School Safety Matters
In this issue:
SafeSchools Course Spotlight: Slips, Trips, and Falls
New Feature: Course Work History Updates
Save Money Now with SafeSchools.com
Boundary Invasion
School Safety Tip of the Month: The Perils of Texting and Driving
School Safety Quote of the Month: Preventing School Violence
Take a Test Drive
Coach Fired for Allegedly Mistreating Player with Concussion
University Students and Two Professors Missing after Haiti Quake
1 in 4 Teenage Girls Involved in Violent Behavior
Other Relevant School Safety News Stories -- Links Only
SafeSchools Course Spotlight: Slips, Trips, and Falls
Many of our customers around the country have been dealing with a rather inhospitable winter season thus far. Since schools in some areas may be unaccustomed to snow and icy weather, now is a great time to review our Slips, Trips and Falls course. Slips, trips and falls already account for thousands of injuries to school workers each year, and these risks are heightened when people are not used to inclement winter weather. SafeSchools’ Slips, Trips and Falls course series will teach you the basics on how to prevent these kinds of accidents before they occur. And since different staff members encounter unique hazards, Slips, Trips and Falls is currently the only SafeSchools course that has position-specific course versions! In addition to our standard Full, Refresher, and Spanish versions, we also offer versions for Nutrition Services; Custodians, Maintenance & Facilities; and Teachers & Administrators.
For more information or a 30-day trial of SafeSchools.com, please contact us at info@safeschools.com.
New Feature: Course Work History Updates
You may not detect it at first glance, but administrators will notice some new features when they access the Course Work History tab located within each employee’s profile. Here’s a short list of the enhancement you can expect to find moving forward:
- Exportable transcript: This has been a highly requested feature for some time now, and we’re excited to announce its arrival! Administrators looking to quickly access, print, and/or save an employee’s history of completions in a single document can now do so with one simple click.
- All course work activity is visible: Up to this point, the Course Work History tab only displayed an employee’s completed courses. Now, however, administrators will be able to view not only completions, but can additionally see courses that an employee has begun but never finished.
- Expandable titles with in-depth information: Moving forward, clicking on a course title will give administrators a whole host of information that was previously unavailable. This includes information such as how many times a course was completed and what version(s) were taken, a down-to-the-second count of how long it took an employee to complete each section of a course, as well as how many times a quiz was taken and even what they answered correctly and/or incorrectly. And don’t worry, you’ll still be able to access and print certificates of completion from this tab as well!
To get a complete overview of how the enhanced Course Work History tab can work for you, please contact your SafeSchools account manager at 1-800-434-0154 for a demo.
Save Money Now with SafeSchools.com
With tightening district budgets, administrators are looking for products that save money and deliver a strong Return On Investment (ROI). This is part of the reason SafeSchools.com has expanded to serve 2000+ districts. By reducing losses with insurance and workers' comp, by saving districts time and travel costs relating to traditional training, SafeSchools is a proven money-saver. Plus, SafeSchools doesn't increase prices so it shrinks as a percentage of your budget while making your employees safer and your district more compliant.
To see how much your district can save using SafeSchools, simply enter the number of full-time employees into our ROI calculator.
Boundary Invasion
Cases of sexual misconduct in our nation’s schools appear in the media headlines with alarming frequency these days. Sexual misconduct not only harms our students, but it also ruins careers, damages the community and creates enormous liability for school districts. One area that is crucial to understand in order to avoid these potentially disastrous situations is boundary invasion. Boundaries are internally or externally imposed limits that define appropriate relationships between individuals. In order to protect themselves and their students, school staff members must establish clear professional boundaries in all interactions with students.
Authored by one of the nation’s leading experts in the field of sexual molestation of minors by adults, Dr. Robert Shoop, SafeSchools’ Sexual Misconduct: Staff-to-Student course reviews the basics of creating and defining professional boundaries. The course also reviews the definition of sexual misconduct, the legal obligations of school staff members, and the signs of sexual misconduct by school employees.
