The K-12 school year is coming to an end and the best part of every student’s year is arriving – summer vacation!  Although summer vacation is a time for fun with family and friends, it is important for safety to remain a priority.  The National Safe Kids Campaign estimates that every year one in four kids ages 14 and younger will sustain an injury that requires medical attention, with 42-percent of all injury-related emergency room visits occurring between May and August.

Here are some tips according to Discovery Fit & Health’s recent article on how to keep safety in mind during your summer vacation:

1.)   Dealing with Nature:  Planning to spend time outside means dealing with the elements of nature.  This includes insects, such as mosquitoes, ticks and bees.  Educate yourself on proper precautions to prevent bites and stings, as well as what to do to after a bite or sting occurs and in case of an allergic reaction.

2.)  Pool Safety:  According to SafeKids, in 2006 more than 3,700 kids under 5 years old were injured in near-drowning incidents.  Take precautions around home pools and supervise children while they swim.  Installing fencing around pools at a recommended height of 5-feet high along with a self-closing, self-latching gate can prevent 50-90 percent of accidental drowning incidents.

3.)  Playground Safety:Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics show more than 205,000 kids visit emergency rooms with playground-related injuries each year.  Checking playground equipment before letting kids play on it can help prevent injury.  Also, make sure that your children know how to properly interact with other kids on the playground to avoid added conflict and increase playground safety.

4.)  Staying Home Alone:  Some students may be old enough to stay home alone during the summer.  Make sure if your child is staying home alone they are aware of proper instructions in case of emergencies.  Common issues to discuss with a child staying home alone include emergency contacts, Internet usage and privileges, and rules on visitors and answering the door.

5.)  Safe Rides:  Over summer vacation, many children take part in outdoor recreational activities such as bike riding, roller skating and skateboarding.  Ensure your child is as safe as possible by providing them with proper safety equipment and instruction.  Children should always wear helmets and know areas that are safe for them to be using this equipment. 

To check out the rest of the summer safety tips, read the full article.

The importance of K-12 student grades is no secret.  K-12 student grades affect college acceptance, student graduation and teachers’ evaluations.  However, in Tennesee, one more thing could be added to the list in the future: welfare.

Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield (R) wants to cut welfare payments to families whose K-12 kids have significantly poor report card and test score grades.  According to a recent article, he thinks this is a great way to “break the cycle of poverty,” and is pushing for this to become state law.  The state places a large emphasis on K-12 grades.  When those grades are consistently poor, teachers and students are mostly held accountable. Senator Campfield believes parents should have a responsibility as well.

One of the biggest concerns across the US is school violence.  School administrators put forth an immense effort to try and prevent school violence. However, sometimes occurrences are inevitable.

In recent years there have been numerous tragic events involving school violence across the country, but according to a US Department of Justice study, school violence has decreased overall since 1992.  In 1995 8.4-percent of students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. In 2009 that number had decreased to 7.7-percent.  This could be due to the increased percentage of public schools using safety and security measures.  In recent years, schools have funded greater security measures, and some of the largest security increases have been:

• Using one or more security cameras.

• Requiring faculty and staff to wear badges and photo IDs.

• Providing classroom telephones.

When looking at school violence, school bullying is a huge contribution to the statistics.  School bullying is a growing concern and has been the reason for many schools to increase security measures and revamp school policies. According to a recent study, in 2011 28-percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at schools, with an added 9% reporting instances of cyberbullying.

Below are other important school crime and safety statistics that have been recently discovered:

• During the 2010–11 school year, 11 homicides of school-age youth occurred at school.

• Less than 2-percent of all youth homicides have occurred at school.

• 5-percent of 9th to 12th graders reported carrying a weapon on school property in 2011.

• 4 in 10 public schools reported at least one violent incident to the police in 2009–10.

• In 2010, 28-percent of schools had security staff who carried a firearm, down 2-percent from 2005.

For more information, refer to the full US Department of Justice study.

Elementary schools throughout Portland have been doing their part to try and improve their school environment and reduce bullying.  Many schools have implemented Playworks, a playground program, to create greater student activity and promote positive student engagement during recess. 

This program works off the idea that students learn while they play.  The program works especially with schools that contain high numbers of low-income students.  The program uses Playworks’ coaches to work within elementary schools, helping children during recess learn to play together and reduce conflict.

