On-Demand Webinar
Child sexual abuse is a crime and any observed, disclosed, or suspected abuse should be reported to designated authorities as prescribed by mandated reporting laws. However, there are nuances to consider in the district’s response to alleged abuse and organizational boundary violations.
In this webinar, author and sexual abuse prevention consultant Diane Cranley, addressed topics that school and district leaders must consider beyond the basics of mandated reporting, such as preserving evidence, juvenile offenders, internal reporting, internal investigations, organizational consequences, reporting to licensing agencies, public communication, victim, parent and reporter harassment, and post-incident reviews.
Webinar Topics
- Understanding the complexities of responding to alleged abuse and organizational boundary violations.
- Becoming familiar with key considerations for developing an internal response policy.
- Exploring how your response impacts victims, parents, authorities, staff, the district, and the broader community.
Complete the form below to view the webinar recording.
About the Presenter – Diane Cranley
Diane Cranley is the author of 8 Ways to Create their Fate: Protecting the Sexual Innocence of Children in Youth-Serving Organizations and a child sexual abuse prevention consultant. She is also the Founder and President of TAALK (Talk About Abuse to Liberate Kids), a federally approved, nonprofit agency dedicated to breaking the silence that surrounds sexual abuse. Diane is working with insurers, risk pools, County Departments of Education, and districts to create a brighter and safer tomorrow for our children. Diane is also the author of the SafeSchools Training Child Sexual Abuse Prevention in Schools Courses.
Every year the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) releases its top ten citations. A few standards swapped positions, but ultimately the list is the same as previous years.
Top Ten 2020 OSHA Citations
- Fall Protection (General Requirements)
- Hazard Communication
- Respiratory Protection
- Scaffolding
- Ladders
- Lockout/Tagout
- Powered Industrial Trucks
- Fall Protection (Training Requirements)
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment (Eye and Face Protection)
- Machine Guarding
How Vector Solutions Can Help
How can you ensure your school or district doesn’t receive a costly OSHA fine? Our Online Training System can help train your staff on important OSHA-related topics. Courses include:
- Eye and Face Protection
- Fall Protection
- Forklift Safety
- Hazard Communication: Right to Understand
- Ladder Safety
- Lockout/Tagout: Energy Release
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Respiratory Protection
- Scaffolding Safety
- Welding, Cutting and Brazing Safety Awareness
Our Online Training System completely automates your staff training, saving you valuable time and money. Every employee training assignment and course completion is automatically documented in your system and is made available for compliance reporting in real-time. All reports can be exported to Excel instantly, with just a few clicks. Plus, your staff will love completing their courses online, when it’s most convenient for their schedules! Track individual or group face-to-face sessions in your system, too, by giving credit to employees who were in attendance.
Introducing New 3D Animated School Facilities Maintenance Courses
Training for your facilities and maintenance staff can be costly and hard to manage in the best times. Amidst a pandemic and all that goes with it, this task is even harder. We are excited to introduce a new online library of 3D animated courses designed specifically for facilities and maintenance staff. Help train your team to safely perform preventive maintenance and repairs, without the costs of in-person training or equipment shutdowns.
For more information on how Vector Solutions can help make your school an even safer place to work and learn, contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or request a free trial today!
As we surpass a year of the pandemic, many people have experienced financial instability, deaths of loved ones, illness, and a disconnect from family and friends. Adolescents are no exception to stressors caused by the pandemic. A new study found that youth could be the most susceptible to long-term trauma as a result of the pandemic. According to the study, a person who experiences dysfunction in early adolescence is 43% more likely to experience problems in adulthood than someone who has not.
“That means, developmentally, that middle and early high school students during the pandemic could be experiencing family disruption just as they need to be secure enough to become more independent, and social isolation at the most important time to develop a social identity. Remote learning and counseling environments also can make it more difficult for adults to recognize students’ emotions and tell the difference between boredom and disconnection because of trauma.” Sarah Sparks for EducationWeek
Read more from the study here.
The Association for Middle Level Education suggests that educators can help students reframe their stress by reflecting on how their families have overcome challenges during the pandemic. The group also suggested educators “focus their classes on common goals and connections, and help students recognize growing competency, such as becoming more adept at navigating remote learning platforms or organizing their work spaces.”
