Enhancements for Beacon City Schools: More 1:1 Learning, Chromebooks, Smaller Elementary Classes & PE

Matthew Landahl, Superintendent of Beacon City Schools, started off the new school year by getting in touch with parents and guardians of children in the district. His email to the Beacon school community spoke to his plans for the future, and enhancements to the programming that are happening this year.

They are as follows:

• Fourth-grade instrumental music will begin for the first time ever later this fall, as a result of the grant we won last June.

• Elementary students will experience Physical Education class every other day instead of two out of every six days.

• Elementary class sizes are further reduced with the addition of three additional teachers.

• Rombout Middle School will have a fully 1:1 learning environment with every student receiving a Chromebook this fall.

• Interactive teaching screens will be added to Rombout Middle School and Beacon High School.

• Further planning and development of the Capital Project (A Little Beacon Blog covered those details here) with construction the summer of 2019 on the Turf Athletic Field behind Beacon High School.

His goals for the upcoming year, as posted at the District website:

• Create and facilitate a student advisory council for the district.

• Create and facilitate a strategic planning process including forming a strategic planning advisory committee.

• Increase and improve the quality of district communication in a variety of formats.

• Help to create building and department leadership teams including the participation of parents and community members.

• Facilitate equity leadership work in the district.

• Maintain a high level of community and staff engagement through open forums, individual conversations, and online tools.

Already, parents of elementary students have been invited into the Parent Portal, which is an app that lets the parent and child log in to see homework and comments from the teacher. Older students used to be the only ones with access to this.

In terms of communication with parents at least, Dr. Landahl has been busy emailing updates about pesky mold that has been springing up in the Beacon High School and at J.V. Forrestal Elementary during these 100% humidity days, and steps the district is taking to remove it and prevent future problems.

$400K Grant Awarded for Music and World Language Programs for Beacon City School District

Photo Credit: Beacon City School District's Website. Photograph by Dawn Sela.

The Beacon City School District was busy this summer. According to Beacon's Superintendent Matthew Landahl, the Beacon City School District was awarded a $400,000 grant from the New York State Education Department to "expand the instrumental music program and to offer an additional world language program at the secondary level" said Dr. Landahl. Parent involvment influenced the results of this grant. “Both aspects of this grant were deeply influenced by community input through either surveys or community conversations that took place last year,” confirmed Dr. Landahl.

The grant money will be implemented over the next two school years, and will pay for:

• instructional staff salaries

• materials and supplies

• professional development to both expand the instrumental music program and to begin an additional world language program.

Music Program Expanded for 4th Graders

Third grade students receive a special musical experience called The Calico Ball, courtesy of the Beacon Arts and Education Fund (BAEF) which was innitiated by Pete Seeger years ago. This dance residency is for every 3rd grader in the Beacon City Public School District. After weeks of practice, a performance happens in the Beacon High School at the end of the school year.

This newest grant provides an easier continuation of music to the 4th grade. According to Dr. Landahl: “The music portion of the grant will allow us to expand our instrumental music program into the 4th grade this year. We are working on hiring the teacher and the 4th grade program will be in place later this fall. The grant pays for the teacher's salary for a year and all of the materials, supplies, and most important instruments to get the program going.”

Mandarin Might Be Coming To Beacon Schools

Beacon currently offers Spanish as a world language that is taught in school. This grant will bring Mandarin closer to the classroom. “The grant is for us to offer Mandarin in the 2019-2020 school year. A key part of the grant is that it allows us to explore the best ways to do this for a year before we implement the following year. If we are not able to offer Mandarin, we will explore offering a different language. The grant pays for a year of a teacher's salary and all of the materials and supplies to get the new program going.”

Dr. Landahl gave a special thanks to Assistant Superintendent Cecilia Dansereau-Rumley for "heading up the effort," according to his article on the Beacon City School District's website.

The grant was part of a larger one totaling $28.5 million, awarded to 38 school districts across New York State as part of the Student Support and Academic Enrichment federal grant program. Read more about that here.

Beacon Team Wins Battle of the Books - A Multi-County High School Reading Competition

The finals at this year's High School Battle of the Books on Saturday, August 18, 2018, culminated in a tight battle between kids from Beacon and teens representing neighboring libraries: Cold Spring and Wappingers. "The three-round final ended with Cold Spring and Beacon in a tie. Everyone was on the edge of their seats when the two teams met for the tie-breaking round," according to the press release from the Howland Public Library. Beacon answered the tie-breaking question correctly to become the 2018 Mid-Hudson Library System's third annual High School Battle of the Books champion.

