Superintendent's Message about School Safety Event - Follow-up message included

NOTICE: We invite you to attend a Town Hall meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 6^th at 6:00pm in the Auditorium of Newburgh Free Academy, Main at 201 Fullerton Ave (this location was updated on 3/1/2018) to discuss school safety. 

Follow Up - February 28, 2018

February 28, 2018

Dear NECSD families,             

As we continue to grieve for the students, teachers, and families in Parkland, Florida, I wanted to write you as a follow up to my initial communication regarding school safety. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with some insight on current and anticipated safety measures in our district, as well as how we respond to threats that we receive.

On a monthly basis, we meet with local law enforcement officers from each of the municipalities to discuss preventative and proactive safety measures.  This high-level collaboration with authorities ensures that in the event of an emergency, our communication and response times are immediate. In addition to scheduling and assessing our drills, we plan for safety upgrades. These upgrades include, but are not limited to: cameras with new technology, enhanced 911 calling, card entry systems, panic button, call recording, and instant lockdown ability.

We take every threat that we receive seriously, involve local law enforcement, and implement the necessary disciplinary consequences. We legally cannot comment of disciplinary action that is taken or share information about individual students. However, please trust that we are working quickly and collaborating with authorities to secure our schools.

Very often, we hear about threats from our students or from you. If you see or hear of any threat, please contact us immediately before sharing it on social media. Sharing information that you or your child(ren) are aware of with the district officials enables our staff to act even more quickly and promotes a better opportunity for safety. The main district line is: 845-563-3400. You can also contact the main office of individual schools or message our Facebook page (Facebook.com/NewburghSchools).

The safety and security of our students and staff is the responsibility of all us. Thank you again for your cooperation and support.

We invite you to attend a Town Hall meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 6^th at 6:00pm in the Auditorium of Newburgh Free Academy, Main at 201 Fullerton Ave (this location was updated on 3/1/2018) to discuss school safety.

Sincerely,

Roberto Padilla, Ed.D.

Superintendent of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District

124 Grand Street, Newburgh, NY 12550

 _________________________________________________

28 de febrero de 2018

Queridas familias de NECSD,

A medida que seguimos lamentando a los estudiantes, maestros y familias en Parkland, Florida, quería escribirles como seguimiento de mi comunicación inicial con respecto a la seguridad escolar. El propósito de esta carta es brindarles una idea de cómo respondemos a las amenazas que recibimos.

Mensualmente, nos reunimos con oficiales locales de las fuerzas del orden público de cada uno de los municipios para discutir medidas de seguridad preventivas y proactivas. Esta colaboración de alto nivel con las autoridades garantiza que, en caso de una emergencia, nuestros tiempos de comunicación y respuesta sean inmediatos. Además de programar y evaluar nuestros simulacros, planificamos actualizaciones de seguridad. Estas actualizaciones incluyen, entre otras, cámaras con nueva tecnología, llamadas mejoradas al 911, sistemas de ingreso de tarjetas, botón de pánico, grabación de llamadas y capacidad de bloqueo instantáneo.

Tomamos en serio todas las amenazas que recibimos, involucramos a la policía local e implementamos las consecuencias disciplinarias necesarias. Legalmente no podemos comentar sobre medidas disciplinarias que se toman o compartir información sobre estudiantes individuales. Sin embargo, confíen en que estamos trabajando rápidamente y colaborando con las autoridades para proteger nuestras escuelas.

Muy a menudo, escuchamos sobre las amenazas de nuestros estudiantes o de ustedes.  Si ve o escucha hablar de alguna amenaza, comuníquense con nosotros inmediatamente antes de compartirla en las redes sociales. Compartir información que ustedes o sus hijos conocen con los funcionarios del distrito le permite a nuestro personal actuar aún más rápido y promueve una mejor oportunidad para la seguridad. La línea principal del distrito es: 845-563-3400. También pueden comunicarse con la oficina principal de cada escuela o enviar un mensaje a nuestra página de Facebook (Facebook.com/NewburghSchools).

La seguridad de nuestros estudiantes y personal es responsabilidad de todos nosotros. Gracias de nuevo por su cooperación y apoyo.

