“Safety is critical we take that as one of our primary charges from our parents to keep our staff and students as safe as possible in our schools,” Steele Howen said.
Beginning last January, a new policy went into effect which requires all visitors and volunteers entering Albemarle County schools to be checked against the sex offender registry.
“We want to know who is in our school and so we’ve been more careful about people signing into our schools for visitors as well as our volunteers,” Howen said.
If a registered sex offender is sighted, the superintendent would be immediately notified, and local law-enforcement contacted.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Parents' Fear of Sexual Predators and Abductors on School Campuses
School Security is a Major Concern Among Parents of Children in Grades K-8
As millions of students start a new school year, results of a new survey indicate that nearly half of the parents of kindergartners to eighth graders are concerned about school security.
Details of the "ADT National Back-to-School Security Survey" were announced today during a news conference at an elementary school in the nation's capital.
Among the findings, nearly half of the respondents expressed concerns that a sexual predator could target their child while at school and more than a third have concerns that their child could be abducted by a stranger. A majority said they'd be willing to pay for additional security systems to help schools keep unwanted visitors off campuses.
"Through this survey, parents are making it clear they want local school boards to do more to protect children," said Patrick Fiel, ADT's public security advisor and a former head of security for Washington, D.C. Public Schools. "We need cooperation among adults and children, proper planning and more innovation to ensure that young students are as safe as possible."
Fiel offers the following six steps parents can take to help create safer schools:
-- Talk to your children about school security
-- Visit your child's campus and talk with an administrator about the school's security plan
-- Educate yourself on the plans, procedures and technologies working well at other schools
-- Get to know the law enforcement officials assigned to your child's school
-- Join other parents who may also be concerned about the security of their children
There are currently more than 500,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., according to the National Alert Registry. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports more than 700 children are abducted each day.
"These numbers underscore the need for all stakeholders in education to help improve school safety," said Brad Dennis, director of search operations for the KlaasKids Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps stop crimes against children. "By forming and promoting partnerships with concerned parents and other citizens, we can become part of the solution to keep our kids safe."
SOURCE: ADT Security Services
As millions of students start a new school year, results of a new survey indicate that nearly half of the parents of kindergartners to eighth graders are concerned about school security.
Details of the "ADT National Back-to-School Security Survey" were announced today during a news conference at an elementary school in the nation's capital.
Among the findings, nearly half of the respondents expressed concerns that a sexual predator could target their child while at school and more than a third have concerns that their child could be abducted by a stranger. A majority said they'd be willing to pay for additional security systems to help schools keep unwanted visitors off campuses.
"Through this survey, parents are making it clear they want local school boards to do more to protect children," said Patrick Fiel, ADT's public security advisor and a former head of security for Washington, D.C. Public Schools. "We need cooperation among adults and children, proper planning and more innovation to ensure that young students are as safe as possible."
Fiel offers the following six steps parents can take to help create safer schools:
-- Talk to your children about school security
-- Visit your child's campus and talk with an administrator about the school's security plan
-- Educate yourself on the plans, procedures and technologies working well at other schools
-- Get to know the law enforcement officials assigned to your child's school
-- Join other parents who may also be concerned about the security of their children
There are currently more than 500,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., according to the National Alert Registry. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports more than 700 children are abducted each day.
"These numbers underscore the need for all stakeholders in education to help improve school safety," said Brad Dennis, director of search operations for the KlaasKids Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps stop crimes against children. "By forming and promoting partnerships with concerned parents and other citizens, we can become part of the solution to keep our kids safe."
SOURCE: ADT Security Services
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Back-to-School safety tips
SafeAssured ID and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® remind Families to Discuss Safety as Kids Head Back to School
As millions of children take to the streets and roadways to head back to school this fall, SafeAssured ID and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) urge parents and guardians to make child safety a priority. In addition to reminding families of the importance of keeping an up-to-date digital photo of their children, SafeAssured ID will be featuring “Back to School” safety tips from NCMEC child safety experts on their website at www.safeassured-id.com.
The tips recognize that parents and guardians may need some help discussing child safety and are meant to empower them to start this conversation with their children to prepare for a safer school year. Tips include:
As millions of children take to the streets and roadways to head back to school this fall, SafeAssured ID and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) urge parents and guardians to make child safety a priority. In addition to reminding families of the importance of keeping an up-to-date digital photo of their children, SafeAssured ID will be featuring “Back to School” safety tips from NCMEC child safety experts on their website at www.safeassured-id.com.
The tips recognize that parents and guardians may need some help discussing child safety and are meant to empower them to start this conversation with their children to prepare for a safer school year. Tips include:
- Instruct your child to always take a friend when walking or riding his or her bike to and from school.
- If anyone bothers your child while going to or from school, you should teach him or her to get away from that person, and tell you or another trusted adult.
- Teach your children to never leave school with anyone they don’t know.
“Children do not have the same frame of reference for safety as adults and that’s why it’s important to work on helping them develop strong safety skills,” said Nancy A. McBride, NCMEC’s National Safety Director. “We would like to see families make talking about child safety part of their regular back-to-school routine like shopping for school supplies, and we are grateful to SafeAssured ID for helping us put this information in the hands of parents, guardians and children all across the country.”
“NCMEC plays an extremely valuable role in keeping our children safer,” said Ken Hofmaster, President of SafeAssured ID. “We are proud to share their commitment to that mission and hope that every family will take the time to review these tips before sending their children off to school. It has always been our hope that every child would have access to SafeAssured ID technology, but never need to use it.”
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