School safety update dominates Keystone Central board meeting

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – Safety within Keystone Central schools was a topic returned to quite often in a marathon school board work session Thursday night.

District superintendent Jacquelyn Martin provided much of the update during the two and a half hour meeting. She called her regular report a brief update “on our progress with the school safety concerns.”

Since our public meeting last month, Mr. Condo and I have been gathering input, ideas, and suggestions to add to existing safety and security measures.  Tomorrow we have a scheduled meeting with principals to organize the information and formalize an updated safety plan.  We will share our plan and recommendations with the Safety & Security Committee of the board – including any funding or funding sources needed.  If we have the committee’s support, we will take the necessary steps to follow through.

One example that I would like to share is that we have been looking into some technology tools that can be used in our restrooms to assist in monitoring occupancy count, vaping, aggression, loud noises and some other features.  We have looked at a few models and are currently exploring a particular system that ties into our existing camera system.  This model will help to reduce the costs and improve functionality.  If we feel that this purchase is needed, we will also want to recommend the funding source which could come in the form of a grant.

There are many other ideas that have already been implemented such as increased coverage for transition times, additional radios were purchased to increase communication and response times, and we have scheduled Safe2Say Something Training sessions for staff and students.  We believe that this system that was implemented by the PA Attorney General a few years ago…has been effective in preventing people from harming themselves or others.  More staff have been trained in Safety-Care. Safety-Care is more than crisis management training; it provides the skills and competencies necessary to effectively prevent, minimize, and manage behavioral challenges with dignity, safety, and the possibility of change.

Within the last month all staff completed online training on school safety and violent behaviors and have had an in-person building training last week.  

Earlier in the meeting the superintendent said that it was a small student percentage “struggling with behavior.” She said that locally and elsewhere there is a mental health crisis exacerbated by the recent pandemic. On a related subject and in response to a recent call for student representation on the school board, Dr. Martin said to do so, the district must first firm up its student government process. She said meetings have been held with school principals and visits will be made to other schools where an appropriate student government organization exists. She indicated with school board approval, there could be an opportunity for student representation on the board in the next school year.

Christina Onuskanich, a faculty member at the Central Mountain Middle School, reported on the success of the newly instituted High Five Friday at the middle school where students are encouraged to “high five” one-another at the start of the school day. She said staff has recently joined in, utilizing large thumb hands for their high fives, what she called interaction “in a positive way.”

The superintendent and board members Jeff Johnston and Polly Donahay offered positive reports on a public meeting held on Tuesday for a new Liberty-Curtin Elementary School in Blanchard. Some 50 people attended and the district officials termed the public response “very positive.”

The superintendent and board members Johnston and Wayne Koch spoke glowingly about the elevation of Mark Condo from human resources director to assistant superintendent. Superintendent Martin emphasized there will be no change in the number of district administrators and noted that Condo is properly qualified with multiple certifications to carry out his new position. Koch noted the district has been without an assistant superintendent since 2009, terming the filling of the position “long overdue.”

Condo’s contract is on the agenda for the board voting session on April 20. His compensation is to be 130,000 a year.