Battle of the Books is a national summer reading program for middle- and high-school students in the five-county region of the Mid-Hudson Library System. The program began in 2005 as a way to encourage middle school students to read during the summer. In 2016, the program was extended to reach high school students as well. Congratulations to Butterfield Library's team, The Evil Latin Teachers, who were the second-place winners, and to Grinnell Green Grapes, who took home third place.    

Beacon Team Is Two-Time Champions, Five-Time Winners!

This is the Beacon team's second championship at the high school level, and their fifth win overall since the competition began in 2005. This year, 13 public libraries in the Mid-Hudson Library System's five counties (Putnam, Dutchess, Columbia, Ulster, and Greene) competed in this nationally recognized literature contest in which teens answer trivia questions based on books they read over the summer.

Individual library teams worked through the summer with their coaches to prepare for this final regional battle. Mini-battles were played throughout the summer to practice for the big event. Over 60 students in grades 9-12 participated, while coaches, family, and friends cheered them on. "The teams all proved to be winners when it came to knowledge, team spirit, and good sportsmanship," according the Howland Library's press release.

Join Next Year’s Battle of the Books Team

To find out when the Howland Public Library is recruiting for next year’s time for both Middle and High School age kids, subscribe to their newsletter and to A Little Beacon Blog’s newsletter. We usually put information like that in our Kids Classes Guide, as a helpful reminder of signup dates.

Special Thank You from The Howland Public Library

A message from the Howland Public Library:

A big thank you to the host venue, SUNY Ulster and Matt Pavloff, HS BOB chairperson. Congratulations to all of the volunteers and families who came out to support the teams, and the coaches and librarians who worked so hard throughout the year to make this special event possible.

The Howland Public Library team would like to give a special shout out to Harry Thorne for his help coaching the team and the Friends of the Howland Public Library who generously sponsor the Beacon team every year. Last but not least, many thanks to Pizza and Stuff for keeping the team's hungry minds fed all summer.

South Avenue Sidewalks By Elementary School To Get Reconstructed

Kids are about to get an easier commute to South Avenue School as the crumbling slate sidewalks are set to get reconstructed by the City of Beacon. Not even a rugged three-wheel jogging stroller can make it down these sidewalks without threatening to tip over. "The intention is to go from Main Street to the school," said Beacon's City Administrator, Anthony J. Ruggiero. A timeline has not been set in stone (pun intended), but a contractor has been hired.

Usually homeowners pay privately to have their sidewalks done. But not in this case. "This is a traveled area to the school. It was viewed as safety for the kids," said Anthony when we reached out to inquire about specifics on the financing. "We received some funding from Dutchess County. There is no cost to homeowners, however, they are responsible for maintenance and upkeep."

So - yay!

Get Involved in the 2018 Beacon High School Career Fair!

With the huge success of last year's Beacon High School Career Fair, the school is currently seeking presenters for the 2018 Career Fair. It is a great opportunity to network with other businesses and share your knowledge with the students. The event will be held on Friday, May 25, from 10 am to 3 pm at the Beacon High School gymnasium. Presenters are asked to set up at the high school at 9 am. 

The fair will be set up in the gymnasium, where each presenter will have their own table to display information and items that represents the person’s career/profession that can serve as talking pieces with visitors. Students are invited to walk around and speak to the different presenters of their choice.

The career fair is seeking people who work in the following professions: 

• Crime Scene Investigator
• Forensic Scientist
• Professional Athlete
• Professional Actor/Actress
• Fashion Designer/Model
• Sports Management
• Surgeon
• Music producer
• Nurse
• Professional Photographer
• Film Director
• TV/Film Camera man
• Interior Designer
• Stock Broker/Hedge fund
• Psychiatrist
• Social Worker
• Video Game Designer
• YouTuber

If you are interested in participating, feel free to contact Michele Polhamus, School Counselor, by email at polhamus.m@beaconk12.org or by phone at (845) 838-6900.

Beacon School Budget Vote and Election 2018

The annual School Budget Vote and Election will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, from 7 am to 9 pm. There will be two voting locations, so make sure you are going to the right polling place: 

Voters who reside within the boundaries of the City of Beacon can vote at Beacon High School, 101 Matteawan Road. Voters who reside within the boundaries of the Town of Fishkill or Town of Wappinger can vote at Glenham Elementary, 20 Chase Drive, Fishkill, NY. 

Please be aware that mailing addresses in the Beacon City School District do not always coincide with the city or town of residence. So if you have a Beacon mailing address, but your residence is located in the Town of Fishkill, you would report to Glenham Elementary to vote. 