How Vector Solutions Can Help
Online Training
Our Exceptional Child Course Library features a number of courses specifically designed to support educators in implementing trauma-informed practices, including:
Other Staff Training courses include:
- Bullying: Recognition & Response
- Coronavirus: Managing Stress and Anxiety
- Cyberbullying
- Making Schools Safe & Inclusive for LGBTQ Students
- Making Schools Safe & Inclusive for Transgender Students
- Stress Management
- Student Mental Health: Awareness, Intervention and Referral
- Youth Suicide: Awareness, Prevention & Postvention
- Bullying & Cyberbullying
- Depression Awareness
- Digital Citizenship
- Good Decision Making
- Healthy Relationships
- Resolving Disagreements
- Stress & Anxiety
- Youth Suicide Risk
Other Resources
We have also published numerous blogs and hosted a handful webinars on trauma-related topics:
- Addressing the Student Mental Health Emergency in the Wake of COVID-19
- Examining the Youth Suicide Crisis
- How Schools Can Increase Mental Health Support to Students
- New Courses Support Social Emotional Learning as Student Return to School
- Recognizing Trauma and Strategies to Help Educators
- Safety Alert: Student Mental Health & Wellness
- Student Mental Health a Growing Concern Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
- Webinar: Strategies to Address Emotional and Physical Needs for the Return to School
- Webinar: Trauma Informed Practices and Strategies for School Staff
- Webinar: Youth Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention in Schools
To learn more about our Staff or Student Training, request a demo online.
For nearly five years, Vector Solutions has partnered with the School Bus Safety Company to bring their award-winning driver training programs to K-12 schools and districts through our SafeSchools Training system. The School Bus Safety Company has recently introduced new School Bus Safety Programs for Students.
New School Bus Safety Programs for Students
In almost every accident involving students, had the student acted safely, they would not have been injured or killed. Unfortunately the bus driver or the transportation department often do not have the opportunity to present the safe practices to the students in a formal setting. So it often falls to either a teacher or parent to explain the safest practices to their students. To support administrators, teachers, and parents in delivering this critical training to keep students safe on and around the school bus, the School Bus Safety Company has created six programs to teach students about school bus safety, bullying prevention, and emergency evacuations.
The following age-appropriate programs are available directly from the School Bus Safety Company and delivered through their online Student Safety Portal:
- Grades PreK – 2 (two modules)
- Grades 3 – 5
- Grades 6 & Above
- Emergency Evacuation (all grades)
- Bullying & Teasing Program (all grades)
To learn more about the School Bus Safety Program for Students, watch this short video or contact the School Bus Safety Company at 1-866-275-7272.
Interested in Driver Training?
The following driver training course options are available from Vector Solutions and delivered through our SafeSchools Training system:
- Driver Training Course
- Entry Level Driver Training (MAP-21)
- Bullying Prevention on the School Bus
- Transporting Students with Special Needs
- Training for the CDL Written Test
On-Demand Webinar
Everyone wants to know how to provide a safe learning environment, especially as we attempt to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. How can you make sure your school is effectively addressing today’s areas of vulnerability?
In this free webinar Paul Timm, nationally recognized school security expert, addressed important school safety and security issues and solutions. Special focus was placed on collaboration, awareness, and student involvement.
School Safety & Security Webinar Topics
- Addressing current security issues
- Implementing site-specific strategies
- Accessing helpful resources
Complete the form below to view the webinar recording.
About the Presenter
Paul Timm, PSP
Paul Timm, Vice President of Facility Engineering Associates, is a board-certified Physical Security Professional (PSP) and a nationally acclaimed expert in school security. He was named one of the Most Influential People in Security in 2020 by Security Magazine. In addition to conducting numerous vulnerability assessments and his frequent keynote addresses, Paul is an experienced School Crisis Assistance Team volunteer through the National Organization for Victims Assistance (NOVA).
He serves on the Campus Safety Conferences Advisory Board, the Advisory Council for the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools, the ASIS International School Safety and Security Council, and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials Risk Management Committee. He is certified in Vulnerability Assessment Methodology (VAM) through Sandia National Laboratories and the ALPHA™ vulnerability assessment methodology. Paul holds a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Moody Theological Seminary.
