Superintendent's Message

As we continue to focus on creating a holistic approach to safety and security in our District, we are constantly reflecting on how we can continue to improve our overall safety and security structure.

As we built our Strategic Plan last spring and identified action items to support our “Big Rocks”, specifically regarding Big Rock 2 – Culture and Climate, we understood the importance of promoting both the social and emotional development of our students, as well as having a safe, secure and respectful atmosphere for our entire school community.

To achieve this, we know and understand that students must feel as if they belong through a systemwide commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We also know that to build this we must be proactive in designing systems, structures and experiences that create this environment while simultaneously knowing how to be prepared and react with confidence in an emergency situation.

This reasoning led us to ask the essential question below that will continue to guide our thinking and help us implement the necessary social and emotional supports for our students, as well as build a structure that helps us to identify, assess and manage potentially dangerous individuals who are at risk for violence against themselves or others.

How can we proactively enhance school safety and security through a

multi-tiered holistic approach?

To start to answer this question, we began an audit regarding the availability of our resources that support the overall social and emotional support of our students, as well as our capability to respond to emergency situations in June 2021. Based on this audit, we were able to identify areas that needed improvement, these included the following:

• The need for a research-based social & emotional learning curricula, professional learning services and behavioral health interventions that positively impact lives at the middle and high school levels.
• The need to promote school and community emergency preparedness and the clarification of roles and responsibilities of school staff and partners.
• Local and state compliance regarding emergency planning.

We immediately got to work and began implementing the following initial steps:

• Execution of a research based social & emotional learning curricula entitled Character Strong at the MS and HS levels
• Enforcement and training for staff and administration regarding Policy 6180
• Institution of the Safe School Helpline
• Evaluation and revamping of all emergency response plans at both district and building levels
• Institution and testing of Navigate 360
• Institution of Halo Sensors
• Institution of an Alternative to Suspension Room in grades 3-12 that allows out of school suspended students to receive tutoring and restoration in the school building vs. home tutoring
• Revamping of Code of Conduct that aligned all infractions K-12
• Student and staff training in restorative practices
• Training by At Risk International (Certified Threat Assessment Management Company) and institution of threat assessment teams at both the building and district level
• Increase of security staff at MS and HS
• Examination of Alternative Education Program
• Implementation of the Extended Day Program
• Simulation tabletop exercises have occurred at the district level and have or will occur by March 31st at the building level to test emergency building plans

Our work did not stop there, as we continue to focus on this goal, we continue to monitor the impact of what has been put in place, what needs to be adjusted and what needs to be added to improve our efforts so that we can ensure our culture and climate is positive, safe and secure for all schools K-12.

Currently, the following work is being undertaken:

Convergint Technologies, a company providing industry-leading service for security networks and operational efficiencies have been in our District since mid-February to begin the safety and security project involving our technology infrastructure. By the conclusion of the project, the following will occur:

• All exterior doors in our District will be electrified and will able to send notifications to security or other assigned staff when one is left open
• Also included in this project is the installation of 12 panic buttons which will disable exterior badge readers in the event of an emergency
• License plate cameras at the high school and middle school entrances will be installed
• Advanced programming will tie our Halo sensors into our existing security software (Genetec) providing the system to work to its full capability

This initial project will transition into the installation and/or repositioning of security cameras at the middle and high schools if camera hardware is on site by the completion of the door hardening project. The overarching goal is to eliminate dead spots, both inside and outside, and begin adding artificial intelligence to these systems to minimize the time staff members with camera access manually sift through video.

At the conclusion of these projects, our halo sensors, security cameras, badge readers, and panic buttons will all be in the same security system, streamlining our security infrastructure. This infrastructure will also allow us to plan and coordinate future projects in a way that builds on our initial work. Simultaneously, we are also working to finalize the purchase of exterior wireless network hardware to offer 270-360-degree WiFi coverage at schools. As we move through the next 3 to 5 years of our Strategic Plan, we will add any additional programming needed to maximize our technology security infrastructure.

