Branford Lays Out Safe School Climate Plan

Did you know that five percent of Branford’s high school and middle school students don’t feel safe in the hallways? Another 40 percent said they feel OK in the hallways and 54 percent said they feel very safe. These statistics gathered in December, are just one part of a brand-new Safe School Climate Plan that has just been approved by the last week.

In less than six months, Dean of Students Dianne Dadio, along with a committee of volunteers from every school, put together ’s first official Safe School Climate Plan. After approval at the January 18 Board of Education Meeting, the plan shipped off to state officials as part of the new requirements of Public Act 11-232, the state bullying statute. 

July 2011 amendments to the state statute, which was first adopted in 2002 “broadens the definition of bullying, and it imposes significant new responsibilities on school personnel,” according to the Safe School Climate Plan. The full plan submitted to the state can be found online and attached to this story as a PDF.

Dadio, who serves as the Safe School Climate District Coordinator, is now part of a team of about a half-dozen Safe School Climate Specialists (listed below) who will lead the charge at every public school in Branford to ensure that the new Safe School Climate Plan, including the revamped bullying policy, is upheld.

Branford currently has a bullying policy but in addition to ensuring there is more formal and uniform documentation of reported bullying cases district-wide, each school’s Safe School Climate Specialist will oversee the policy on a regular basis.

“We’re not adding another layer but we’re working with teachers and administrators to improve whatever we have in place,” commented Assistant Superintendent Mary Peraro who is also the Safe School District Advisor.

Teachers and other staff members, by state mandate, will be trained in each school by June 1, 2012 and Branford has vowed to create or tie into existing committees, a Safe School Climate Committee which will be comprised of faculty, students and parents. Branford has plans for professional development as soon as March and long-term goals to participate in the State School Climate Week in October, 2012.

One of the biggest differences in Branford’s old plan verses the new one, is the definition of bullying. Under the new plan, bullying now includes cyberbullying where the old plan did not specifically cite online bullying as an offense. The new plan also enforces stricter reporting and addressing of bullying incidents in and out of school.

Under the new plan, the Safe School Climate Specialist is the point person on all bullying cases though any school employee can receive reports of bullying.

According to the plan “The safe school climate specialist must “investigate or supervise the investigation of reported acts of bullying in the school in accordance with the district's safe school climate plan, collect and maintain records of reports and investigations of bullying in the school, and act as the primary school official responsible for preventing, identifying and responding to reports of bullying in the school.”

You can learn more details about the specifics of the plan and the timeline for reporting acts of bullying online here.

In addition to enhancing Branford’s bullying policy, the Safe School Climate Plan also includes intention to adopt and implement a district-wide program focusing on positive restorative practices to promote bullying prevention. This positive restorative practices plan will be implemented in all grades, pre-K to 12. The restorative practices plan, said , will hopefully have students district-wide creating a sense of awareness and empathy.

After the committee members finished offering their Safe School Climate Plan report at last week's BOE meeting, Hernandez noted that all members of the audience and the viewing public should be aware that Branford schools already address acts of bullying. That said, he added, “I want to commend the committee because we have received very, very little guidance from the state.” Though there’s a big focus on bullying in the new plan, the Safe School Climate Plan encompasses much more and must be looked at in its entirety, he added.

In December 2011, Branford teachers, students and parents participated in a survey regarding school safety. The results of this survey are going to be used as a baseline for the Safe School Climate Committee; there will also be a state survey taken in the spring.

Of the survey results, the School Climate Plan details, “for the most part parents' perception of the school environment is positive.  Areas of concern from those surveys show a need for more diligence in the areas of communication between teachers and parents.” Also, about five percent of the 212 parents surveyed said their children don’t feel safe at school.

Of the 772 middle school and high school students surveyed, 21 percent said “sometimes another student is mean to me in the halls.” Thirty-six percent of students said sometimes “another student in class teases me.” On a positive note, more than 85 percent of high school and middle school students surveyed feel “there are adults in the school who will help me if I need help.”

According to the plan, the more than 200 teachers surveyed overall shared positive results except in response to the questions about whether they felt it was their responsibility to address misbehavior outside of their classroom; some teachers indicated that they did not feel it was their job.  The climate plan addresses this: “Given the new anti-bullying legislations, it is important to remember that it is imperative to have everyone’s cooperation.”

Safe School Climate District Coordinator
Dianne Dadio

Safe School Climate District Advisor
Mary T. Peraro, Ed.D

Safe School Climate Specialists
Lisa Alberino,
John Albinger,
Sarah Bertolini,
Cynthia Hanrahan,
Amy King,
Leslie Peters,