a publication of the dickinson independent school district · underway in dickinson isd this school...

Proud Traditions, An Exciting Future

A publication of the Dickinson Independent School District

Vol. 27, No. 2 NOVEMBER 2018

Bragging Rights...There are many things to brag about in Dickinson ISD, so we are introducing a new feature in “Dialogue” called “Big Al’s Brag Book” to spotlight some of the things we are thankful for in Dickinson ISD.

more on page 6-7

Focus on School Safety...The majority of this issue of “Dialogue” is dedicated to educating parents and the community about safety and security initiatives underway in Dickinson ISD this school year, including law enforcement, mental health, tips for parents, emergency communications and more.

more on pages 2-5 and 8-12

Dickinson ISD has an ongoing commitment to keep our students and employees safe. Since the tragic school event that happened in a neighboring school district on May 18th, Dickinson ISD administrators, law enforcement officers and staff members have spent many hours attending training sessions and examin-ing ways to make our schools safer. To assist with this process, a comprehensive Safety and Security Committee, which includes parents, students, district employees, faith-based leaders, mental health representatives and law enforcement representatives has met monthly to review security measures and procedures already in place and to develop, administer and view the results of a safe-ty survey given to students (grades 5-12), employees and parents. After studying the survey results and identifying priorities, the student members of the Safety and Security Committee presented recommendations for future safety measures at the November 5th Board Meeting. Information about these recommendations are featured in this special edition of the Dialogue devoted to school safety and security. Many of the articles in this edition were recommended by members of our Safety and Security Committee, and we hope you will read and share information from this issue.

While the committee has been meeting, DISD has moved forward and implemented several measures to make our schools safer. This includes:• The number of Galveston County Sheriff School Resource

Officers was increased from four to eight, including three officers at Dickinson High School and one at each middle school and junior high. The district purchased four vehicles for the new officers and they should arrive before the Thanks-giving break. The officers assigned to the middle school campuses will also regularly visit elementary campuses.

• Two full-time security monitors were added at DHS. A golf cart was purchased for one of the monitors to continuously patrol the exterior perimeter throughout the school day, while the other patrols the interior.

• Card swipe entries were added for employees at six of the campuses without this technology.

• Additional fencing was installed at DHS, Lobit Elementary, Silbernagel Elementary and Bay Colony Elementary.

• Special software was purchased and it is being used 24/7 to monitor social media, internal digital media and district tech-nology resources for threats, suicide ideation and bullying.

A Message from Superintendent Carla Voelkel...

Dickinson ISD implements measures for safer schools

• The speaker system at DHS was updated and replaced.• Dickinson ISD Campus Crime Stoppers has been re-launched,

and students can call 281-229-STOP to submit tips or report crimes anonymously. An app for anonymous reporting will be available in the near future.

• Hughes Road Elementary, McAdams Junior High and DHS are participating in a pilot program that will allow parents to track the location of school buses and receive messages from the Transportation Department. Depending on the results from the pilot, this resource may be implemented district-wide.

• Working with community mental health partners that include Resolve It, Family Service Center, Innovative Alternatives and Krist Samaritan, additional resources and counseling support have been added to campuses to better meet the emotional and mental health needs of students.

• A Parent Inquiry Form was created and is now available on the district website for parents to complete and submit a re-quest for mental health assistance with their children.

• Two “Safety Saturday” events have been provided -- the first in September focused on active shooter awareness and cyber security, and the second, earlier this month, provided “Stop the Bleed” training by UTMB medical professionals and Dickin-son EMS.

continued on page 2

Superintendent Carla Voelkel practices using a tourniquet on Deputy Superintendent for Educational Services Lee Courville at the dis-trict’s recent Safety Saturday event featuring Stop The Bleed training, which is being provided to all district employees this school year.

Big Al’s Brag Book

OUR MISSIONThe mission of the

Dickinson IndependentSchool District is to ensure

that all students havesafe and successful learning

opportunities that helpthem reach their full

potential and add quality throughout their lives.

ADMINISTRATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES DIALOGUE

Carla VoelkelSuperintendent

Ryan BooneDeputy Supt. for Business & Operations

Lee CourvilleDeputy Supt. for Business & Operations

Robert CobbAsst. Supt. for Administration

David SwartzPresident

Jeff PittmanVice President

Veanna VeaseySecretary

Mike MackeyCorey Magliolo

Jessica RodriguezFritzie Samford

is the official newsletter for the Dickinson Independent

School District and is published four times a year by the

Public Information Office.

Tammy Dowdy Director of Communications

Jenna SimsenDirector of

Marketing and Digital Media

For more Dickinson ISD news and information, sign up to receive the district’s weekly

email newsletter, “Gator Bytes.”

Visit the district’s website at www.dickinsonisd.org to enter

your email address at thebottom of the homepage.

PAGE 2 DICKINSON DIALOGUE NOVEMBER 2018

STAY CONNECTED

Safety and Security Committee presents recommendations to the Board of TrusteesThe Dickinson ISD Board of Trustees heard a report

from three Dickinson High School students at the Novem-ber 5 meeting summarizing the recommendations from the district’s Safety and Security Committee formed during the summer of 2018 to guide the school district in further enhancing safety and security efforts.

David Paul Hilton, Skyler Maner and Tristin Saucedo were the students who spoke on behalf of the commit-tee which included representatives from several different areas, including parents, teachers, students, principals, law enforcement, faith-based leaders, mental health, Dickinson ISD support staff and the Facilities Task Force. The goal of the committee was to work collaboratively, reach consen-sus and make recommendations to enhance safety efforts at all Dickinson ISD facilities.

Over the past two months the committee met four times. At the first meeting, members learned about the cur-rent safety and security measures in place throughout the school district. In addition, they were provided with copies of the Governor’s School Safety Action Plan and Sen-ate Select Committee on Violence in Schools and School Security Report to the 86th Legislature.

During the second meeting, the group worked in groups to review, discuss and finalize questions to include on three separate safety and security surveys -- Parent Survey, Student Survey and Employee Survey. The surveys were sent by Skyward email to parents, students (grades 5-12) and employees to complete.

The Safety and Security Committee reviewed and discussed the results of the surveys at the third meeting and began to discuss possible recommendations to the Board of Trustees for further investigation. Some of the recommen-dations will be short term while other recommendations will be part of a long term plan. In groups, the committee brainstormed topics for further Safety Saturday sessions and the district newsletter.

The final meeting before the presentation, the com-mittee reviewed and discussed a draft of the district’s new Emergency Communications Plan and heard plans for this special issue of “Dialogue” devoted to safety and security. Robert Cobb shared information about the implementation of Sandy Hook Promise in Dickinson ISD and other area districts. Using the survey results, the committee discussed the safety and security recommendations they would make to the Board of Trustees and selected the three students on the committee to make the presentation.

The committee’s recommendations, as well as the top five options for safer schools chosen by each surveyed group can be found on this page.

continued from page 1...

• District administrators have received “Stop the Bleed” training, and a schedule was developed so that all DISD employees will receive this training this year.

• An Emergency Communications Plan was developed and it outlines the steps the district will take for com-municating with parents, students, employees and media in the event of an emergency situation.

Keeping Dickinson ISD schools safe involves everyone, and our students and families are key partners. Parents, please check what your students are bringing to school and monitor their student communications and social

Voelkel highlights new Dickinson ISD safety measures

• Have continuous Anti-Bullying Programs from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

• Expand and grow the Dickinson High School Lunch Bunch Program to include more students and at ad-ditional campuses. This program has been imple-mented as a result of the Mental Health Counseling support added to the district.

• Seek ways to continue current grant-funded Men-tal Health Programs (for example, continuing to have additional counselors dedicated to mental health which are currently funded only for one year through a grant related to Hurricane Harvey).

• Provide employees with a Panic Button App for phones.

• Continue adding Law Enforcement officers so even-tually each campus has an officer and larger cam-puses (DHS, MJHS, KJHS) have multiple officers.

• Complete an assessment of district cameras and add additional cameras at all campuses.

• Investigate and install controlled access to school main entrances/front office areas.

• Investigate and install bullet proof window film at school main entrances/front office areas, and inves-tigate window film/window covering for interior classroom windows at Lobit Education Village and Kranz Junior High.

