The recent school shooting in Nashville has prompted many private school leaders to examine their processes and procedures. We're going to consider an Ad Hoc security committee on the Diocesan School Advisory Council as well as a security workshop.

Until those efforts come to fruition, I thought I might share an approach to school security I learned from a workshop given by ASSA ABLOY. They framed school security in four areas:

1. School perimeter. How open is your property? How likely is it that people might wander onto your site? Do you have an open parking lot next to the school? How much traffic do you get? How open is your campus property?
2. School envelope. How easy is it for people to get into your building? Most of our buildings are 50+ years old and are thus designed for multiple access points. With warm weather, how about windows? Can people climb in windows during or after school? Are you connected to the church or rectory? How many people have keys/access to your building(s)? Can outsiders look in directly to your classrooms?
3. School entry. When visitors enter, are they directed to an office? Many schools hold to a front door entry system. But what happens next? Also, are there times of the day with open accessibility to all?
4. Classrooms. How open are your classrooms? Are they locked? If not, can they be locked easily?

These questions aren't meant to be all-encompassing--nor are they intended to throw you into a stress spiral. They present a way to organize your efforts to make your school safer. After all, if you're worried about people wandering into your school, an outside security guard might be a better strategy than a new classroom locking system. Identify where you have issues and then figure out how to address those issues.

Stay tuned as we bring resources and best practices to the forefront. Until then, this four-part framework should be helpful to examine your priorities.

Previous blogs can be found here. Want to keep up with the conversations surrounding Catholic education? Set up your own Google Alert, subscribe to this newsletter by clicking "follow," or subscribe to the Catholic School Matters podcast.

Dr. Tim Uhl

Time to nominate one student from your school for the March Character Award. Complete the form here!

After a long Easter break there was a bit of a concern about squishing a character trait into the last two weeks of April. It was suggested instead that we extend the May trait and have a little more time to focus on optimism.

Optimism ties directly to how we interpret events that occur around us. Teaching and encouraging optimism can help the emotional wellbeing and self-esteem of the students in our schools. We can help children learn to be more optimistic by:

• Focusing on the Positives

• Identifying positives in the midst of negative experiences

• Engaging in problem solving

• Discuss overcoming challenges

• Eliminating negative self-talk

• Remembering setbacks are temporary

Journal writing can be a great way to help students become more optimistic. You may want to give some of these journal prompts a try in your classroom.

• Describe an accomplishment that you are proud of.

• What is the best day of your week?

• Tell me about your best birthday ever.

• Describe the best memory you have with your family.

• Identify a habit that has helped you grow.

Book Recommendations:

• What Do You Do With a Problem? By Kobi Yamada

• The Power of Yet by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

• The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson

• The Gratitude Jar by Katrina Liu

• The Sour Grape by Jory John

X-STREAM Games is just a few weeks away. Don’t forget to sign up below!

• Arcade Academy - Students showcase arcade games made from cardboard and recyclable materials.
• Kitchen Chem - Theme: Wedding Feast of Cana- In Jesus’ first miracle he turned water into wine. For this year’s competition we ask students to transform raw ingredients into something new that could be served at a celebration, like an appetizer or small dessert.
• Public Speaking Students present on a topic of their choice. Consider something you are passionate about, something you learned in a STREAM academy, dramatic reading, poetry, etc. Check the booklet for more details!
• Robotics VEX IQ - Is your robotics team ready for this year's Slapshot competition?
• Science Scrimmage - Participants are challenged to build a ping pong pick up device with as few materials as possible.
• Shark Tank Challenge: Create an invention that would make the world a better place, and improve the lives of future generations.

Schools are also invited to bring STREAM projects they have completed throughout the school year display during the event. Sign up here!

Previous "Academic Corner" posts from Kari

• 4/26/23 Annual NYS Textbook Loan Meeting at Erie 1 BOCES – 1:00pm

• 5/8/23 BOCES Title IIa Consortium Administrators Meeting

• 5/20/23 Last Day to Register for Free UB Summer Graduate Classes

• 6/1/23 Last day for Parents to Request Special Education Services from Districts

Title IVa Opportunity: The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) of 2022 provides funding to support public school districts through Title IVa subgrants (The Stronger Connections Grant Program, or “SCG”) to high-need Districts to establish safer and healthier learning environments, and to prevent and respond to acts of bullying, violence, and hate that impact our school communities at individual and systemic levels. Our schools can access equitable services through these grants, just like with the current Title IVa programs, which means no direct funding or subgrants to private schools which elevate Federal Financial Assistance (FFA) concerns. I am not sure if the program guidance has been released in NYS yet; nonetheless, if your school is interested in equitable services under SCG you should reach out to your school district of location’s Title IVa program contact now and let them know what needs you have that might fit under this program. Districts are required to consult with non-public schools prior to applying, so let's be proactive!

