Officials discuss school safety and security

An online survey on school safety issues found that, overall, survey participants were satisfied with current school security procedures and protocols, according to school district officials. Survey participants were also satisfied with the ways in which the district communicates safety concerns.

Only half the respondents agreed students feel safe or somewhat safe at school.

The results were presented as part of a security and safety update Tuesday evening during the Riverhead school board’s regular meeting,

A total of 756 people participated in the 13-question survey, conducted earlier this year: 382, roughly half the respondents, identified as parents; 161 people were district staff members; 136 were district residents; and 77 were students.

Deputy Superintendent Sam Schneider said participants expressed concerns about drugs and alcohol, vaping, gangs and the adequacy of the number of security guards.

“I don’t think any of this will come as a shock to us,” Schools Superintendent Dr. Aurelia Henriquez said. “We’ve done some work in these areas, but we recognize that we have a lot more work to do.”

In order to address those concerns, the district has continued or implemented a series of programs and initiatives such as Parent University, Sandy Hook Promise, Start with Hello, Young Men on the Rise and CAP, as well as mindfulness and restorative justice programs, Henriquez said. Also, for the first time this year, many of those programs have began at the middle school level.

“We felt that it was important to expose our younger students to those conversations into that curriculum so that by the time they reach the high school level, they have that foundation,“ Henriquez said.

Schneider also specifically addressed the survey question of “if students feel safe at school.” Although almost 60 percent of participants said that they agreed, there is still about 40 percent who answered “somewhat disagree or strongly disagree.”

“Obviously there are some people who do not feel safe in school,” Schneider said. The district hopes the programs initiated by the schools will help address that.

Henriquez also highlighted the correlation between safety and mental health. For the first time this year, she said, the district has partnered with the North Fork Coalition, a group dedicated to provide immediate health services to students and their immediate family.

“We are seeing what a tremendous difference this partnership has made,” Henriquez said. ”When the sheriff was here, he spoke about the importance of school districts looking at social emotional learning and wellness and making that a part of everything that we do. It’s not just about academics.“

Community comments reflected on the survey included other concerns or requests, such as educating students about lockdown/lockout procedures, more security guards or police presence, a school resource officer (SRO) for every school, sensitivity training for guards, improvement of the security camera system, crowded halls at the high school, random searches, more mental health support for students and Stop the Bleeding training.

Some community members questioned the number of survey participants and urged the district to expand it.

“It’s unfortunate that we only have 756 people that responded to this survey, if there’s 5,500 children in the school district, only 15 percent of the people responded,” Riverhead resident and former longtime board member Kathy Berezny said. “I think that the school board, or the superintendent, or the office, needs to do a better job getting this out, at least to all the students in the school.”

As part of the safety and security update, School Resource Officer Byron Perez also presented a report on his work during this school year, the first time that such a position has existed.

Perez is an officer in the Riverhead Police Department who works as a school resource officer under a contract between the school district and the Town of Riverhead. He conducts community-oriented policing in all schools in the district except Phillips Avenue, where the Southampton Town Police Department provides a different SRO.

Perez said that there were 275 police incidents documented this school year. Perez stressed that the great majority of these incidents were not of criminal nature and that most of them happened at the beginning of the school year. Of those incidents, 201 happened at the high school, from which 16 were considered offenses. Perez said that incidents are considered offenses when “parents want to document a fight or an incident that happened” through the police“for their records.

The SRO’s functions are divided between patrolling inside and outside the schools, handling immediate threats, handling criminal investigations, notifying school administrators and school security of police incidents that can affect the school, interact with students in a positive manner and make the community as a whole feel safer.

“An SRO bridges the gap between law enforcement and young adults and children,” Perez said. “Having an SRO increases the positive attitudes towards law enforcement. I know nowadays, that that’s a big thing.”

Security director Terry Culhane also provided an update on the enhancements done to the district during the past school year, as well as the plans for next year.

Changes include teller-style windows at some schools, high security fencing installation —which he said has curbed the availability of illicit sales and drug use — a revamping of evacuation plans, an incremental upgrade of the security camera system, the purchase of a new security vehicle and guard training.

Next year the office of security plans on updating emergency action plans and drills, creating a section on the district website dedicated to security, evaluating new technologies and continuing to work closely with the different law enforcement agencies.