• Continue providing safety training for students, parents, and employees.

Dickinson ISD Safety and Security Committee Recommendations

media accounts (Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook). False information on social media or online/texted rumors can cause further fear or concern. Remind your student(s) to not spread it, but report it. Also, if students see some-thing suspicious in person or online, whether it is written or verbal, say something. If something concerns you or looks like a possible threat of school violence, report it. We take all threats and reports seriously, and we rely on each of you to share information with us so that we can investigate.

The best defense against school violence is height-ened awareness and vigilance by all. We sincerely ap-preciate your cooperation and your commitment to Keep DISD Safe.

Top Five Options for Safer Schools by GroupsStudents Staff Parents Parents (Spanish)

Bullet Proof Window Film Control Access to Grounds Control Access to Grounds Metal Detectors

Panic Buttons for Teachers Additional Law Enforcement Additional Law Enforcement Control Access to Grounds

More Safety Training Panic Buttons for Teachers Panic Buttons for Teachers Additional Law Enforcement

Additional Law Enforcement Additional Cameras Monitor Social Media Additional Cameras

Additional Cameras Bullet Proof Window Film Anti-Bullying Programs Panic Buttons for Teachers

The information above highlights the top five safer school options chosen by each group surveyed. The colored cells display the areas were the groups overlapped out of 15 possible choices provided.

NOVEMBER 2018 DICKINSON DIALOGUE PAGE 3

Dickinson High School has a cou-ple extra sets of eyes keeping students and staff safe with the hiring of two safety monitors. At the beginning of the school year, the Board of Trustees ap-proved the creation of the safety moni-tor positions and doubling the number of police liaison officers the district has through the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office from four to eight. This allows three sheriff’s deputies at DHS, plus one each at the two junior high schools and three middle schools. Each of the middle school liaison officers oversees two or three elementary campuses to assist as needed.

One of the safety monitors patrols inside the campus, while the other uses a golf cart to patrol the school parking lots and campus perimeter.

Serving in these positions are Makeiths Davis and Archie Williams, Sr.

Davis retired in 2015 from the United States Army after 20 years of service. He is currently attending the University of Houston - Clear Lake to

Two safety monitors now at DHS to assist with internal, external patrols

Important phone numbers to mental health resources and school district contactsThe following is a list of important phone numbers to various Mental Health Re-sources available to the community for students or adults as well as non-emergen-cy law enforcement phone numbers and services.

• Family Services Center 281-576-6366 or 409-938-4814

• Krist Samaritan Center 281-480-7554

• Bo’s Place 713-942-8339

• Crisis Hotline of Galveston County 409-741-8255

• Interfaith Caring Ministries 281-332-3881

• Nationwide Referral Hotline 211

• Mental Health America of Greater Houston 713-523-8963

• Innovative Alternatives 713-222-2525

• Gulf Coast Center 800-643-0967 or 409-763-2373

• Advocacy Center for Children of Galveston County 409-741-6000

• National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK

• National Alliance for Mental Illness 703-524-7600

• NAMI Greater Houston 713-970-4419

• Resource & Crisis Center of Galveston County 409-763-1441 or 409-465-7233

• Teen Crisis Hotline 713-529-TEEN

• Harris County Psych Services 713-970-7070 or 713-970-4640

• Brazoria County Counseling Center 979-549-0889

• Brazoria County Mental Health Department 979-864-2392

• Counseling Connections For Change 281-485-9280

• Crisis Intervention of Houston Crisis Hotline 713-468-5463 Teenline 713-529-8336

• Youth & Family Counseling Services 979-849-7751 Crisis Hotline 877-949-3140

• United Way Info. and Referral 281-282-6000

• Covenant House 713-523-2231

• Gulf Coast Center 24 Hour Crisis Hotline 1-866-729-3848

• National Alliance on Mental Health 281-585-3100

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Crisis Text Line Text HOME to 741-741 1-800-273-TALK

• Community Health Network 281-824-1480

• Texas Poison Center Network 1-800-222-1222

• Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Non-Emergency Number 409-766-2322 or 281-534-3515

• Dickinson Police Department Non-Emergency Number 281-337-4700

• League City Police Department Non-Emergency Number 281-332-2566

• Texas City Police Department Non-Emergency Number 409-643-5720

• Dickinson Volunteer Fire Department Non-Emergency Number 281-534-3031

• League City Fire Department 281-554-1465

• Texas City Fire Department Non-Emergency Number 409-643-5700

Dickinson ISD provides a variety of services for students who are struggling with learning, emotions, behavior or health conditions. If you are the parent of a Dickinson ISD student, have concerns about your child’s mental health and would like to request assistance for your child, there is a new online “Mental Health Assistance Request Form” available on the Dickinson ISD website.