The coaches create games during recess that push students to interact with children outside of their immediate group of friends in order to make new friends.   Students learn to interact with students of all groups and languages through a common ground, playing.  This creates positive relationships between peers and helps to reduce bullying.

A recent study showed elementary schools that implement the Playworks program saw the following results:

• Teacher ratings of students' feelings of safety increased by 20-percent.

• Teacher ratings for bullying and exclusionary behavior decreased by 43-percent.

• Students spent 14–percent of their time in vigorous physical activity, which is 43-percent more than before the program.

• Teachers spent 34-percent fewer minutes in transition from recess to teaching, increasing student learning time.

Including a program, like Playworks, is just one way your school can improve your school’s environment and increase bullying prevention and reduce bullying incidents. 

To learn more about improving or creating a bullying prevention strategy in your school, download Alert Solutions’ Bullying Prevention Guide today!

Each year, schools struggle financially as costs increase and school budgets decrease.  One school activity that continuously suffers because of this is the school field trip.  Funding for trips are constantly reallocated to be used on other in-school activities , or making purchases for new state and federal requirements. 

However, there is a way that will help schools solve this problem – mobile apps.  This will make funding the field trip a greater priority by adding interactive aspects into the field trip.  This will make it easier to tie the trip into current curriculums and provide a greater learning experience.  For schools that absolutely cannot find funding to travel for a field trip, mobile apps provide teachers with an opportunity to bring the field trip to their students.  They can create a field trip in an empty lot, neighborhood or utilize other local spaces using augmented reality.

For example, a mobile app can make a pond more interactive.  With some mobile apps, based on the geographic location of each student, when the student reaches a “hot spot” a question will appear.  These hot spots can be located all around the pond, so the student will not know when a question might pop up.  The mobile app can also be used to “see” different fish or ecosystems in the pond depending on where the student is standing.  This allows education and interactivity to collide, making the field trip inexpensive, fun and educational. 

There is one main concern of school administrators with their schools utilizing the mobile apps.  Some administrators feel that using the mobile app may take away from the focus of a field trip.  The fact that these mobile apps are so intriguing could be a negative feature, as some students and teachers may become engrossed in the app and not be focusing on the field trip environment. 

Whether at a zoo or an empty pond, it is important for these mobile apps to enhance the trip, not take the place of it.  Students and teachers still need to interact with each other during the field trips and not just with the mobile app.

Does your school utilize any mobile apps on field trips?  Share your thoughts on our blog!

It’s every student and teacher’s favorite time of the school year!  The fourth quarter is winding down for schools across the US and students and teachers are getting ready to enjoy the nice weather and summer break!  However, there is still one thing that stands in the way – report cards.

Schools districts are trying to finalize last minute grades for report cards to be distributed.  Teachers are getting their comments together and students are preparing their parents for the good or the bad news that might be inside their report cards.

Some of the challenges school districts face when sending report cards include:

• 

  Cost of Postage, Ink, and Paper – With tight budgets, school districts spend thousands of dollars on paper, postage and ink each year for report cards alone.

• Security in Delivery to Parents – School districts that send out report cards by mail or through student distribution run the risk of parents not receiving their child’s grades.

• Time of Distribution – Schools that use paper report cards take hours of staff time to print them, package them for distribution and mail them out.

These challenges can be easily solved by using our Automated Report Card Module.  This allows school administrators to automatically send report cards, transcripts, student evaluations and more via email, in PDF format to student families.  This ensures secure delivery with real-time reporting. 

To learn more about Alert Solutions’ Automated Report Card Module, download our brochure today!

Bomb threats are a problem that school districts face across the US.  The state of New Jersey has been especially affected by these events.

New Jersey’s Homeland Security and Preparedness Offices stated that bomb threats have increased 27-percent over the past year.  Schools have been evacuated at least 61 times this year, with 19 evacuations in April alone. 

The bomb threats can be triggered by numerous incidents, but in these cases they primarily came from notes or graffiti.  All of the incidents in New Jersey, including six in Delaware Valley Regional High School, have turned out to be false.  Officials state New Jersey has spent approximately $2 million to respond to these false alarms.

New Jersey schools are doing what they can to try and relay the message to students that these threats are taken seriously.  Some schools have tried to deter bomb threats by warning that extra days would be added to the school year to make up for lost time, or by revoking special privileges after bomb threats, such as older students’ freedom to go off campus for lunch.

