Fayetteville School District

Coordinated School Health Initiative

February 17, 2009

Meeting Minutes

John Colbert, committee co-chair, welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming.

Carol Stone, grant coordinator, introduced the Fayetteville Public Schools resource officers, John Foster and Dan Montgomery.

OfficerJohn Fosterreported as follows: The School Resource Officer (S.R.O.) is technically a member of the faculty and administrative team. They are armed. One operates in the ALLPS and one out of the main campus but they both are usually at the main high school. They take a personal interest in the students, do criminal investigations, participate in conferences with students, parents, and faculty, serve as liaisons with the police department concerning community affairs, serve as school based contact for students in the juvenile court system, plan and strategize to preserve and minimize damage to school property, formulate evacuation and shooter plans, attend extra-curricular sporting events and concerts, and assist detectives in interviewing students and locating students.

Officer Dan Montgomery reported using a triad approach to working with students.

  1. Teacher- as a member of the faculty and administration they provided law related education for students, faculty and staff. The S.R.O’s also serve as guest speakers at community meetings and events such as Lions Club meetings or Rotary Club.
  2. Counselor- S.R.O’s conduct informal counseling of students and parents based on their expertise as law enforcement officers. They work closely with the school counselors and provide information about community services.
  3. Law enforcement officer- They are uniformed officers and they use a marked vehicle donated by superior auto. They investigate crimes and make arrests. They are considered to be the police officer for the school community. They try to provide a positive role model for students and serve as liaisons between the school and the police communities.

Officer John Fosterreported that he and Officer Montgomery sometimes use K9’s to search lockers and do room checks. In conducting a room check they have students leave all of their belongings, back packs etc. in the room and have the dogs sniff for drugs. The officers have set up an anonymous tip line, 790-TIPS parents, students, or community members can call and report things. They also maintain several web-sites, one run by the city, one by the SRO’s or they can be reached through Fayetteville Public Schools web-site under the link titled Parent Resources. The SROs issue parking tickets and check school passes. Since the high school has an open campus 1,800 students go wherever they want to and do whatever they want to do at lunch time. Most problems happen at lunch and after school. The officers conduct alcohol patrol they go into local bars for compliance checks and looking for juveniles. They notify neighbors about the presence of sex offenders and check to be sure they are complying with the law. Sometimes sex offenders attend school as students but they cannot live within 1,000 feet of the school. Both officers are child safety seat certified so teachers and students who are parents can be taught to properly install the safety seats. They conduct drug education in the classrooms, and ALICE (alert, lock down, information, counter, evacuate) training for instances involving a shooter in the school. They develop case scenario plans for each school in the district. The officers participate in community events such as Mardi Gras, and Bikes Blues and Bar B Q. Summer duties include camps called GREAT (gang resistance education and training, comprised of students recommended by their teachers who are identified as high, middle, and low risk), and YCPA (youth citizen police academy, comprised of community leaders). YCPA students actually work accidents, ride along on patrols and have the opportunity to see someone be taised.

Daily assignments include:

  • Writing police reports
  • Meeting with administrators about events
  • Patrolling campus before and after school and during lunch
  • Talking with students about problems
  • Making arrests
  • Assisting with troubled students
  • Serving as a liaison between the schools and juvenile court
  • Issuing parking citations
  • Gathering information from MySpace and facebook

Half of the funding for the resource officers is provided by the city and half is provided by the school district. The school district is willing to fund two more SRO’s but the city hasn’t funded their portion.

Tobacco control occupies a lot of time, smoking is a huge issue. At the beginning of the school year they started writing citations for smoking. The $150 cost of the citations served as a deterrent and the students are now leaving campus to smoke. Residents of Buchanan Street(across from FHS) want people arrested for smoking on their yards and arrested for trespassing. The officers cannot arrest students for smoking when they are off campus.

Kyle Adams, coach at Fayetteville High School reported that the grant they use to provide drug testing is in the process of being renewed. Students that participate in extra curricular activities are subject to random drug testing. The FHS band opted not to participate in drug testing. A drug testing lab provides the grant and supplies the nurses who come and conduct the testing. All athletic teams were randomly tested before the beginning of school except soccer and swimming. If someone tests positive they are not allowed to practice their sport or participate in games for 30 days. After 30 days they must take a re-entry test. If the participant passes the drug test he or she is good to go but if the test positively they cannot participate for the next 365 days. If they test positively a third time they can never participate. Mr. Adams believes that drug testing gives kids a good reason to say no to drugs.

David Hunt, p.e.teacher reported that McNair Middle School has been chosen as a Diamond School to Watch.

Lisa Jenkins, food service director reported that the district lost some food as a result of the power outages associated with the ice storm. She was able to contact Tyson Foods and they offered her refrigerated trucks for storing the food. The lost food was mainly cheese.

Carol Stone reported that she and Lisa Jenkins have discussed the possibility of not serving 2% milk for this next school year.

Eric Schuldt reported that the Boys and Girls Club was used as an emergency shelter during the ice storm and that the Salvation Army provided food.

Molly Lloyd, director of nursing reported that she is wrapping up scoliosis and BMI screenings. The BMI results will be posted on the web-site.

Ginger Campbell, p.e. teacher, reported that Vandergriff School is getting ready to participate in the Sweat Hog Celebration along with many other schools. Razorbacks are trying to have students from the area schools attend the celebration and had the mascot visit the schools. The school with the most attendees andspirit will win prizes as follows: 1st $2,500, 2nd $1,500, 3rd $1,000.

Sarah Bradey, student reported that the student council has been working on beautification projects.

Next Meeting: March 26th 8:30 AM