Visit www.dickinsonisd.org and click on the blue bar titled “Special Programs Parent Inquiry” in the bottom right-hand corner of the district homepage. You will find another link on that page to the “Mental Health Assistance Request Form.” Complete the simple Google form, which is available in both English and Spanish, and hit submit. You will be contacted by someone from your child’s school to offer assistance.

• Education Support Center 281-229-6000

• Transportation Department 281-229-7300 Bay Colony Elementary 281-229-6200

• Calder Road Elementary 281-229-7500

• Hughes Road Elementary 281-229-6700

• K.E. Little Elementary 281-229-7000

• Lobit Elementary 281-229-7600

• San Leon Elementary 281-229-7400

• Silbernagel Elementary 281-229-6800

Mental Health Assistance Request Form now available on Dickinson ISD website

• Barber Middle School 281-229-6900

• Dunbar Middle School 281-229-6600

• Lobit Middle School 281-229-7700

• Kranz Junior High 281-309-3600

• McAdams Junior High 281-229-7100

• Dickinson High School 281-229-6400

• Dickinson Continuation Center 281-229-6350

• Dickinson Alternative Learning Ctr. 281-229-6300

• DISD Campus Crime Stoppers 281-229-STOP (7867)

In the event of a true emergency, always call 911.

Main School District Phone Numbers

Dickinson High School Safety Monitors

Makeiths Davis and Archie Williams, Sr.

pursue a teaching degree in Special Education. He has been married for 16 years and has two children attending DHS.

Williams is a 1989 graduate of Dickinson High School. He holds a bachelor of science degree in sociology from the University of Houston and has 10 years experi-ence in education as a special education teacher. He has been married for 20 years and has two children who are also DHS graduates.

DICKINSON DIALOGUE NOVEMBER 2018

Meet The Galveston County Sheriff’s OfficeSchool Liaison Officers serving Dickinson ISD

Sgt. Cliff FosterDickinson High School

Deputy Dawn CrowellDickinson High School

Deputy Jesse KhaledDickinson High School

Deputy Joshua LoveKranz Junior High

Sergeant Cliff Foster has been with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office for 13 years. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps where he served as a 60 mm mortar section leader for his unit. Sgt. Foster was deployed numerous times overseas and participated in two combat tours during Opera-tion Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Most recently, Sgt. Foster completed the FBI LEEDA tril-ogy training and the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Re-sponse Training (ALERT) basic instructor’s course. This allows him to expand on his leadership and training skills as he is now certified to train law enforce-ment officers on how to respond in an active shooter scenario.

Sgt. Foster grew up in Galveston County. He is also married and has two children, one of which attends DISD.

Deputy Joshua Love has been with the Galveston Coun-ty Sheriff’s Office for six years. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he served as a police officer.

Most recently, Deputy Love completed Basic SWAT course and has attended multiple Ac-tive Shooter training courses. Deputy Love plans on continu-ing his law enforcement edu-cation and plans to attend an Advance SWAT course in the near future.

Deputy Love grew up in the Sagemont area and gradu-ated from J. Frank Dobie High School. He is the fourth gen-eration of law enforcement in his family.

Deputy Dawn Crowell has been with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office for 12 years. She holds an Advanced Peace Officer License and is a certified TCOLE instructor.

Recently, Deputy Crowell completed a field training program with the Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science unit and several emergency response classes in order to better serve the students, staff and commu-nity of Dickinson ISD.

Deputy Crowell has lived in many different places before set-tling down in Galveston County. She enjoys her time with her family, friends and pets.