Furthermore, for safety and security purposes, the Newark Central School District will work with local police agencies to conduct periodic searches on school grounds using trained narcotics dogs and will conduct periodic screening for weapons using metal detector scanning devices. Wands for each school have been purchased and will be used if a school official has reasonable suspicion to believe the search will produce evidence that a student has violated or is violating the law and/or the Code of Conduct.

This is in accordance with Board of Education Policy Number 7330, entitled “Searches and Interrogations of Students” and the Code of Conduct. It states school officials are authorized to conduct searches of students and their belongings if the authorized school official has reasonable suspicion to believe that the search will produce evidence that the student has violated or is violating the law and/or the Code of Conduct. School officials, whenever possible, will seek the least intrusive means to conduct a search to safeguard the privacy interests of students in their person and property.

I share this with you so that you can cumulatively see what we have done and are currently doing to ensure our District is as safe as it can be for our students, staff and community. Please see the following article that highlights Newark Middle School as they work though a simulation that tests their thinking in an emergency situation: https://www.newarkcsd.org/article/1010852

The Newark Board of Education Facilities/Safety Committee met with the upcoming Capital Project team on February 18, 2023, to discuss the upcoming Capital Project for air conditioners for the three elementary buildings and boilers for all 5 school buildings. During this meeting, the conversation of increased costs was discussed since the project was originally created and brought to the voters on February 8, 2022. After much conversation regarding the impact on the project if the bids came in over the amount of the original capital project vote of $15,430,000 and what items would need to be removed from the project, the committee brought the topic of holding a special vote on March 21, 2023, to receive approval from the voters to increase the anticipated amount of the project by $5,000,000 for a new total of $20,430,000. This vote would be authorizing the school to borrow the additional funds to fully complete the project if the bids come in as high as anticipated. This vote is not to change the scope of the work that is being done in the project, but to allow the full project as approved by the voters on February 8, 2022.

We are looking forward to having the community come out and vote on March 21, 2023, at the Newark High School.

Newark Drama Club will present the "Wedding Singer" this weekend (March 3 - 5). Please come out to see all of the hard work these students are putting into this production! Tickets will be available at the door: $5 for students & senior citizens / $7 for adults. Please click here to read about rehearsals underway: https://5il.co/1ni8m

• March 3rd and 4th at 7 PM
• March 5th at 2 PM

Please come out to see our students perform in these upcoming events:

• Cavalcade of Bands (grades 4-12): Tuesday, March 7th at 7 PM in the High School Gym
• District "Festival of Song" Choir Concert (grades 4-12): March 14th at 7 PM in the High School Auditorium
• Cabaret Night / Jazz Festival: May 6th at 6:30 PM in the High School Gym

As part of our District's Comprehensive Improvement Plan aligned to our new Strategic Plan, we are offering the following upcoming Family Professional Development Offerings. We believe these offerings will help families understand key initiatives within the District and will allow us to truly connect as partners.

Link to Flyer: https://5il.co/1q31m

Please click here to see a description of the events coming up this Spring and to register for any of these events: NEWARK CSD Spring Family Learning Opportunities (office.com)

• College Information Night: March 7th
• From Preschool (CPSE) to School Age (CSE): March 23rd
• Wayne Technical & Career Center Opportunities: April 20th
• Changing the Conversation on Substance Abuse: May 16th

Please consider stopping out during the month of March to take a peek at some of our Newark High School art student work alongside other surrounding Wayne County schools for grades 9-12. The gallery hours can be found on their website: Welcome to Wayne Arts (wayne-arts.com).

There will be a reception for showcasing artists and their families on Sunday, March 19th from 2-4 PM.

Thank you for supporting the arts and our amazing student artists!!

The High School Extended School Day Carpentry Club meets each Thursday in Mr. Eric Hart's classroom. Mr. Hart is the High School Technology Teacher who also serves as the Carpentry Club Advisor. Interested students are able to attend the weekly extended school day carpentry club and design and build original pieces of their choice using the specialized equipment in the technology room.

Senior Maxwell Youngman put his engineering design, technology, and carpentry skills to work. The student had old skis and scrap lumber laying around his home. He researched a plan to repurpose the materials to design and build an Adirondack-style chair and footrest. In a few weeks, he created this masterpiece with the assistance from Freshman Caleb Coleman. Maxwell is interested in pursuing college and career in the area of engineering after graduation from Newark High School.

The Extended School Day program supports Mr. Hart's ability, time, and talent to recruit high school students that have the interest and capacity to put their skills to work to be creative in the area of engineering design, technology, and carpentry. Students interested in joining the club should see Mr. Hart to get more information.

On Thursday evening, Jordan Brooks received the Wayne-Finger Lakes Superintendent’s Award!! Superintendent Award Recipients were invited to the Award Reception and Celebration Dinner. During the event, students had the opportunity to hear from the keynote speaker, Dr. Robert Nye, FLCC President. He also announced that anyone in the room who wanted to attend FLCC would receive $1000.00. Each year, 25 students throughout the W-FL region are recognized by their District as the W-FL Student Award Recipient. Congratulations to Jordan and his very proud parents!

Please mark your calendars for a potential day off of school for both students and staff. The Board of Education approved an extended Memorial Day weekend, granting Friday, May 26, 2023, off if no more than 3 snow days are utilized this year. We will keep you posted following the winter months.

If anyone is in need of any Rapid COVID-19 tests, please stop by our District Office (4th Floor above the Police Dept) to obtain free tests to take home.

The Wayne County Partnership just released their resource that documents all schools in Wayne County which also includes co-located services as well. They also released their 211 Lifeline direct web address for resources in Wayne County. When you click on the link (pictured below) you will be pushed to specific Wayne County Resources and on the side bar of that page, there are specific categories like housing, legal services, health services, etc.

The next Board meeting will be held on March 15th at 6:30 PM. The Community Budget Forum will be at 6:00 PM that evening. Both of these meetings will be at the Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES Conference Center. You can view this meeting (and all Board meetings) by clicking on this link: https://www.facebook.com/nhsreds

If you would like to speak during Public Comment at a Board meeting, you can sign up ahead of the meeting by contacting Stacy Warren at 332-3217 or stacy.warren@newarkcsd.org or there will be a sign-up sheet at the entrance to the Conference Room.

You can find a complete list of the Board meetings happening during the 2022-23 school year on our website. Please check the website closer to each meeting date for the agenda.

Please click here for our Newark CSD Athletic Schedules: https://www.sectionvny.org/public/genie/783/school/6/

As you know, last year we implemented a Safe School Helpline as a preventative measure to safeguard our students and our schools PreK -12. This helpline has been developed for you, our students, parents and staff members to help maintain safety and the most positive school environment possible. The hotline can be used to report wrongdoings or illegal activity. Any type of information involving a threatening situation to students, the school or staff should be reported. Examples include thoughts of suicide or self-harm, violence, weapons, bullying, drugs and alcohol and theft. It is confidential, anonymous and available 24/7. For students that need immediate assistance, a counselor will be on hand and responsive.

To access this line, just call from a touch-tone phone to 1-800-4-1-VOICE, ext. 359 (418-6423) to leave your information. Or TEXT: 614-426-0240 Then type: TIPS Your message will not be traced and you will not be identified. The Safe School Helpline® team will transcribe and fax your message to school officials, so appropriate action can be taken. Posters and brochures will be visible throughout the District and information will also be on our website.

Thank you again for your continued support to continually improve your child’s education and sense of belonging in our District. If you have any questions regarding the Safe School Helpline, please don’t hesitate to call. I am looking forward to an amazing school year!

Please click here to access additional information on our Safe School Helpline from our website: https://www.newarkcsd.org/safeschoolhelpline

The Newark Central School District is in immediate need of the following positions that offer full benefits:

• Building Subs
  
• Elementary Teacher
• Special Education Teachers
  
• School Psychologist
  
• Teaching Assistants
  
• Teacher Aides
• Monitor
  
• Bus Drivers
  
• Bus Monitors

Please click here for a link to apply for open positions: Job Opportunities - Newark Central School District (recruitfront.com)