Maintaining school safety remains a top priority at Ichabod Crane Central School District.
The district uses its District-Wide School Safety Plan, which requires annual Board of Education approval, as its roadmap for ensuring the safety of our students and staff on our 64-acre campus. The plan adheres strictly to New York State regulations and guidelines.
Each building also has its own Emergency Response Plan, as well as a Safety Team, which meets regularly and is co-chaired by a building administrator and Needham Risk Management, the district’s health and safety consultant. These individual building plans are regularly reviewed by the District Wide Safety and Health Committee, as well as the Safety Teams. We also have updated all of our threat assessment procedures to align with the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG), an evidence-based model that is the industry standard.
Prioritizing the emotional wellness of all of our staff and students is a fundamental school safety strategy employed by the district. This primary emphasis serves as a proactive and preventative measure that contributes to a safer learning environment. It fosters a culture of wellbeing, deep connections and open communication.
The dedicated professionals in our K-12 Counseling Department, including psychologists, school counselors, and a full-time social worker, provide many supports and services, including individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, risk assessment, ongoing professional development in research-based programs and referrals to necessary out-of-district services. Our school leaders are continuously reviewing our social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum used in classrooms across the district. Their website includes a wide range of information and resources, including details about our on-campus mental health professionals and services, out-of-district resources (such as the local Mobile Crisis Team, Columbia County Mental Health Center and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline), and much more.
We believe in whole child education, a research-based approach that we use to create environments that not only promote our students’ academic growth, but also their cognitive, social and emotional, physical, mental and identity development. This holistic approach prioritizes the full scope of a child’s developmental needs to ensure that they reach their fullest potential.
School safety is a collaborative effort and our community is one of our greatest assets in keeping our schools safe. As always if you see something, please say something. Please contact your building principals and assistant principals if you want to report a safety concern. Click here to view our Contact Guide.
We encourage you to visit our School Safety Q&A page for detailed responses to many questions, including how we inform the public about our school safety initiatives and how we use threat assessment at all of our schools, and so much more.
Since July 2022, the district has worked side-by-side with Needham Risk Management to ensure that the school district is in compliance and following best practices regarding school safety and security. Needham was established in 2003, and their highly experienced and competent staff have over 20 years of experience providing an array of services, including school health and safety consulting.
Going forward, please continue to visit this page for updates, and please visit our Board of Education Policies page, which contains numerous board-approved policies regarding safety in our school district.
If you have questions, please use our Contact Guide, which outlines who to contact concerning a particular area.