Paul is also the author of two SafeSchools Staff Training courses, including:
What is Digital Self-Harm
Cyberbullying has been a main focus for school administration for many years now, but a phenomenon called digital self-harm (cyberbullying oneself) may need to make its way into current cyberbullying prevention efforts. Digital self-harm behavior was identified about 10 years ago by clinicians and law enforcement, but only a small handful of researchers have explored the topic.
A study done in 2019 (and recently released) found that one in 10 middle and high school students admitted to engaging in digital self-harm. A separate survey from 2017 found that 6% of middle and high school students surveyed “anonymously posted something about themselves that was mean.” And, a survey done in 2013 found that “9% of students surveyed engaged in digital self-harm.” With students online more than ever due to COVID-19, it’s not surprising to see digital self-harm numbers increasing.
Just like cyberbullying, this practice can have tragic outcomes so digital self-harm should make its way on to the radar of district administration and leaders and be included in cyberbullying prevention policies, procedures, and education.
Take a Proactive Approach to Student Safety & Wellness
Data released during the second half of 2020 confirmed that the pandemic is taking a serious toll on children’s social, emotional, and mental health. Remote learning is making digital citizenship and cyberbullying awareness more important than ever.
From the developers of the leading safety and compliance training solution for school staff, Vector Solutions’ courses for students cover essential safety, wellness, and social and emotional learning topics, and help educators facilitate important discussions with their students. Course topics include:
- Alcohol, Drugs & Vaping
- Bullying & Cyberbullying
- Depression
- Digital Citizenship
- Good Decision Making
- Healthy Relationships
- Resolving Disagreements
- Sexual Harassment
- Stress & Anxiety
- Youth Suicide Prevention
Short course modules provide maximum flexibility to use for primary prevention or remediation and can be used in both in-person and distance learning environments. Teacher lesson plans feature activities and discussion questions to support teachers in using these resources with their students.
If you’re interested in learning more about these courses, previewing the courses, or requesting a quote, please contact us today at [email protected] or request a demo.
San Juan School District serves over 3,000 students in 12 schools in the geographically diverse San Juan County, Utah. The district has used the Vector Solutions Staff Safety & Compliance Training System since 2013 to deliver, track, and manage training for their 350 staff online. Matthew Keyes, Director of Human Resources, likes how easy the training system is to use for everyone, and from an administrative standpoint, he appreciates the ease of record keeping and tracking.
The Challenge: Facilitating Critical Conversations with Students
In 2019, when Vector Solutions launched new Student Safety & Wellness Courses, Keyes saw these new online resources from a trusted and familiar provider as an opportunity to help address a key need for the district’s five high schools—fostering and facilitating critical conversations with students on sensitive student safety and wellness topics they are dealing with. The student courses cover essential safety and wellness topics that address the realities of school and life that students are facing today. San Juan administrators wanted to take a more proactive and preventive approach in addressing topics covered by the student courses, including:
- Alcohol, Drug, and Vaping Prevention
- Bullying and Cyberbullying
- Digital Citizenship
- Sexual Harassment
- Youth Suicide Risk
Before implementing the Student Courses, the district was primarily using their school counselors and some of the resources they had access to, and were more reactionary in their approach to covering these topics with students as needs arose.
The Solution: Student-Centered Content from a Trusted Provider
In his additional role as the district’s Title IX Coordinator, Keyes identified the Vector Solutions Student Courses as a solution that could help them be more proactive. Keyes worked collaboratively with a team including Student Services, the Assistant Superintendent, and other administrators to review the student courses, and there was buy-in from everyone. When they presented to the district’s board of education, they received approval to roll out the new courses across all of their high schools.
“We really like the student-centered content and the peer presenters. The courses are short, engaging, and to the point, and are designed to capture the attention of the students.”
Matthew Keyes, Director of Human Resources
The Implementation: Teacher Prep and Student Use
While their implementation was delayed a bit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the high schools have started using the Sexual Harassment and Digital Citizenship course modules, with plans to incorporate the other topics in the future. They are using the courses in a group setting in conjunction with HOPE Week. This is a week dedicated to addressing important topics with students including suicide prevention, drug and alcohol abuse, and now sexual harassment and digital citizenship are also included. During this week, students in all the high schools across the district watch the student courses in class.