Deputy J. Khaled has been with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office for 16 years. He served in several capacities inside the County Jail for nine years including, Book-ing, Classification, and a member of the S.O.R.T. Team (Special Opera-tion Response Team). He recently transferred from the Bailiff’s Divi-sion after seven years where he served as the official court Bailiff for District Court 212 under the Honorable Judges Susan Criss and Bret Griffin, followed by County Court #2 under the Honorable Judge Barbara Roberts.

Deputy Khaled holds an As-sociate’s degree in Applied Science and an Intermediate Law Enforce-ment Certification. He has over 2,600 hours of training both in the classroom and with TCOLE (Texas Commission On Law Enforcement).

Deputy Khaled grew up in Galveston County and graduated from Ball High School. He is single and has two children. One of his children currently attends school in Dickinson ISD and the other is a Dickinson ISD graduate and current student at Texas State University.

FALL 2009 DICKINSON DIALOGUE PAGE 5 NOVEMBER 2018 DICKINSON DIALOGUE PAGE 5

Meet The Galveston County Sheriff’s OfficeSchool Liaison Officers serving Dickinson ISD

Cpl. Patrick LewisMcAdams Junior High

Deputy Christopher LugoBarber Middle School

Deputy Ivery StewartDunbar Middle School

Deputy Kyle CavnessLobit Middle SchoolDeputy Kyle Cavness has

been with the Galveston Coun-ty Sheriff’s Office for 25 years. During this time he has worked in Corrections, Patrol, and Nar-cotics and is currently assigned to Dickinson ISD as a School Liaison Officer (SLO)

Deputy Cavness has ob-tained his Master Police Cer-tificate and is also a Field Training Officer. He has over 1,300 training hours includ-ing Advanced Law Enforce-ment Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) and several other classes that have benefited him as a School Liaison Officer.

Deputy Cavness has lived in Galveston County his entire life and graduated from Santa Fe High School. After gradua-tion, Deputy Cavness attended Texas State University.

Corporal Patrick Lewis has been with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office for six years and has over 18 years law enforce-ment experience. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he served as a Machinery Repair-man and Rapid Response Team Member for his unit. Cpl. Lewis was deployed numerous times overseas and participated in a combat tour during the Persian Gulf War. He was also deployed to South America and participat-ed in assisting the Coast Guard with Drug Interdictions.

Most recently, Cpl. Lewis completed the FBI LEEDA tril-ogy training and the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Re-sponse Training (ALERRT). Cpl. Lewis also participated in the Field Training Officer Program. He is now certified to train new deputies in the School Liaison Division.

Deputy Chris Lugo is a Vet-eran of the U.S. Navy where he served proudly for 10 ½ years. He served during Operation Desert Strike, Bosnia and Kosovo War, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Deputy Lugo worked as a Contractor in Kandahar, Afghani-stan and at a Forward Operating Base (FOB) Delaram, Afghanistan during OIF/OEF.

Deputy Lugo began his ca-reer in Law Enforcement with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Of-fice in the Corrections Division in 2014. He is a member of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.

Deputy Lugo is currently assigned to the School Liaison Officer (SLO) Division where he worked at Texas City ISD and Clear Creek ISD. Deputy Lugo has completed many courses that have enhanced his capabilities to be efficient as a SLO and to respond to an active shooter if needed. He is currently assigned as the SLO at Barber Middle School for Dickinson ISD.

Deputy Ivery Stewart grew up in Galveston County and graduated from La Marque High School in 1978. He is the proud father of one daughter and one granddaughter. Prior to becoming a Law Enforce-ment Officer, he was a Veteran in the United States Army. Deputy Stewart served during Desert Storm and the Gulf War. He also participated in two other national conflicts during his tour of duty. He received several medals and was recognized with a plaque and letter of appreciation from the Prime Minister of Israel.

Deputy Stewart signed on with Galveston County Sheriff’s Office in 1993. He currently holds a Mas-ter Peace Officer License and has attended the required schools and training to become a School Liaison Officer. During Deputy Stewart’s service with Galveston County, he has worked in Corrections, Patrol, MHMR, and the Bailiff divisions. Deputy Stewart was awarded Dep-uty of the Year in 2004 (50 Club). Deputy Stewart is a true believer in his Motto. “I can’t save the world, but if I can touch one kid and have them change for the good, then I’ve done my part.”