For more information, contact us at info@safeschools.com.
School Safety Tip of the
Month: The Perils of Texting and Driving
It’s clear that cell phone usage while driving has created extremely unsafe conditions for everyone on the road these days. Recent studies reveal that truck drivers were 23 times more likely to crash due to texting; yet teens are apparently at the biggest risk of all. Considering that nearly 50% of teenagers have admitted to texting while driving, this extremely risky behavior is quickly rivaling the dangers of drunk driving. The perils aren’t limited to these two groups, but rather have the potential to jeopardize anyone on the road. The following test is designed to show how reaction time is affected by distractions like texting: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/19/technology/20090719-driving-game.html?nl=technology&emc=techupdateemb2.
SafeSchools offers a wide range of transportation courses to keep you safe behind the wheel, from Road Rage and Defensive Driving, to Van Safety and Winter Driving. Click here to see our full course list.
School Safety Quote of the
Month: Preventing School Violence
In October of 1997, a 16-year-old student killed two classmates and injured seven others in a Mississippi school shooting rampage. Since then, districts around the country have made great efforts to prevent such tragedies from occurring. One Mississippi district tries to intervene by raising awareness and engaging with students. HR Director Col. Bo Hynes says, “Every child that walks on campus is greeted by somebody. You can see what their mood is or how they’re feeling.”
SafeSchools offers a host of courses in the Security and Social & Behavioral categories that can help address and prevent school violence. For more information, give us a call at 800-434-0154.
Take a Test Drive
Have you ever considered online safety training for your school or district? The SafeSchools 30-day free trial is an easy way to review courses and administrative features to see if online training can work for you. Just fill out our free trial form, and we'll send you a guest account to our demonstration site.
Coach Fired for Allegedly Mistreating Player with Concussion
Texas Tech’s coach was fired for allegedly locking a concussed player in closet.
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2009/12/texas_tech_coach_fired_before_msu_bowl_game
University Students and Two Professors Missing after Haiti Quake
Florida school hired private search team to find its missing students.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012100219.html
1 in 4 Teenage Girls Involved in Violent Behavior
For students, violence tied to poorer grades, researchers found.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34847560/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/
Other Relevant School Safety
New Stories -- Links Only
South Florida to Probe Claim Football Coach Slapped Player: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigeast/2009-12-14-south-florida-leavitt_N.htm?obref=obnetwork
Schoolgirls Fight at Soccer Match As Their Parents Brawl in the Stands: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1226691/Forget-Elizabeth-Lambert-American-schoolgirls-fight-football-match-parents-brawl-stands.html
Teacher on Leave after Taking Students to Hooters: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-17-students-hooters_N.htm
26,500 School Cafeterias Lack Required Inspections: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-15-school-lunches-health-inspections_N.htm
Nearly 1% of U.S. Children Diagnosed with Autism: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121802242.html
Man Pleads Guilty in Va. Tech Decapitation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34510604/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Burned Boy Back in Hospital: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/04/florida.burned.boy/index.html
Parents Arrested for Failing to Register Home-Schooled Kids: http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/district-1269895-school-county.html
Colorado Teen Gets Probation in School Threat Case: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=9497213
Boy, 4, Becomes Youngest Pupil to Be Expelled: http://www.bullying.co.uk/index.php/20091123630/blog/uk-news/boy-4-one-of-youngest-uk-pupils-to-be-expelled.html
Teacher Carjacked at Knifepoint in School Lot: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/22225620/detail.html
Player Collapses in Game, Dies: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/34877563/ns/sports-college_basketball/
Saudi Teen Sentenced to 90 Lashes for Cell Phone in School: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583440,00.html
Ohio Dad Calls Cops to Report Boy, 6, Who Won’t Go to School: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/01/15/2010-01-15_ohio_dad_calls_cops_when_boy_6_wont_go_to_school.html
Federal Class-Action Lawsuit Charges School Safety Officers Subjected Kids to ‘Excessive Force’: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/01/21/2010-01-21_officers_excessive_force__suit.html
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