In order to notify parents during the event of a bomb threat, most schools utilize an automated notification system within theiremergency response plans.  This allows the school to notify parents of the situation via their preferred communication method of text, email or voice.  “Although the majority of school bomb threats turn out to be pranks, school districts and law enforcement agencies must take each threat seriously,” said the memo from Edward Dickson, director of the homeland security office. 

For some tips on how to improve your school’s Emergency Response Plan, check out Alert Solution’s Emergency Preparedness Guide today.

The No Child Left Behind Act is well-known across the nation; put in place to drive student achievement and hold schools more accountable for student progress.  However, part of this act that may not be so familiar is the McKinney Vento Act.  This law was put in place to help homeless students.

School districts across the nation teach numerous students that are considered homeless.  A homeless student is as a student who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. Some examples are students who live:

• In a shelter, motel or hotel

• In a house or an apartment with more than one family because of economic hardship or loss

• In an abandoned building or a car, at a camp ground or on the street.

• In temporary foster care facility or with an adult who is not a parent or legal guardian.

• In substandard housing or with friends or family because of being a runaway or unaccompanied youth.

Often times, because these students are living in an unstable environment, it makes it more difficult for these students to get to class each day.  Since government funding is based on daily attendance rates, it is extremely important that schools do all they can to get these students to school. 

This issue has been extremely apparent in some school districts, such as Waco ISD in Texas.  There are 1,500 students designated as homeless in this school district, making up about 10-percent of the student body.  The school district does everything it can to keep attendance rates up for these students, including sending buses to take these students back and forth, even if they are outside the attendance zone.

One way schools can monitor homeless students’ attendance is through Automated Attendance Alerts.  This notifies the guardian or homeless liaison when the student is absent and tracks attendance trends.    This would allow them tomonitor attendance, create bus routes, or utilize other features for that specific student population.  Monitoring attendance rates could allow them to better gauge the effectiveness of their efforts in improving attendance amongst homeless students.

Does your school struggle with truancy?  Learn more about how Alert Solutions’ Automated Daily Attendance Alerts can help you reduce truancy in your school!

Students at Oak Manor Elementary School in California had previously lined up at water fountains during recess, waiting to take a few small sips of warm water.  With the fountains in high demand, students felt rushed to quickly take a sip of water,, causing most students to lack proper hydration.  One solution for students had been to bring their own water, mostly in disposable bottles, to school with them.  This has led to an increase in school waste.

In order come up with an economic and environmentally friendly solution to the drinking fountain problems, Ukiah Unified School District (UUSD) has begun addinghydration stations to schools like Oak Manor.  The hydration station allows students to fill reusable colored water bottles, which can be purchased from the school, with cool water.  The hydration station is essentially a cooled water fountain on wheels.

K-12 school administrators across the US are aware of the existence of bullying and the huge problem it creates today.  Millions of students are affected by some form of bullying.  School administrators incorporate bullying prevention strategies in their schools, but how affective are these efforts?  Is an anti-bullying poster hanging in the school hallway enough?

Bullying has escalated in recent years, especially through the growing use of social media technology.  Although students are most often the victims in school bullying instances, adults are the ones creating and enforcing anti-bullying policies and rules.  Administrators teach students not to bully and encourage students to report any bullying instance they experience or witness.  This is a great start to promoting bullying prevention, but by adding student engagement metrics, bullying prevention policies can be even more effective.

K-12 students are a group undoubtedly affected by their peers.  This sometimes is the cause of bullying, but can also be an asset tobullying prevention.  Many times bullying is done to attract the attention of their peers, so preventing it requires influencing the audience.   If the majority of their peers disapprove of the incident, then it will lessen the power of the bully and bullying will decrease.

Empowering student leaders will not only show students that disapprove of bullying, but will give other students the courage to show their anti-bullying support as well.  Student leaders are a resource all school administrators have access to, giving them greater capability to reduce bullying incidents through increased student engagement.

Here are a few examples of school districts in the US that are encouraging student leadership through their bullying prevention strategies:

Morgan County Schools, West Virginia

Distributes surveys to students asking how they treat each other and then uses student leaders to address concerns found in the results.

Kelly Middle School, Oregon 

Asks students to attend staff meetings to talk about bullying issues.

Boardman Elementary School, New York

Teaches sixth graders about the dangers of bullying and how to stand up against bullying.  These “Caring Majority Ambassadors” then pass what they learn onto the younger students in school.

How does your school prevent bullying?  Check out our Speak Up! anonymous two-way communication module to help you combat bullying issues!