Important: Mandated Services – Forward any NYSED “Post Review” or “Hold” emails: Now that your Mandated Services claims are submitted, some schools labelled as “HOLD” or “Post Review Pending” will get an email from NYSED at some point. Please forward to me any emails you get from the state that request follow-up on your end to resolve a claim. I highly recommend you allow me to assist you during this review process. Be especially careful with anything you say to NYSED representatives on the phone – I recommend you get their requests in writing and make your responses in writing.

BOCES Textbook Meeting: The Erie 1 BOCES Annual New York State Textbook Loan meeting will be held on April 26th from 1pm to 2:30pm at 355 Harlem Rd, West Seneca, 14224 in Room B2A. They will review the NEW Textbook Website and explain how to place orders, add books, and add new students. They will be reviewing the NEW Textbook Website. Discussing how to place orders, add books and add new students. Please RSVP by going to this website. If you have any questions please contact dliberta@e1b.org.

BOCES Title IIa Consortium Meeting: The next Erie 1 BOCES Title IIa Nonpublic School Consortium Administrotors Meeting will take place on 5/8/23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. via Zoom. They will share information on upcoming E1B workshops and discuss scheduling sessions at your building for the remainder of this year & next. Science coordinator Renee Sossong-Brady will be there to share updates on NYS Science requirements and resources available through their office. Email me or Mary Jo Casilio if you need the Zoom link.

NYS Required Health Examination Form Update: The 2023 NYS Required Health Examination Form has been updated (click here); click here for the Fillable PDF. The form was revised to meet Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) law requirements. The changes are mainly for functional use. Schools are encouraged to share the 2023 updated Health Examination Form with their parents and providers, however schools may continue to accept the 2022 version.

This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season is back on the air. This week's episode is a conversation with Dr. Antonio Felix of Los Angeles. Antonio directs the PLACE Corps, an LMU-sponsored teaching program for teacher volunteers. Antonio won "Catholic dissertation of the year" at last week's AHERA conference so we discuss his research on Hispanic Catholic school teachers. Previous episodes:

• a conversation with Greg Dhuyvetter, the Executive Director of WCEA (Western Catholic Education Association).
  
• a conversation iwth Dot Teso, the president of St. Michael Indian School.
• Doug Cooper, the Executive Director of the Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles, joins to discuss the CEF and this fundraiser.
• Dr. Daryl Hagan, the Interim Director of the Institute for the Transformation of Catholic Education at Catholic University and the Director of the Lumen Accreditation, which is designed to serve only Catholic schools.
  
• a conversation with Middle States Executive Director Christian Talbot. We discuss the value of accreditation and the differences with strategic planning
  
• a conversation with Dylan Corbett, the Executive Director of the Hope Border Institute. He discusses the current situation on the border and their great work

Here is a link to the podcast on Apple Podcasts.

1. Towards a Politics of Communion: Catholic Social Teaching in Dark Times (2021) by Anna Rowlands.
   

2. Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty (2011) by Abhijit V. Banergee & Esther Duflo

3. It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower (2010) by Michela Wrong.

4. The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality (2016) by Angus Deaton.

5. Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War (2022) by Howard W. French.

Click this link for a full list of my professional reading

A few years ago I set out to write a book which would explore the challenges of Catholic school leadership. My premise that there are no easy answers and that we have to learn from our (and other's) mistakes in order to form a mindset appropriate for orchestrating conflict proved prescient as we all faced completely new and unexpected challenges in 2020. The book,Orchestrating Conflict: Case Studies in Catholic Leadership is now available on Amazon or on the Barnes & Noble site in print or e-book formats. The book explores issues in Catholic school leadership and the tensions between building community and following Church policies and introduces deliberate practice as a method for leadership formation.