If you are unsure of your polling location, you may contact District Clerk, Kelly Pologe, at (845) 838-6900 ext. 2032 or email at pologe.k@beaconk12.org. 

NEW in the Beacon Public School Fundraising Guide: The Color-A-Thon Returns to South Ave!

South Avenue Elementary's Color-A-Thon is the latest event added to A Little Beacon Blog's collection of fundraising efforts by public school PTO/As.

Get your running shoes on!

Registration is going on now for the second annual Color-A-Thon, bursting into action at South Avenue Elementary School. And the best part is - aside from raising money for new playground equipment for the school, as well as other needs designated by the teachers - is that this race is open to everyone! You don't need to go to South Avenue to participate. And it's really not a race - it's a run through bright powder blasts of color, thrown on you by teachers and friends positioned at designated color points.

Deadlines:
Registration: Friday, March 23, 2018
The Big Day of the Color-A-Thon: Saturday, April 14, 2018

This is one of the newest opportunities added recently to A Little Beacon Blog's Guide for Beacon Public School Fundraising opportunities.

'Tis the Season for Running and Funding

This race marks also the warming up of A Little Beacon Blog's 5K Race Guide, even though this run is only one block long! You just run or walk it three times! Seriously. I did it pregnant last year. Ok, I did not walk the block, but I did throw color on walkers and runners. Most people didn't even realize that they ran around the block three times, and some people kept running until they cleared six circuits - talk about getting some energy out!

Beacon Bulldog Swag

The Beacon Bulldogs are raising money for the Beacon High School Football Department. T-shirts and more are on sale now, but the order deadline is Sunday, April 8, at midnight sharp. Get your swag for the season!

Get all of these details at A Little Beacon Blog's Public School Fundraising Guide! Do you or your business love Beacon City Schools? Show your school pride and sponsor this Guide! Be part of making our Guides possible. Details here in A Little Beacon Blog's Media Kit.

Here's How Beacon Students Are Participating in WALKOUT on March 14th in Response to Gun Violence

A national walkout is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14, to acknowledge the tragic shooting in Parkland, FL. The Beacon City Schools have decided to participate in this movement, and have formed a plan with an administrative team, teachers and student leaders at the high school, according to Beacon's Superintendent Matt Landahl on his Superintendent Update blog.

All of Beacon's public schools - the elementary, middle and high school - will observe a moment of silence at 10 am. During that time, the elementary schools will be encouraged to "think about ways to spread kindness and love in our school, community and the world,” according to Matt. At the elementary level, the planning team was more comfortable keeping the kids in their regular routines, yet bringing awareness. There will be no walkout at this youngster level.

At the middle school and high school, students in social studies classes "will be taught ways to communicate with their local, state, and national representatives on issues important to them. We will not espouse any particular political views with this sharing but instead discuss the importance of elected representatives hearing from all of their constituents," according to Matt. Over the next few weeks, students will have the opportunity to create cards to be sent to the families of victims.

Students in the high school can attend a momentary moment of silence, and can spend it outside at designated areas on campus, which will be monitored by school staff. The Beacon Police Department will also have a presence at the secondary schools to help ensure safety.

At this time, Beacon City Schools has no plans to participate in other memorial activities on Friday, April 20, and all kids are encouraged to respect the Student Code of Conduct any time they leave school (with permission of their parents).

Upcoming Creative + Fun Events Supporting Beacon Schools! Rubik's Cubes, Movie Night, and More

A Little Beacon Blog now tracks the fundraising efforts for all of Beacon's public schools, and a few events are coming up! Movie Night, Line Dancing, Ice Cream Night - and Rubik's Cubes! See below for our roundup, and hit up A Little Beacon Blog's Public School Fundraising Guide  for dates and details.

PS: Do you love this Guide? Your business could support it (with your logo as a lead sponsor) and reach so many parents in the Beacon community! Please contact us to be a lead sponsor, and thank you!

JV FORRESTAL ELEMENTARY:
• Rubik's Cubes for Hands-On Library Learning: JVF Librarian Ms. Coleman is raising money to buy Rubik's Cubes that students can check out of the library.
• Beacon's All-Star Lip Sync Battle: This adults-only event at the Towne Crier raises money to support the Center for Creative Education's outreach programs to BCSD schools!
• Book Fair Next week!

GLENHAM ELEMENTARY
• Ice Cream & Bingo Night! Friday, March 9, from 6 to 8 pm. Kids and adults get to play bingo and eat FREE ice cream, donated by Stewart's.

ROMBOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL
• Shake What Your Mama Gave You! Zumba and line dancing to benefit the Rombout PBIS Committee!

BEACON HIGH SCHOOL
• Movie Night! In the Beacon High School Cafeteria, Beacon High School's National Honor Society is sponsoring the Valuable for Veterans fundraiser, screening the Academy Award-winning movie "Coco."

Moving On, But First...A RoundUp of the Gun Violence Issue at the Community Level

The past two weeks have been paralyzing for a lot of people, especially parents of young kids currently in school. As the region was gripped by threats made last week all over the Hudson Valley, last Friday's Snow Day was actually kind of welcome. Parents received several robo-calls - which normally announce dreaded Snow Day closures. Instead, these were about threats made to the middle school and the high school, and how police would be stationed there. A Little Beacon Blog took time to process what has been going on around the Hudson Valley and open up coverage on it, so that we can produce future articles to help people be aware and prepared. The below links are articles to create awareness of the leadership that has been happening in the Beacon City School District, Beacon Police Department, and some cultural questions about these issues.

• The School Shooting Issue Comes to The Hudson Valley
  Striking observation from investigative reporter Nina Schutzman on the amount of shooting-related articles/arrests/threats/closures coming out in one day.
• Beacon Increases School Searches and Safety Measures via Robo-Calls
  Beacon Superintendent Dr. Matthew Landahl leads the charge in informing parents about issues as they happen.
• City of Beacon to Vote on Joining National Day of Action on April 20 to Protect Students Against Gun Violence
  Update: They voted Yes.
• Beacon City Schools to Perform Security Audits with Altaris Consulting Group
• Toy Guns and No Big Deal Guns Sold in Kid Stores - Impact on Gun Culture
  Echo Boutique's Karen Donohue weighs in on her choice not to sell toy guns in her story, and other kid issues explored.
• Activities to Prepare for Scary Situations (aka Gun Situations)
  Beacon's City Administrator, Police Chief, and Fire Chief provide resources.

Consider this our Action Item in advance of the National Day of Action on Saturday, April 20.

PS: Finally, this mini-series of articles is done (hopefully!) and we are moving on, resuming our usual coverage of the goings-on in Beacon! Not only that, but it's sunny out! Hurray! Yet all signs point to a Wednesday Snow Day. <angry-face emoji> Sleds may still be available at Mountain Tops, where the superhero owners continue to show up every Snow Day with an Open sign.

Toy Guns and "No Big Deal" Guns Sold in Kid Stores - Impact on Gun Culture

Blended screenshots of sales pages at Walmart's website, where this pink BB gun could have been sold to any prospective buyer, regardless of age (the age limit tool was broken). Walmart has since reversed its online sales policy, and now prohibits purchases of airsoft guns and toys.
Photo Credit: A Little Beacon Blog

Growing up, you probably played Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, or countless other kid games with guns. Your finger probably became a gun. Pew-pew! Your sister's magic wand probably became a gun. Heck, maybe a magic wand counts as a gun, when it hits someone with glitter.

Guns in our culture are as commonplace as staplers, or pens. You could even buy a bullet pen! I did for my dad last Christmas. I grew up making shotgun shells with him in our basement. He had the neatest shotgun shell-making thingy that clamped to the edge of the table. Toy guns for kids are sold in toy stores, in drug stores, and on any toy store website. How could you not want a Luke Skywalker laser gun? Or a Nerf gun blaster? And with YouTube videos featuring dads and their sons in all-out Nerf gun wars around the house, shooting people becomes very normal. 

Toy Guns In Beacon

Echo Beacon, open for more than 10 years and one of Beacon's most popular toy stores, doesn't carry toy guns. Owner Karen Donohue is a mother of a daughter, and made the decision years ago not to sell toy guns in her toy store. "I chose not to sell toy guns, as it just made me uncomfortable. I've been told by mothers of boys that they [the boys] will find any sort of stick or anything, and turn it into a gun despite Mom's efforts to say 'No,'" Karen recalls.

Echo is known for carrying educational toys, and Karen is big on nurturing the imagination. "I still feel this is a better use of the imagination than something that truly resembles a gun. I have, on occasion over the years, sold miniature squirt pistols, but nothing that could ever be remotely mistaken for a gun. In recent years I've been tempted to order them again, but they still give me pause."