Before rolling out the courses, teachers were coached on how to facilitate these important conversations around the topics presented in the courses. The teachers were also prepared to direct students to additional resources within the district if students had concerns in any of these areas. The objective is to start the conversations with the students in these sensitive areas that they don’t normally talk about. In addition to using in these group settings, the district is also assigning some course modules individually for remediation and as part of their restorative practices.
A letter was sent home to parents informing them about the course content that would be presented and parents were encouraged to continue these important conversations at home with their students. Parents who were interested were invited to contact the district to view the courses. Keyes even mentioned that his high school-aged son participated in viewing the courses and the class discussions at school, and he was pleased as a parent that his son came home and started an unprompted dialog with him about what he had learned.
The Results: More Impactful Conversations with Students
The courses are helping to facilitate important conversations that are critical to students’ health and safety in today’s world. Veteran teachers have commented that they were able to have deeper, more meaningful conversations with students than ever before. The district has also received positive feedback from a local coalition of community organizations for their increased efforts focused on preventing sexual harassment with the use of the student courses.
About the Vector Solutions Student Courses
The Vector Solutions Student Courses offer customized content for grades 6-8 and 9-12. Written by leading K-12 subject matter experts from across the nation, and delivered in a video-based format featuring age-appropriate content and peer presenters, the courses also feature helpful lesson plans with discussion questions and activities to support educators in using the courses with their students.
The second collection of courses released in 2020 addresses student social and emotional learning needs with topics covering depression, stress and anxiety, healthy relationships, good decision making, and resolving disagreements. We also offer a COVID-19 collection for students, which includes our new Making the Most of Distance Learning course.
As COVID-19 cases surge across the country, many schools are looking for new ways to protect their community and prevent outbreaks. Vector Solutions offers a suite of online solutions that are specifically designed to help schools reopen or remain open safely amid the COVID-19 health crisis.
COVID-19 Online Training Courses
Our SafeSchools Training Staff and Student COVID-19 courses can help you provide the essential training your staff and students need to help them understand and follow the CDC recommendations to keep themselves and others healthy as you return to school, and throughout the year.
Staff Courses
- Coronavirus Awareness
- CDC Guidelines for Making & Using Cloth Face Coverings
- Cleaning and Disinfecting Workplaces
- Managing Stress & Anxiety
- Preparing Your Household
- Reopening Your Organization
- Transitioning to a Remote Workforce
Student Courses
- COVID-19 Awareness
- Handwashing
- Face Coverings
- Making the Most of Distance Learning
- Social Distancing
We also offer mental health-related courses for both staff and students.
Cybersecurity Online Training Courses
Cyber attacks don’t show any signs of slowing down, and during this stressful time of the coronavirus pandemic, hackers and cybercriminals are taking advantage of people’s fears by using coronavirus-related phishing email schemes. Employees need to understand what the correct process is for communicating data and to avoid risky behaviors.
The SafeSchools Online Training System includes a suite of IT courses to help educate your staff on cybersecurity. For students, we offer Digital Citizenship courses for grades 6-8 and grades 9-12.
NEW COVID-19 Health Screening and Communications System
LiveSafe’s COVID-19 health screening and communications system gives students, teachers, and staff the ability to self-report their health status every morning through either a simple mobile check-in feature or a privacy-compliant health survey. This provides an instant snapshot and report of who is healthy enough to come to school and who should stay home when schools reopen. School administrators can directly engage with those who need assistance and provide resources in response to rapidly changing health conditions and guidance.
For more information on how these solutions can complement your existing COVID-19 prevention initiatives, contact us at [email protected] or request a demo online.
Over the past decade, many districts have shifted at least some of their professional development activities online. However, many still rely on in-person PD days. While some areas of PD may be better suited for in-person learning environments, there are many opportunities to make the switch to online training to either replace or complement your in-person PD. And during a pandemic, when opportunities for in-person PD are limited, it’s a good time to revisit the benefits of online training. Online training can help you address immediate needs and help you transform your PD beyond COVID-19.
Benefits of Online Training
1. Keep Staff Safe – Staff safety is not generally a top concern when conducting in-person PD, but during a health crisis, the health and safety of your staff becomes a top priority. Online training allows your staff to complete necessary training, from the safety of their homes, and saves you the hassles of navigating the COVID-19 restrictions associated with group gatherings.