Los invitamos a asistir a una reunión del ayuntamiento, programada para el martes, 6 de marzo a las 6:00 p.m. en el Auditorio de Newburgh Free Academy Main Campus en 201 Fullerton Avenue para analizar la seguridad escolar.

Sinceramente,

 Roberto Padilla, Ed.D.
Superintendente de las Escuelas de Newburgh

 ---------------------------------------------------------

Original Message

Dear NECSD families,

The tragedy at a high school in Parkland, Florida brings a stark reminder of the world in which we live today. The safety and well-being of your child(ren) is one of our highest priorities. With that being said, I would like to share with you the steps our district has taken to increase safety in our schools. 

One strategy we have focused on over the past several years has been to increase the social and emotional supports to our students. We have added additional staff to work with students who are experiencing stress and trauma. Although all of our staff focus on knowing each of our students, our school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, classroom teachers, principals, nurses, and security guards each pay close attention to our students and look for cues about their emotional well-being. In early March, we will be launching an online anti-bullying portal that will allow students who have been victims of bullying or who have witnessed bullying to report their experience to be investigated. The portal is anonymous in hopes of enabling students to feel empowered to report their experiences.

In addition to providing supports to our students we have also addressed our facilities and systems. Vestibules in our schools have been redesigned with new locks and windows, that reduce the opportunity for individuals to enter our schools without authorization. All visitors to our schools are required to show proper identification and a sound reason for their visit. Surveillance systems allow our security monitors access to a wide range of areas from single location. We are continuously updating our security measures and anticipate having increased security technology in the near future.

As mandated by the New York State Education Department Safe Schools Against Violence in Education, several drills are conducted in all schools throughout the school year. These drills are intended to prepare our faculty, staff and students in the event a situation does occur. As we continue to learn of the incident in Parkland, Florida we are presented with images that tend to be graphic and alarming. The drills we conduct may also be alarming or bring up fears within our students, but they are necessary and required.

Your child may have questions or wish to express their emotions about this most recent tragedy and other potential dangers in the world. According to the age and level of understanding, answer your child’s question honestly. Try to be sensitive to their desire to communicate, while listening to and accepting their feelings. It may also be helpful to ask your child to review what they learn during the drills, so they feel more prepared in the event of an actual emergency. Please feel free to reach out to our staff, in the event you would like assistance to address these conversations with your child(ren).

I wanted to make sure you were aware of the measures and precautions we take to protect our students. Your child(ren)’s safety and well-being continue to be one of our top priorities. Please help us remind your child to speak to an adult if they ever see or hear of this type of threat to their school. It is through the work of all that we are able to love, support, and protect our scholars.

Sincerely,
Roberto Padilla, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Newburgh Schools

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Original Message in Spanish

Queridas familias NECSD,

La tragedia en una escuela secundaria en Parkland, Florida causa un duro recordatorio del mundo en el que vivimos hoy. La seguridad y bienestar de su(s) hijo(s) es una de nuestras más altas prioridades. Habiendo dicho esto, yo quisiera compartir con usted los pasos que nuestro distrito ha tomado para aumentar la seguridad en nuestras escuelas. 

Una estrategia en la que estamos enfocados desde varios años anteriores ha sido aumentar el apoyo social y emocional de nuestros estudiantes. Hemos agregado personal para trabajar con estudiantes que estén sufriendo estres y trauma. Además todo nuestro personal se enfoca en conocer a cada uno de nuestros estudiantes, nuestros Consejeros Escolares, Psicologos Escolares, Trabajadores Sociales, maestros, principales, enfermeras y guardias de seguridad prestan especial atención a nuestros estudiantes y buscan señales sobre su bienestar emocional. A principios de Marzo, vamos a lanzar un portal online anti-intimidación o acoso (anti-bullying) que le va a permitir a estudiantes que han sido víctimas de intimidación o acoso o han sido testigos de intimidación o acoso reportar sus experiencias para ser investigadas. El portal es anónimo con la esperanza de posibilitar a estudiantes a sentirse con el poder de reporter sus experiencias.