Fatal Mistakes

Back in 2014, a 12 year old boy named Tamir Rice was shot and killed by a rookie police officer while he was playing near a gazebo at a recreation center in Cleveland, OH. The boy was holding a pellet gun and a person called 911 to report that a person who was "probably" a child was holding a gun that was "probably fake," according to this Washington Post article. The officer was not told about the "probably" parts, and approached the child, and shot. The child died in the snow. The officer was not fired at the time, but in May of 2017, was fired for not including details about past employment when he was first hired months before the shooting, according to that Washing Post article.

Walmart Pulls Airsoft BB Guns From Website

Gun culture makes getting guns easy and a normalized part of life. When I published this article after the Parkland, Florida tragedy, I included a screenshot of Walmart's website to show how easy it was to purchase a rifle online. A reader commented that the rifle shown in the example was a BB gun, and not, I suppose, an assault weapon. The implication, it seemed, was that buying a BB gun was no big deal. Not wanting to exacerbate the debate, I removed the picture to keep the focus on finding a solution. In that time, however, Walmart announced that it was pulling rifles like BB guns from their website (see the NPR report "Walmart Joins Dick's Sporting Goods In Tighter Limits On Gun Sales"). And in an instant, the page I had just visited to buy the pink rifle BB gun had vanished.

From the NPR Article:
Walmart is also removing items from its website "resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys" — like the air gun Tamir Rice was playing with when he was shot by a Cleveland police officer who thought the 12-year-old was armed.

Companies aren't wanting to be associated with gun accidents or planned tragedies. So they are backing away and minimizing their liability. Any connection with tragedies is bad for business; the gun shop owner who sold the Parkland shooter one of his weapons felt compelled to hire a PR company to help issue statements. The issue of gun control has taken on a new dimension as companies get involved by limiting - or even ending altogether - their involvement.

The Mindset of Guns as Toys, Tools, and the Norm

A page from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, where a swim meet starts with a pistol blast, scaring the Wimpy Kid.

With guns being so prevalent in everyday lives, is it time to look at them differently? Would fresh perspective curb the ease with which they are used as a solution to a social problem? To a troubled, heartbroken, misunderstood teenager?

The picture above is taken from a page in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. In the book, the Wimpy Kid is forced to join a swim team. The first thing that scares him is the pistol shot to start the meet. He thinks it is a real gun, and hides under the water.

Why is a pistol used to start a swim meet? Could a whistle be used?

Why are toy pistols sold in a toy store? When a toy pistol is placed at 5-year-olds' eye level, where it hangs right next to something neutral like a slime-making kit or glow-in-the-dark bouncy ball, it conditions young minds that guns are toys.

The Not Discussed, Uncomfortable Notion of Gun Safety and Preparedness

If we consider CPR courses, Defensive Driving courses, and Fire Safety workshops to be normal and accepted practice, could Gun Safety training courses also become normal? To train prospective users that guns are really not toys, should be taken seriously, and how to use a gun in dangerous or threatening situations?

I asked Beacon's City Administrator, Anthony Ruggiero, if there had been any Active Shooter Training Workshops in Beacon. He responded that there have been in the past, when Beacon sponsored the County Citizens Preparedness Training courses, but he added that the sessions were not very well attended. He says another will be hosted in April.

Perhaps the mindset will shift, to one away from being a sitting duck, and one toward mental defense (think Bourne Identity...where are the exits? how to fight back? what everyday objects can become lifesaving tools?), planning, and rooting out the mindset of guns as toys.

Beacon City Schools to Perform Security Audits with Altaris Consulting Group

Beacon's School Superintendent Matthew Landahl announced Sunday via the school blog that all school buildings will undergo security audits by the company Altaris Consulting Group in order to receive recommendations for improvement. Altaris Consulting Group will also provide specialized training for Beacon City School District staff throughout the next year.

"They [Altaris Consulting Group] work with many districts in the area and we are very excited to start this work," said Dr. Landahl in his blog article.

See A Little Beacon Blog's earlier article on how the school district has been responding to the current gun violence crises.

City of Beacon to Vote on Joining National Day of Action on April 20 to Protect Students Against Gun Violence

UPDATE [3/6/2018]: The City Council voted Yes, and Beacon's School Superintendent attended the meeting and thanked the Beacon Police Department for their recent help.

During the March 5, 2018 City Council Meeting, the Beacon City Council will vote on a resolution to join the National Day of Action on April 20 to Protect Students Against Gun Violence, which is a movement spearheaded by the Network for Public Education after the shooting in Parkland, Florida. The Network for Public Education was founded in 2013 as an advocacy group whose mission is to preserve, promote, improve and strengthen public schools for both current and future generations of students.