2. Provide More Flexibility – During the pandemic, many of your staff are juggling increased responsibilities of working remotely, family caregiving, supporting their own kids who may be learning at home, and more. With online training, staff can complete training at a time, location, and pace that meets their individual needs.
3. Deliver Consistent Training to a Large Number of People – A downside of in-person PD is that it happens at a particular day, time and location, which limits the number of people who can attend. While you may need to train hundreds or even thousands of staff on a specific topic, managing the logistics can be challenging. With online training, you can ensure that everyone has access to the same content. And when more people are able to participate in the training, you increase the chances that you’ll see the desired outcomes of the training across your district.
4. Address a Wider Range of PD Topics – There are some trainings that everyone may need to complete, such as sexual harassment, child abuse mandatory reporting, bullying prevention, and bloodborne pathogens. Online training is an ideal way to deliver these trainings across your organization. But when you partner with a trusted online training provider with a comprehensive library of courses for every department, you’re also able to provide more personalized, targeted PD to specific groups of teachers and staff, without the cost of conducting hundreds of individual workshop sessions.
5. Save Time and Money – With no need for classrooms, live instructors, or physical materials, online courses are typically more affordable than the in-person alternative. With online training, there are no travel costs and no need to pull educators out of the classroom. And when more staff complete required training, you may see a significant reduction in workers’ comp claims and insurance rates.
How Vector Solutions Can Help
The SafeSchools Online Training System helps you manage and deliver your staff training online, saving you valuable time and money.
- Access high quality courses on important school safety topics by leading experts, available in one convenient online system, so your staff can easily complete their required training from any location.
- Customize courses with your own content, and create and deliver your own policies or custom courses through our system.
- Staff receive notifications of assignments and email reminders, and completions are tracked automatically.
Our Staff Safety & Compliance Course Library includes hundreds of engaging, research-based courses, written by K-12 subject matter experts, in these key categories: Environmental, Emergency Management and Security, Human Resources and Employment Practices, Social & Behavioral, Information Technology, Health, Nutrition Services, Special Education and Transportation. Additional specialized online course libraries can also be added to your training system to address a wide range of PD needs across your district, including:
- School Bus Safety Driver Training
- Special Education
- Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Facilities Maintenance (3D Animated Courses)
Contact us at 800.434.0154 or request a demo online to learn more about how we can support your online training needs. Explore our new Funding Guide to find a variety of funding alternatives for our training.
News reports, research studies, and data released during the second half of 2020 have all confirmed that the pandemic is taking a serious toll on children’s social, emotional, and mental health. New data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that from March through October 2020, the share of mental health-related hospital emergency department visits rose 24 percent for children ages 5 to 11 and 31 percent among adolescents ages 12 to 17, when compared to the same period in 2019.
What Can Schools Do to Support Student Mental Health
Mental health experts advise that even in the midst of the many challenges of teaching and learning during the pandemic, schools must identify approaches to address students’ social, emotional, and mental well-being. Children simply cannot learn when they are overwhelmed with stress and anxiety. How can schools support students in remote learning and socially distanced classrooms? There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but several expert-recommendations include:
- Ensure that educators are prepared to incorporate trauma informed practices into teaching and learning.
- Identify ways to strengthen and maintain connections among students and their peers and with supportive adults. Examples include providing telehealth counseling services, creating a student buddy network, and even building in time for daily “check-ins” with students where they can share their concerns.
- Implement a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum or program.
- Coordinate with other agencies and community groups to address other basic needs, such as health problems, food insecurity, and housing instability.
How Vector Solutions Can Help
SafeSchools Training’s powerful, engaging Student Safety & Wellness Courses cover essential safety and wellness topics that are core to social-emotional learning and student mental health, including:
- Stress and Anxiety
- Depression
- Youth Suicide Awareness
- Healthy Relationships
- Resolving Disagreements
- Bullying
- Digital Citizenship
- And more!
Courses are customized for grades 9-12 and 6-8, and each video-based course is broken into several 5-7 minute modules that feature diverse peer presenters, so students can more easily connect with each lesson. These flexible modules can be assigned individually or used in a facilitated group setting (in-person or online). The courses allow students to learn about topics they don’t normally talk about and help foster important discussions about these critical mental health issues.
