New York State Education Department Hosts Inaugural School Safety Summit

The New York State Education Department, in collaboration with the Center for School Safety, is hosting its inaugural School Safety Summit, Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced today. Over 900 school administrators and staff, school resource officers, and safety team members will attend the two-day, in-person school safety summit at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany on May 31 and June 1, 2023. The summit will focus on creating and fostering safe, supportive learning environments for the state’s school communities.

Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said, “There is nothing more important than creating an ecosystem of safety and support for our students and educators. This summit is a tremendous opportunity for experts from across the state to be in the same room for proactive discussions and to learn from each other’s unique experiences. Working collaboratively to deliver knowledge and resources is essential to our success in this joint effort.”

Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said, “A holistic approach to school safety involves addressing students' and staff's physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It also requires fostering a positive and inclusive school culture, implementing effective emergency preparedness measures, and promoting open communication and collaboration among all stakeholders. To accomplish this, we have assembled a diverse consortium of professionals and community leaders to share their knowledge and lessons learned and to be a catalyst for creating safer and more nurturing environments for all students.”

NYSED has assembled a multidisciplinary team of presenters that includes students, school and district administrators, mental health professionals, researchers, and community leaders from diverse backgrounds to provide training, information, and resources on topics related to school safety and emergency response plan development and implementation. These sessions are designed to help schools create safe and supportive learning environments for all students. Additionally, there will be an opportunity for attendees to visit a “Meet the Technical Assistance Centers” gallery where they can engage with experts from state agencies and contracted providers of direct support to schools and districts.

Summit Presentations Include:

• Welcome from Commissioner Betty A. Rosa
• Conditions for Thriving: Unearthing the Root Causes of Safety & Well-Being
• Reimagining School Safety
• Securing Greater School Safety through School Board Policies
• Strengthening Protective Factors that Contribute to School Safety with SNUG, a Community Anti-Violence Initiative
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and School Security Needs Assessment
• Invent2Prevent and Baldwin HS’s Agents of Social Change Initiative
• Incorporating Suicide Prevention in Safety Planning
• The Influence of Identity on Culture and Safety of Schools
• The Mental Health Paradox: Breaking Youth Mental Health Myths and Stigmas
• Developing a Family Reunification Annex: Planning and Responding to the Unthinkable
• Trauma-Informed Lockdown Drills
• Emergency Response Plan Functional Annexes and Tabletop Exercises
• Preventing Bullying and Cultivating a Positive School Climate
• School Mass Shootings: Lessons from Tragedy and Opportunities for Prevention
• Solving Disproportionality in Suspensions Requires Addressing System Gaps and Bias-Based Beliefs
• Therapeutic Crisis Intervention
• Facilities Planning, Transportation and Office of Fire Prevention and Control
• School Safety Planning: Beyond the Binder
• Introductions to New York’s Technical Assistance Centers and Agencies

The summit is funded by the US. Department of Education Grants to States for School Emergency Management (GSEM) grant program. For additional information on the Department’s safe schools initiatives, please visit NYSED’s Student Support Services website or the New York State Center for School Safety’s website.