VIOLENT AND DISRUPTIVE INCIDENT REPORTING (VADIR) USING DATA TO USING DATA TO IMPROVE SCHOOL CLIMATE

Legal Requirements  Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE)-SED should establish a uniform system for reporting of Violent and Disruptive Incidents  ESEA Title IX (Unsafe School Choice Option) & §9532 as amended by NCLB -Student’s right to transfer, where transfer option exists, if school is designated as “persistently dangerous” or if student is victim of violent crime

Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE)  District Wide School Safety Plan  Building Level Emergency Response Plan  Codes of Conduct  DASA Implications  VADIR Report to NYSED  Instruction in Civility, Character Ed, etc.  School Violence Prevention Training  Whistleblower Protection

VADIR Reporting  UVIR – Uniform Violent Incident Reporting system  Reporting vehicle: Summary of Violent and Disruptive Incidents  Modifications in Progress

Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)  No student shall be subjected to harassment by employees or students on school property or at a school function; nor shall any student be subjected to discrimination based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex in any activity occurring on school grounds.  Effective July 1, 2012  Implications for Codes of Conduct & VADIR VADIR

Use of Data  Data triangulation  Data monitoring  Feedback Loop  Data-driven decisions

School Violence Index (SVI) Assigned Weights to Incident Categories  Used to compute the School Violence Index (SVI) for schools.  Weighted incidents are totaled and then divided by the school enrollment. (Two Category 5’s: = 60; 60 divided by enrollment)  School could be identified as PD for the school year if, for both and , it had either:  An SVI of 1.5 or greater Or Or  At least 60 serious incidents and an SVI of at least Incident Category Weight 1. Homicide Forcible Sex Offenses Other Sex Offenses Robbery 4. Assault with Serious Injury Arson 6. Kidnapping 7. Assault with Physical Injury Reckless Endangerment 25 *All other incident categories involving the use of a weapon (9w, 10w, 11w, 12w, 13w, 16w) , 17.2 Weapons Possession Only 15

Calculating Your SVI (School Violence Index) CategoryDescription No. of Incidents 1Homicide0 2.1 Forcible Sex Other Sex 2 3Robbery0 4 Assault w/ Serious Physical Injury 0 5Arson2 6Kidnapping0 7 Assault w/ Physical Injury 7 8 Reckless Endangerment 5 9 Minor Assault: Physical contact, no injury Intimidation, Harassment, Menacing and Bullying 21 11Burglary0 12 Criminal Mischief 6 13 Larceny or other Theft Offenses 1 (with weapon) 14 Bomb Threat 0 15 False Alarm 0 16Riot Weapons Possession (confiscated through entry screening) Weapons Possession (found under other circumstances 1 18 Use, Possession or Sale of Drugs 1 19 Use, Possession or Sale of Alcohol 1 20 Other Disruptive Incidents 25 SVI Calculation for Educationville Middle School  Enrollment = 400  What is the SVI?  (Category Weight)*(No. of Incidents)=(SVI Points per Category)  Add SVI Points for all Categories.  (Total SVI Points)/Enrollment=SVI  Answer: 1.25

IRP: Planning Tool for Positive Climate  Proposed Action(s): State program or specific act to be accomplished  Desired Result(s): Ideal outcome (i.e. 80% reduction in bullying in comparison to last year)  Evaluation Strategy: How do you know program is effective? Focus groups, interviews, surveys, etc.  Timeline: Span of program/activity implementation (i.e. September 2010-June 2011)  IRP is blueprint for all major programs/activities aimed at creating a safe and drug free atmosphere at the building level

Suggestions for Improving School Climate  Develop a systems approach to improving school climate.  Incorporate Social and Emotional Development and Learning into your overall plan.  Equitably enforce a Code of Conduct for the district and building (Education Law-Chapter 16, Title II, Article 55 § Codes of conduct on school property).  Develop district safety plans and building emergency response plans to deal with serious situations and conduct drills, tabletops and functional exercises to increase the level of preparedness.  Personalize the school environment.  Analyze Violent and Disruptive Incident Reports (VADIR) and other conduct data to provide information regarding pockets of concern that require attention and program strengths that could be replicated.  Implement programs and activities that have a proven track record of achieving positive results; Evaluate programs periodically for their effectiveness and potential improvement.  Actively involve and engage parents and other community members in addressing issues and concerns.  Make sure students, teachers, parents, administrators, and other school staff are aware of warning signs of violence and the need to communicate that to others.

Important Resources  VADIR Resources (NYSED P-12 Student Support Services)   VADIR Reporting (Office of Information and Reporting Services)   Weighted Incident Exemption Process  WeightedIncidentExemptionProcess-RelatedVADIR-2010.doc  DRAFT Guidelines for Social Emotional Development and Learning (SEDL) in New York State   SAVE Resources, including Code of Conduct 

P-12/STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES Laura Sahr Linda Gingold Seaman Keti Colbert Carri Manchester INFORMATION AND REPORTING SERVICES

“Any Questions?”