Despite urging from Beach Haven School Superintendent EvaMarie Raleigh, the board of education has not approved the usage of two remote access security cameras that were installed at the school. As part of the facility plans covered in the 2014-15 school budget, one camera was placed near the main office and another was placed near the bus entrance. Neither of them has been turned on.
 |
| Photo by Ryan Morrill Two cameras have been installed in the school, but their use has not been approved by the board. |
“I just want to go on record every month saying that I believe this is what’s best for the security of our school,” said Raleigh. “Every school I’ve ever been in has had a security plan, has had cameras. It’s never affected anything; it’s always helped.
“It’s not because kids are fighting in the halls,” she added. “We had three iPads walk out of this building one week in November last year, when we closed. Right now we might have one missing Chromebook. I have to inventory all the numbers to see because I think we’re one short. You just never know, and things cost money. When the police came for the iPads, they asked; they suggested we have cameras.”
Raleigh also stated that it would be useful in instances where it is important to have evidence of the students’ and staff’s whereabouts.
Although not mandated by the state, the security cameras are “highly recommended” by the Department of Homeland Security, Raleigh said.
“The reason why it’s not mandated by the state is because if they mandate something, they have to pay for it,” she mentioned.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office conducted unannounced school security drills in 12 different schools in the county this year, including four high schools, four middle schools and four elementary schools, she noted. The goal of the drills, which were first announced by the state Department of Education in February 2013, is to provide technical assistance and to support school preparedness efforts.
“If there’s a real situation and they’re coming to the school, they want to be able to log into our system to see inside the school before they’re even there,” Raleigh explained after the meeting.
Student parent Kristy Davis said the doors near Willits Hall seem to be “more of a threat” since they are near the restrooms and are easily accessible.
Raleigh noted the original plan was to install four additional cameras, one of which would face those doors.
When Davis asked if there are plans to add more cameras, Board President Irene Hughes said the members are “open to discussions. We’re not going to retroactively approve anything, or approve anything without a plan. A proper plan in place would involve all state orders.”
Raleigh asked for a motion to approve the usage of the cameras, but none was given.
“I still want to know why we don’t want them,” she urged. The board did not offer an explanation.
Prior to the meeting, Raleigh requested the Beach Haven Police Department have an officer present at the meeting for public safety. Officer John Mitchell was stationed at the building.
When asked why she made the request, Raleigh said, “I don’t feel safe. I’m going to request that a uniformed officer be present at every meeting.”
In other meeting news, Davis and student parent Cassandra Mitchell expressed their confusion over the school’s new student report cards, which were first used this year and issued during the first marking period.
The report cards began to change in the 2011-12 school year, Raleigh said after the meeting. The new report cards had both standards-based items and letter grades. In 2013-14, a report card committee met three to four times during the year to revise the reports. In the fall of 2014-15, the entire teaching staff worked on revising the reports to reflect a consistent standards-based report card, which utilized samples from other districts, such as West Deptford and Berkeley Township, to look at best practices, Raleigh noted.
“The teachers worked together to determine the skills in each report card area that they would like to include to provide parents with student feedback,” she explained. “After each cluster of teachers – pre-K, grades one through three and grades four through six — were complete, the categories were streamlined to use the same vernacular.”
During the meeting, Raleigh said a more detailed explanation of the format could be discussed with parents at back-to-school night.
Kathy Kelly resigned from her position as the board’s vice president. The board voted to have board member Jen Tomlinson take the position. Kelly is still a member of the board.
The board also approved the resignation of Toni Dworkin, the school’s music teacher. Dworkin has completed her one-year contract with the school and has accepted a full-time position at another location, Raleigh noted.
The school recently received its Quality Single Accountability Continuum certification, which is required every three years by the state Department of Education. The system focuses on monitoring and evaluating school districts in five key components: instruction and program, fiscal management, operations, personnel and governance.
Raleigh is one of 70 superintendents who have been invited to attend the District Administration Leadership Institute’s Superintendent’s Summit in Boston later in July. The event provides professional development to school district superintendents and other senior education executives “to inspire innovation and leadership excellence in K12 education.”
The board recently awarded Southern Regional High School student Amanda Harrison a $1,450 scholarship through its Joseph Veitch Scholarship fund. Harrison is a Beach Haven resident and former Beach Haven School student.
The board has requested the preschool tuition rate for the 2015-16 school year be sent to committee to report back to the board for a recommendation at next month’s meeting.
In an effort to also utilize the school as a community center after school and in the summer, the building will be open a few days in August for members of the public to create a mosaic surfboard. Dates and times have not yet been confirmed, but the finished product will be presented to Beach Haven Mayor Nancy Taggart Davis at the town’s 125th anniversary event in November.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment