Posted 8:21 am Friday, October 23, 2009
Safety Auditor Talks Process At TISD Security Update Meeting
By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Officials with the Texas School Safety Center and Tyler ISD updated John Tyler High School parents and community members about the safety and security changes and reviews taking place at the school during a community meeting Thursday night.
Earlier this month, TISD trustees voted to allow the superintendent to enter into a contract with the Texas School Safety Center of San Marcos to review campus security measures, starting with John Tyler.
The approval came after the fatal stabbing of a John Tyler teacher on campus, allegedly by a student, in late September.
"The reason we're in Tyler -- there was a tragedy that occurred in this district," Billy Jacobs, associate executive director of the Texas School Safety Center, said. "Anytime a tragedy occurs, the Texas School Safety Center is there to support a district. What we hope to learn from such a tragedy is perhaps lessons that will help us prevent this from happening to anyone else."
The Texas School Safety Center is a state-supported organization and affiliated with the Texas Education Agency, TISD officials have said. Jacobs said the center is funded through taxpayer dollars. The governor created the office in 1999.
"We can prepare for everything, but we cannot prevent everything," Jacobs said. "If we are prepared ... and we have a response and a plan, then our losses and our recovery will be less and swifter."
Tom Kelley, the lead trainer in safety and security audits for the safety center, discussed what is involved in a school safety and security audit.
Every district is required to audit its facilities every three years, as TISD has done, Kelley said.
The safety center has developed an audit tool to look at a district's security and safety processes and policies in more detail and is using it in TISD's audit, he said.
Kelley said there are about 475 different questions that the group looks at, from climate and culture of a school to how easy it is for a person to get on campus.
There have been 17 people involved in the audit process at John Tyler, including officials from John Tyler and Robert E. Lee high schools, the safety center and district officials, Kelley said.
The group spent several days on the John Tyler campus last week.
"We went through the campus with a fine-tooth comb all day Thursday and most of the day Friday," Kelley said.
Also included in the audit will be anonymous surveys of staff, students, parents and the community.
Surveys were available at the meeting and also can be found on John Tyler's Web site, officials said.
Kelly said they will complete a detailed report that will include commendations and recommendations. That report ultimately will be shared with the school board.
Kelly said that everyone at John Tyler has been "very accepting of change." He said they have had an opportunity to talk to a few teachers and students.
"Everyone has been real open and honest," he said.
They hope to have the report, including the survey results, finished in a couple of weeks, Kelley said.
Dwight Stewart, training specialist from the safety center and a certified gang specialist, told the audience that through this process they have noticed, "There's a lot of gang activity going on in your community and your schools."
Stewart said he will conduct two seminars -- one for teachers, administrators and staff on campus and the other for the community and parents.
"Parents need to know what to look for," he said.
Deputy Superintendent Cecil McDaniel said Thursday's community meeting was the first of a number of meetings that will be scheduled.
He said they are starting with the high schools and working their way to the other campuses in this process.
"Please understand this is a journey," McDaniel said. "It will be ongoing. While we feel that there have already been a number of improvements to the system, we're very aware that there are still areas of need and improvement and we will be working towards addressing them as expeditiously as possible."
McDaniel also emphasized that the district wants to be transparent.
"We're going to call a spade a spade," he said. "If there's an area that's a troubled area, we're going to tell you it's a troubled area."
The next meeting on the issue will be at a date not yet determined in early December, McDaniel said, noting there will be plenty of notice.
"We're going to attempt to get all the data in, all the information in, so we can report back out to you all the pieces we can legally report back to you and share that at this meeting in early December," he said.
It's possible some specific findings of the audit may remain confidential if it exposes the campus to vulnerabilities, officials said.
TISD officials also announced that they are putting together a safety committee for John Tyler as well as a district safety committee. Sign-up sheets were available at the meeting for those interested.
QUESTIONS
More than 70 people attended the meeting, including John Tyler faculty and parents, it was estimated. A question and answer session was provided during the meeting.
Alma Sanchez, a John Tyler parent, said she felt that everyone there was putting on a show and trying to wash their hands of the issue.
Ms. Sanchez said that she is afraid for her son.
"The teachers don't know what to do," she said. "Everybody is scared."
She added, "We need solutions now... Please, do something."
McDaniel said that all things have a beginning and that this is a beginning for this process.
"Things don't happen overnight," he said. "We are addressing the concerns ... You have to give this process an opportunity."
Questions also were asked about the police presence at John Tyler. Officials said the heightened police presence will remain for the foreseeable future.
Tauheedah Abdul-Haqq, though, said she believed that seemed intimidating to students, noting that it seemed like a "concentration camp in the making."
"They can't sit down and learn like normal children," she said. "They don't need that intimidation."
Another community member said that while he knows the incident happened at John Tyler, "the whole school shouldn't suffer."
Derrick Choice asked about the gang training and whether that would hurt the school's ability to retain and attract good teachers.
"If part of the criteria for coming to work at John Tyler is to get gang training, then is that going to be a deterrent?" Choice said. "We want our campus to be secure and safe, but we also want good teachers to teach our kids."
Jacobs said this training would not just be for John Tyler.
"We're not singling out John Tyler; we started with John Tyler," Jacobs said.
Stewart, the gang specialist, said the purpose of the gang presentation would be to provide awareness to teachers not to drive them away.
McDaniel added that he is not sure there are too many districts in the state that do not have gang issues.
Other questions were asked about whether teachers have been able to freely speak to the safety center officials.
Jacobs said that, "The Tyler Independent School District and the superintendent have allowed us freedom and access to staff and students."
"We've been able to hear, I think, blunt honesty from some teachers," Jacobs said. "Tyler has opened the doors and allowed us to come in to look at what we needed to see. They said they didn't want to taint us in any form or fashion and they didn't tell us anything to look for."
He also emphasized that teachers and administrators will have the opportunity to fill out surveys as well as others, including parents.
A John Tyler teacher also asked about teachers she knows of who are concerned about students they have that might have violent behavior.
"I think as teachers we have a right to know if we have a student who does have a history of mental illness and violence," the teacher asked.
McDaniel said teachers do have a right to know that.
"If teachers have concerns about specific students, they need to bring those to the administration's attention," he said. "That is something I have not heard since being there at John Tyler."
Marcie Lee, an audience member, stressed the importance of providing teachers the students' records that they need.
"These are things that we need to care of immediately," Ms. Lee said.
One community member asked about the neighborhood behind John Tyler and whether concerns about alleged theft by students in that neighborhood would be addressed.
Officials said that the whole neighborhood is important.
OPERATION CHANGES
John Tyler Principal Dr. Carol Saxenian also updated the audience on day-to-day operational adjustments that have taken place at the school, including the implementation of discipline centers, making In School Suspension (ISS) more stringent, revising tardy policies, improving the dismissal process and more stringent check-in procedures for visitors on campus.
Jeff Collum, director of student services for TISD, said that the discipline centers on campus were developed to streamline discipline operations. He said that it seems to be working well.
The data shows that last year at John Tyler from August to October, there were 378 ISS student placements. This year there are 161, Collum said.
He said that Out of School Suspensions (OSS) last year during that time were 296, while this year it is 173.
"What those numbers tell me is that the staff and the administration are doing a good job of keeping students engaged in the classroom," Collum said.