As Stated by the Network for Public Education:
"Inspired by the courageous young people in Parkland, Florida, the Network for Public Education is joining with national organizations, schools and communities on April 20, 2018, the anniversary of the Columbine Massacre, to say 'No more.'

"Not one more child murdered in school. Not one more parent sending a child to school who never comes home. Not one more teacher, coach, principal, librarian or any school staff standing between students and a gunman. No. More.
 
"We call on every school community in America to join us to demand that our leaders take real action to end gun violence."

According to proposed legislation documents for Beacon, the Beacon City Council intends to join a National Day of Action on April 20, 2018, and "calls upon the state and federal governments to enact stricter controls governing the sale, possession and distribution of firearms and other dangerous weapons."

Several legislative suggestions are proposed on the National Day of Action's website, addressing gun control, mental health, and bullying prevention. At the local level here in Beacon, the City Council has written the following items to be sent to New York State Senator Sue Serino and Assemblyman Frank Skartados, and United States Representative Sean Patrick Maloney and United States Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer:

Beacon City Council's Suggested Legislation for New York State

• Legislation to raise the age to purchase a firearm to 21.
• Legislation to ban bump stocks.
• Legislation to prohibit the sale, production and importation of assault weapons and large capacity magazines.
• Legislation to prevent certain individuals with mental health conditions from buying firearms, in conjunction with legislation, regulations or public policies that encourage mental health evaluations, including ongoing mental and behavioral health support for students identified as being of imminent threat to themselves or others, and enhanced student access to mental health supports in schools and communities.

Additional Gun Awareness Events

Attendees at the February 20, 2018, City Council meeting thanked Mayor Randy Casale for holding a moment of silence for the victims of the Parkland, Florida, shooting. They then promoted nationwide events that are going on to address the issue, namely the school walkout on March 14, and nationwide demonstrations on March 24, 2018.

This week via the school blog, Beacon Schools' Superintendent Matthew Landahl announced a collaboration with the Beacon Police Department: "Working with the Beacon PD, we will have one police officer working between both Beacon High School and Rombout Middle School during the school day for the upcoming week. The presence of the police officer is simply to help us feel safe and secure next week. Thanks to the BPD for helping us out!"

The superintendent will be releasing more information on how Beacon City Schools will be participating in the National School Walkout on March 14, 2018.

Beacon Increases School Searches and Safety Measures

Back when the Beacon City School District was going through a leadership crisis, with a high rate of superintendent turnover, the Board of Education encouraged the community to participate in surveys so the board could hear what the community wanted in a superintendent. One of the strongest desires that became clear from that process was the need for Communication. Thus, Dr. Matt Landahl was found and hired, and he moved his family to Beacon. Right out of the gate, he has been a robust letter writer, an avid tweeter, and a super blogger for the school. To be real, this is his first year on the job in Beacon, so it is still a trial period. But since Week 1 of the school year, he has been in parents' ears and inboxes, testing the school district's upgraded robo-call system to make sure it works.

This Just In Via Robo-Call - 19 K-9 Teams Sweep All Beacon Schools

Over the past week, parents in the Beacon City School District have received several robo-calls: Someone from the school records a message that gets sent to phones, turned into emails, and is miniaturized into texts. Parents and other caregivers can get informed about something in at least three different ways. And yes, this is a different system from robo-call systems of years past; robo-call systems don't all work this way.

On Thursday, February 22, 2018, the Beacon School District Community was informed - via robo-call - of a threat made to Rombout Middle School.

Partial Message from February 22, 2018 Alert from Dr. Landahl:
We want to make you aware of a situation reported to us that involves Rombout Middle School. The Beacon City Police Department received a report yesterday evening of a concern about a potential school violence threat for Rombout Middle School. The School District and the Police Department investigated the matter yesterday evening and concluded that there was no credible threat made against the school.

We will continue to work closely with the Beacon City Police Department in all matters of threats of violence and potential harm reported to either the school district or the police department to ensure that we are working together to safeguard our students, staff, and community.

On Wednesday, February 28, another alert was issued, this time for the Beacon High School. This was also the same day that students in Parkland, Florida, returned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. According to Time.com, 95 percent of students returned to school that day. Closer to home, around the Hudson Valley, school closures and arrests were happening after threats were made to schools, and weapons caches were found (see our article about that here).

Message from February 28, 2018 Alert from Dr. Landahl:
I recently received information that there was writing found at Beacon High School that can be perceived as a threat, with the wording March 1st.  Our High School administration has been investigating the incident and we are also working closely with the Beacon Police Department.