Además de proveer apoyo a nuestros estudiantes también lo hemos aplicado a nuestros instalaciones, servicios y sistemas. Los vestíbulos in nuestras escuelas han sido rediseñados con nuevas cerraduras y ventanas, que reduce la oportuninidad para que individuos entren a nuestras escuelas sin autorización. A todos los visitantes a nuestas escuelas se les require mostrar identificación apropiada y una razón sólida para su visita. Sistemas de vigilancia permiten a nuestros encargados de seguridad acceder a un amplio rango de áreas desde una ubicación única. Estamos continuamente actualizando nuestras medidas de seguridad y anticipamos aumentar la tecnología de seguridad en un futuro cercano.

Como es mandatorio por el Departamento de Educación del Estado de Nueva York Escuela Segura en Contra de la Violencia en la Educación (New York State Education Department Safe Schools Against Violence in Education), varios simulacros son conducidos en todas las escuelas a lo largo del año escolar. Estos simulacros estan intencionados para preparar a nuestros facultativos, empleados y estudiantes en la eventualidad que ocurra una situación. A medida que continuamos teniendo mas noticias del incidente en Parkland, Florida estamos siendo presentados con imágenes que tienden a ser gráficas y alarmantes.Estos simulacros que conducimos también pueden ser alarmantes o provocar miedo a nuestros estudiantes, pero estos simulacros son necesarios y requeridos.

Su hijo puede que tenga preguntas o desee expresar sus emociones acerca the esta tragedia más reciente y otros peligros potenciales en el mundo. De acuerdo con la edad y el nivel de entendimiento, conteste las preguntas de su hijo honestamente. Trate de ser sensible a su deseo de comunicarse, mientras escuche y acepte sus sentimientos. También puede ser de ayuda preguntar a su hijo que revea lo que ha aprendido durante los simulacros, de ésta manera se siente más preparado en el evento de una emergencia real. Por favor siéntase con la libertad de contactar a nuestro personal, en el caso que quisiera asistencia con respecto a como referirse a estas conversaciones son su hijo(s).

Yo quería asegurarme que estuviera consciente de las medidas y precauciones que tomamos para proteger a nuestros estudiantes. La seguridad de su(s) hijo(s) y su bienestar es continuamente una de nuestras primeras prioridades. Por favor ayúdenos a recordarle a su(s) hijo(s) a hablar con un adulto si el(ellos) alguna vez ven o escuchan de este tipo de amenaza a sus escuelas. Es a través del trabajo de todos que podemos amar, apoyar y proteger a nuestros estudiosos.

Sinceramente,
Roberto Padilla, Ed.D.
Superintendente de las Escuelas de Newburgh 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

February 28, 2018

Dear NECSD families,             

As we continue to grieve for the students, teachers, and families in Parkland, Florida, I wanted to write you as a follow up to my initial communication regarding school safety. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with some insight on current and anticipated safety measures in our district, as well as how we respond to threats that we receive.

On a monthly basis, we meet with local law enforcement officers from each of the municipalities to discuss preventative and proactive safety measures.  This high-level collaboration with authorities ensures that in the event of an emergency, our communication and response times are immediate. In addition to scheduling and assessing our drills, we plan for safety upgrades. These upgrades include, but are not limited to: cameras with new technology, enhanced 911 calling, card entry systems, panic button, call recording, and instant lockdown ability.

We take every threat that we receive seriously, involve local law enforcement, and implement the necessary disciplinary consequences. We legally cannot comment of disciplinary action that is taken or share information about individual students. However, please trust that we are working quickly and collaborating with authorities to secure our schools.

Very often, we hear about threats from our students or from you. If you see or hear of any threat, please contact us immediately before sharing it on social media. Sharing information that you or your child(ren) are aware of with the district officials enables our staff to act even more quickly and promotes a better opportunity for safety. The main district line is: 845-563-3400. You can also contact the main office of individual schools or message our Facebook page (Facebook.com/NewburghSchools).

The safety and security of our students and staff is the responsibility of all us. Thank you again for your cooperation and support.

We invite you to attend a Town Hall meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 6^th at 6:00pm in the Auditorium of our Central Office building at 124 Grand Street to discuss school safety.

Sincerely,

Roberto Padilla, Ed.D.

Superintendent of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District

124 Grand Street, Newburgh, NY 12550