying or noticeable to the teacher.  However, it can be very problematic to students, causing significant underachieving in the classroom and these students may experience low self-esteem as well.

Symptoms:  

Corrections:

 

* Teacher flexibility, willingness and commitment  * Teacher training about ADD & ADHD

* Close communication between school & home     * Provide clear expectations and structure

* Using an interactive & engaging teaching style     * Teamwork by all involved (parents & teachers)

" In the game of life, heredity deals the hand, and
society makes the rules;
but you can still play your own cards."

Peter's Almanac

"How do I stop the behaviors that Johnny is exhibiting over and over in class?"  We will take this topic and do a mini-series on it for a six month period.  This is month three of the series.  You may refer to past E-News' to learn about  Extinction & Time-out.  If you need help faster, there are two trainings that help in this area; Behavioral Modification Planning and Alternative Learning Environment a Level System (this training comes with forms, polices, a complete Level System so you can hit the ground running and more...). 

Recap: There are 6 basic ways to decrease or eliminate severe behaviors.  They are (1) Extinction, (2) Time-out, (3) Satiation, (4) Punishment, (5) Reinforcement of incompatible behaviors, and (6) Desensitization.  Let's briefly deal with Satiation.

Satiation - It is the decreasing or elimination of an unacceptable behavior as a result of continued and increased reinforcement of the behavior.  Satiation is a more common occurrence than is generally realized.  Because it is so common, we are frequently unaware of its effect on our behavior.

Stephen continually would get in trouble for wasting his time at the pencil sharper and not doing his assignments.   His teachers tried reprimanding, lose of privileges, sending his work home, teacher-parent conferences.  The teacher was asked to start a satiation experiment.  The parent provided 200 pre-sharpened pencils to the teacher.  The teacher would give the student a sharpened pencil every 15 minutes.  There was  a dramatic decreasing in the unwanted behavior and an increasing in the desired behavior that being working on his assignment.  As the days and weeks went by the student had a need for fewer and fewer pencils.

This strategy will work in other areas. Give it a try.

12.  Training Opportunities

Mark these on your calendar and register today or call or email to set up a training at your school or in your community.

• Cabot, AR: - Bullying Stops when Respect Begins (train-the-trainer), October 21-22, 2003

• Battleboro, NC - PDS: NC Dept of Public Inst & Rocky Mount Prep Sc (train-the-trainer), November 6-7, 2003  

• Indianapolis, Indiana - Schools, Terrorism and Homeland Security- Distance Learning, November 14, 2003

• Cabot, AR - Schools, Terrorism and Homeland Security, November 20, 2003

• and more...  check our Calendar of Events page

Schedule or Co-Sponsor a training for you School or Community--email or call (800)504-7355

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13.  Homeland Security Site of the Week

Keys To Safer Schools.com was selected by the Homeland Security Newsletter as the recommended Site of the Week for the week of July 4, 2003. With over 1000 pages of information, our website continues to grow to meet the needs of today's schools, students, staff, administration and parents. Your searching, reading and recommending our website have led to this honor and we wish to express our thanks for the many kind words of praise that our readers have said of us. We pledge to continue to strive to meet your needs and offer only the best of practical solutions. 

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