This evening, the Beacon Police Department will be doing a sweep of all our buildings and there will be a police officer in our high school all day on March 1st. 

Please be advised that all after-school activities will be canceled this evening at Beacon High School. All other buildings in the district will close at 6:00 pm. I will send out a follow-up robo-call once we have an all-clear confirmation from the police department. 

We take the safety of our students and staff very seriously and I [will] be in touch soon with an update.

That night, parents had to pick up their children early from after-school activities because something was going to happen in the buildings conducted by the District at 6 pm. We didn't know what specifically was going on, so parents and program leaders just smiled and nodded calmly to each other at Kid Pickup.

The next robo-call came that evening at about 9 pm, informing us that all of the Beacon City Schools had been searched by police officers and 19 K-9 dog units.

Message from February 28, 2018 Alert from Dr. Landahl:
This is Matt Landahl with an update regarding school safety. This evening, the Beacon City Police Department, coordinating with our staff, deployed 19 K-9 teams to do an intensive sweep of all six of our school buildings. After each school was swept this evening, the building was secured. After this review, the Beacon Police Department has given us an all clear for the schools. We will be open tomorrow. 

We will have one police officer stationed at the high school for the entire school day tomorrow and another police officer stationed between the high school and middle school for additional security.

We take the safety of our students, staff, and school buildings very seriously. We do not find this threat to be credible but we wanted to be extremely cautious in our approach this evening and tomorrow. The Beacon Police Department has done a tremendous job working with us.

I got the robo-call with my elementary-age kids around me, as we were in bedtime mode. They heard my involuntary reaction, and asked what happened. My husband and I have been discussing how we want to tell the kids about what is happening. (And by "discussing," I mean in basically three-minute spurts between news broadcasts or moments tucked into other conversations.)

I told the kids that a threat had been made, and that police dogs searched for bad things and found everything to be safe. The kids asked what a "threat" was, and we had a conversation defining that, with examples, until they understood.

I could see dots getting connected in their minds as to what has been going on around them. "Oh, that's why there was a police officer at my school yesterday!" Ok... didn't know there was a police officer at your school yesterday, but good to know.

How Are The Kids?

Conversations are starting to percolate now among parents. Word on the street (real and virtual) is that kids are handling the increased tensions well, as different stressors pop up all the time in school, and uncomfortable incidents - whether we like it or not - have become par for the course. And it's true. Programs get initiated that we don't always know about (or we missed the memo teachers sent home in kids' folders), so the kids come home telling us about a puppet show that taught them how to tell an adult about sexual abuse. Or how they learned about fire safety from the Fire Chief who came to visit. Or that they ate cabbage for the first time from their school garden. Or that they talked about bullying and what that means or what is or isn't the best way to say something to another person. Or that they had a lock-down drill. Usually parents are informed about lock-down drills (aka active-shooter training) in advance. Recently, parents received a robo-call from the school principal with a report on how the kids did in a lock-down drill.

In my sphere, mentions of homeschooling are coming up, as parents instinctively want to keep their kids home in an environment we all perceive as safe and controlled. But tragic events seem random - remember the sniper in DC all of those years ago, who had the teenager with him? Despite tragic events, we are all going to have to leave our houses. Being part of a community makes us stronger. Locally, there is talk at the school district level of including the homeschooling community in district sports, at the homeschooling community's request.

In Parkland, the high school students are being led in part by their principal, who is sending encouraging messages, some of which come via Twitter. One of the more surprising ways he's cheerleading for his students: He is bringing furry friends onboard, even increasing the number of therapy dogs on campus.

Photo Credit: Screenshot from Principal Thompson's Twitter.

Photo Credit: Screenshot from Principal Thompson's Twitter.

Photo Credit: Screenshot from Principal Thompson's Twitter.

The School Shooting Issue Comes To Hudson Valley

Photo Credit: Graphic based on an image by Nina Schutzman

Today, and yesterday, and days before that, social media has been ablaze with parents and community members talking with each other about school shootings. It's the underlying current in any grocery store encounter, any client meeting, and school pickup or drop off. And Beacon's not alone. So many communities around the country are gripped with fear, dealing with fresh threats to schools by what seem to be vengeful kids. More conversations grow out of each threatening event.

At first, this article was planned to inform about actions taking place within the Beacon City School District, based on questionable threats that came in this week. However, other schools in the area closed yesterday, with Poughkeepsie shuttered for a second day today because of a threat. As one parent put it: "A snow day will be a welcome relief," as a nor'easter approaches the area today.

