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Safe Schools Endeavor Awards Nearly $24,000 to Improve
Campus Safety in Jefferson, Lewis Counties
Published: January 11, 2023
at 07:30 p.m.
By: Press Release from Northern New York Community
Foundation
Safe Schools Endeavor Awards Nearly $24,000 to Improve
Campus Safety in Jefferson, Lewis Counties
Thirteen Projects
Receive Funding to Strengthen Student Culture, Building Security
WATERTOWN— The Safe
Schools Endeavor, in partnership with the Northern New York Community
Foundation, will award nearly $24,000 in grant support to fund 13 projects
in 12 Jefferson and Lewis County schools for the 2023-2024 school year.
The Safe Schools
Endeavor Steering Committee reviewed more than a dozen applications for
funding to support programs that empower students, parents, and faculty to
create the safest schools possible in Jefferson and Lewis counties. This is
the fifth year the fund has awarded grant support.
Since its inception, the Safe Schools Endeavor has awarded $103,326 for 56
school projects in Jefferson and Lewis counties.
“While we wish
our efforts were no longer needed, we feel our students, teachers, and
administrators deserve our support now as much as ever, and we are grateful
to all businesses, groups, and individuals who continue to give generously
to the Safe Schools Endeavor,” said Erika Flint, steering committee
chairwoman. “Many of our donors have given annually since our efforts began
in 2018, which is a testament to their belief in our commitment to the
safety of our youth. With the highest level of funding requested this year,
we are encouraged by the vision, scope, and variety of projects that truly
embody the mission of the Safe Schools Endeavor.”
Lowville Academy
and Central School District Superintendent Rebecca Dunckel-King expressed
her “heartfelt gratitude” for a pair of grant awards that will help
strengthen building safety and student culture in the district’s elementary
and high schools.
“Thanks to the
Safe Schools Endeavor, Lowville Academy and Central School District has been able to implement programs that helped to
create and sustain a safer school for our students,” Mrs. Dunckel-King
said. “In a time when school safety and student social and emotional health
are such a critical component of youth development, it is a warm relief to
know that our local and neighboring schools are supported by such an
amazing program.”
Mrs. Dunckel-King
added that she and her team are “truly appreciative of the Safe Schools
Endeavor and its commitment to our community’s well-being.”
The Community
Foundation Board of Directors unanimously approved the following Safe
Schools Endeavor grants:
South Lewis
Central School, $2,500 to install 23MIL Armoured
One Shooter Attack/Bomb Film on the main entrance/vestibule windows of
campus. The product slows an intruder’s entrance by holding the glass
together, as opposed to instantly shattering.
Sackets Harbor
Central School, $2,500 to bolster school safety by creating a
protective barrier against forced entry, vandalism, and theft while
ensuring the well-being of students, staff, and property. Grant funding
will be used to retrofit several school windows with security glazing.
Indian River
Central School District, $2,500 to create a therapy dog program at the high
school to support the social and emotional needs of students.
Lowville Academy
and Central School High School, $2,380 to secure new emergency radios
for use by a new school safety officer and administrators in all buildings.
General Brown
Central School District, $2,250 to improve communications across all their
properties with radios carried by administrators, directors, and
custodians. Grant funding will help to purchase up to six units for use by
nurses and essential staff.
Belleville
Henderson Central School District, $2,000 to support the “Sweethearts and
Heroes” anti- bullying program, which aims promote a positive and inclusive
school environment by raising awareness about the consequences of bullying
while teaching students and staff how to stand up against it.
Copenhagen
Central School District, $1,960 to purchase 70 door stops and 50 “Stop the
Bleed” kits. A recent active shooter instructional day revealed the
effectiveness of door stops and “Stop the Bleed” kits, which contain
helpful lifesaving items to promptly respond to injuries.
Lyme Central
School, $1,500 to provide appropriate school crossing guard coverage,
training, and outfitting for a volunteer group to ensure students have
assistance with crossing NYS Route 12E before walking a block to school.
Carthage Central
School District, $1,500 to purchase materials for teachers at Carthage
Elementary who want to create or improve a classroom calming corner with
items such as flexible seating, break box materials, and new items for a
therapy toolbox to support students.
Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida
BOCES, $1,400 to install two cell phone signal boosters to increase
service on campus to LTE/5G service for urgent calls.
LaFargeville Central School District, $1,250 to
install surveillance cameras in areas not presently covered.
Grant funding
will help to secure a camera to monitor a parking lot and playground, which
will help deter unwelcome visitors.
Beaver River
Central School District, $1,000 to purchase an automated external
defibrillator for use in the district’s swimming pool area. This grant
request was initiated by a student with support from the school safety
officer.
Lowville Academy
and Central School Elementary School, $975 to create calming corners for each
classroom with materials to give students the tools needed to self-regulate
their emotions such as sensory tools, mindfulness prompts, and a
five-minute sand timer.
Grants are made
possible thanks to the generous gifts of many individuals and businesses in
Jefferson and Lewis counties who support the Safe Schools Endeavor and its
mission to help keep all children safe while they are at school.
The Safe Schools
Endeavor stresses awareness, empowerment, and action within school
communities. All grant proposals are evaluated based upon the degree to
which they embody these desired outcomes. To stay informed about the Safe
Schools Endeavor and its progress in Jefferson and Lewis county schools,
like it on Facebook at Facebook.com/SafeSchoolsEndeavor and follow it on
Instagram at Instagram.com/ safeschoolsendeavor.
About the Safe
Schools Endeavor
In the days that
followed the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School in Parkland, Fla., that left 14 students and three staff members
dead, and 17 others wounded, a group of North Country residents were called
to act in their own communities in Jefferson and Lewis counties.
While school
safety leads many discussions across the country, the Safe Schools Endeavor
was created to encourage change at a very local level. Its founding members
believe our children are our most precious resource and should never worry for their safety at school.
With generous
support from the Northern New York Community Foundation, a $20,000 matching
grant for all gifts made in support of the initiative was announced and a
focused effort to seek donations soon began. The movement struck a chord
with many Northern New Yorkers who quickly gave to the effort, confirming a
guiding philosophy that together “A Few Can Make a Difference.”
A 19-member
Steering Committee manages the Safe Schools Endeavor. Committee members are
parents, school officials, nonprofit executives, retirees, and student
representatives.
They include: Erika
Flint, executive director, Fort Drum Regional Health Planning
Organization, and Safe Schools Endeavor Steering Committee chairwoman; Jessica
Bowline, president, Indigo Inkwell; Sarah Colligan, chief human
resources officer, Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County; Andrianna
Crawford, counselor, Lowville Academy and Central School; Brittney
Fults, teacher, Carthage Central; Brigitte Gillette, counselor,
Copenhagen Central; Marjorie LaVere, administrative assistant,
Jefferson County Public Defender’s Office; Todd Lighthall, executive
director, Camp Oswegatchie, and Beaver River Central School Board of
Education member; Morgan Pratt Neaves, assistant principal, Indian
River Central; Rebecca Paté-Johnson, Head
Start family advocate, Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson
County; Kylie Simpson, probation officer, Lewis County Probation
Department; Stephen Todd, superintendent, Jeff-Lewis BOCES; and Skyler
Tuttle, school safety officer, Lowville Academy and Central School.
Student representatives: Anmolika Bolla, Watertown High School Class
of 2022; Hailyn Buker, South Jefferson Class of 2022; Claire
Jones, senior, Copenhagen Central; Philip Marra, Watertown High
School Class of 2021; Samantha Stokely, senior, Copenhagen Central;
and Peyton Taylor, senior, Copenhagen Central.
About the
Northern New York Community Foundation
Since 1929, the
Northern New York Community Foundation has invested in improving and
enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson,
Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Through
partnerships with businesses and organizations, charitable foundations, and
generous families and individual donors, the Community Foundation awards
grants and scholarships from an endowment and collection of funds that
benefit the region. Its commitment to donors helps individuals achieve
their charitable objectives now and for generations to come by preserving
and honoring legacies of community philanthropy while inspiring others.
The Community
Foundation is a resource for local charitable organizations, donors,
professional advisors and nonprofit organizations.
It also works to bring people together at its permanent home in the
Northern New York Philanthropy Center to discuss challenges our communities
face and find creative solutions that strengthen the region and make it a
great place to live, work, and play.
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