Schools all over the country are facing similar threats. But listening to the radio for local news upon the morning car commute, and a subsequent catch-up on articles from local newspapers, processing this all became very dizzying.

So What's Happening Around The Hudson Valley?

In brief, and this isn't all of the coverage around what is happening, according to WALL Radio based on an article at MidHudson News and the Albany Times-Union, a father and son in Saugerties were arrested after a cache of illegal guns and homemade weapons were found. On February 21, a student alerted authorities after reading the social media posts of her classmate - an 18-year-old senior - as he was praising the teens behind a 1999 shooting in Columbine, CO. When police interviewed him and his father, they both denied having the weapons at their home. Later, according to the article, the father "went home and removed five guns from his home, including a fully automatic 9mm Uzi and an AR-15 rifle." More weapons were found after a search, and a new warrant is pending. Both men were arraigned; the father was released on his own recognizance, while his son was sent to jail, later released after posting $10,000 bail.

Dutchess Deputy SRO Connected to Pivotal Diversion in Vermont

You may have heard about this NPR report covering the text messages back and forth between a girl and her guy friend at Fair Haven Union High School in Vermont after the Parkland shooting. This incident that followed has prompted the governor of Vermont to reconsider looking at gun control measures. According to the NPR report, the governor is a lifelong gun owner and gun rights supporter, but has amended his position after learning more about the almost-shooting that happened in a high school there.

A high school-aged girl texted a friend of hers letting him know about the Parkland shooting, and he replied with, "That's fantastic, 100% support it." She told him he couldn't say that, and he replied with something about "natural selection." The girl reported it to her school guidance counselor, and events unfolded leading to the friend being arrested and held without bail. Included in that discovery leading up to his arrest was a journal he kept called Diary of an Active Shooter, a list of intended human targets, and a recently purchased shotgun.

Dutchess Deputy Evan Traudt is a School Resource Officer (SRO) at Arlington High School. According to a Poughkeepsie Journal article, he went to Fair Haven Union High School in Vermont. He said that he heard about the report from a social worker at Arlington High School. He immediately called Vermont and got in touch with the agency that handles that school district, and passed along information he had.

The Beacon City School District has been considering having an SRO in its schools (see this statement from Beacon's Superintendent in September 2017). According to the Poughkeepsie Journal article, "though not the standard daily duty of a school resource officer, the events underscore key ideas of having a school resource officer - students or staff can reach out to the officer, someone they know and see every day. Ideally, the officer can step in before tragedy occurs."

Back in Vermont, the governor has said: "I'm open to anything. Everything's on the table." According to the NPR report, the governor's table spread includes:

• Supporting a measure that would allow police to temporarily remove a firearm in a case of domestic violence, without a court order.
• Giving police the right to seize guns from people deemed dangerous.
• Raising the age for someone to purchase a gun to 21.
• Considering universal background checks, magazine capacity limits and other changes.

Meanwhile In Poughkeepsie...

At the Poughkeepsie Journal, school beat reporter Nina Schutzman has been covering the unfolding events, and summed it up in one Facebook screenshot:

Photo Credit: Nina Schutzman

In one instance, according to this Poughkeepsie Journal article, a threat was made to the BOCES Tech Center in Hyde Park through the social media platform Snapchat, which shows a short video for 24 hours, then the video disappears. A message sent from a person on that platform threatened to "shoot up the school." The Dutchess County Sheriff's Office responded, and charged a teenage girl from Pawling with "making a terroristic threat, a felony, and falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor," according to the article. After investigating, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal article, "the threat was found to be non-credible, according to police, and there was no indication that staff or students were in danger at any point." The girl has since been arraigned, during which time she was ordered to take a mental health evaluation, and will report to probation and be electronically monitored.

Shaking Off - Or Breaking Through - The Discomfort Zone

This is all extremely uncomfortable and difficult to talk about because so many issues are colliding at one time:

• Freedom to bear arms.
• The right to protect oneself.
• Unhappy children and teens.
• What happens next to teens who are arrested after making threats? School expulsion and isolation didn't prevent the Parkland shooting. Clearly, some students who are emotionally upset and depressed begin to think of guns as a solution.
• Feelings of unpreparedness in active-shooter situations; simply saying the words "active-shooter situations" makes the stomach turn with a variety of uncomfortable feelings.

So we're exploring these issues, and will be delivering a few more articles on the topic in order to break through the discomfort zone to help our community feel and stay safe. Updated articles will be posted below as they get published:

• Beacon Increases School Searches & Safety Measures