DHS Marching Band earns 8th place at Area!The Dickinson High School Marching Band made us Gator

Proud for all their hard work this year on their performance of “Mat-ters of the Heart.” At the UIL Area Marching Contest, the DHS band was one of 10 bands, out of 24 participating, chosen to advance to the finals round.

While the DHS Band fell short of being in the top five and advancing to the UIL State Marching Contest, their 8th place finish was still very impressive and a great example of how Dickinson ISD students excel in fine arts.

$97,000 in Education Foundation grants!Surprise!!! The Dickinson ISD Education Foundation Prize Patrol

visited all campuses in October and awarded $97,000 in teacher grants, which is the most ever awarded. The grants, which range from $1,000 to $10,000, allow teachers and administrators to implement innovative and creative programs to benefit Dickinson ISD students. Included in the grant awards this year are many reading initiatives, outdoor equipment to help with math lessons, summer programs, fine arts, physical education programs and much more. Watch future is-sues of “Dialogue” for more information about these grants.

DHS students earning AP college credit!This past school year, 121 Dickinson High School students earned

college credit by taking Advanced Placement exams. Some earned credit in multiple classes as there were 20 different courses and exams the DHS students could take. In addition, 14 of the students earned a perfect score of “5” on at least one exam.

The College Board program allows students to enroll in college-level courses in high school and take an exam at the end of the school year to earn college credit for the exam. The students receive a score of 1-5 and anyone scoring at a 3 or higher on an exam can earn col-lege credit. These students will graduate from DHS with a huge jump start on their college career, which is also a huge cost-savings to the student.

Gene Kranz honored at Kranz DedicationKranz Junior High is “go for launch!” Dickinson ISD celebrated

the opening the district’s second junior high at a special dedication ceremony on September 27. The dedication ceremony honored the school’s namesake, Eugene “Gene” Kranz, a long-time Dickinson resi-dent and NASA pioneer who served as Mission Control Flight Direc-tor for Gemini and Apollo programs.

Several speakers, entertainment from the Kranz Band and Choir, a video from the STEM program and presentations of artwork and a special Kranz vest highlighted the dedication ceremony.



Elementary parents visit for Thanksgiving lunchThanksgiving was celebrated a little early as nearly 2,500 elemen-

tary parents and grandparents were welcomed at all seven Dickinson ISD elementary campuses for a traditional Thanksgiving meal featur-ing turkey supreme and cornbread dressing, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, creamy mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, homemade dinner roll, fresh fruit and pumpkin pie.

Helping with the Thanksgiving Lunch were many district ad-ministrators, Education Support Center employees and community members who volunteer to serve while Food and Nutrition employees are busy preparing the extra food. Thank you to all the parents and grandparents for participating in this annual tradition.

“Lunch Angel” donates for elementary lunchesKenny Thompson, also known as The Lunch Angel, with Feed

the Future Foundation recently donated $2,000 to Dickinson ISD to help pay for meal charges of elementary students. Food and Nutrition Services removed all student meal charges at our elementary schools with the funds as of October 10, 2018.

The Dickinson ISD Board of Trustees honored him at the November board meeting for his contribution and recognized him as an honorary Gator.

DHS Powerlifter earns two national Gold MedalsDickinson High School senior Matt Longoria earned two Gold

Medals at the USA Powerlifting National Bench Press Championship in Scranton, Pennsylvania in September. He weighed in at 126 pounds and competed in the Sub Junior 59 kg weight class. The Gold Medals were earned for bench pressing 259 pounds in the raw competition and 332 pounds (American Record) in the equipped competition.

He is led by Coach Joel De La Paz.

Gator football teams have great fall seasonsThe Dickinson High School Gator Football Team ended the 2018

season 9-1, with only one loss to Clear Springs High School to come in second place in district. As this issue of “Dialogue” went to print, the team was preparing for their first playoff game against Pearland High School. Go Gators! The district’s two junior high schools also had exciting seasons with the Kranz Junior High 7A team and the McAdams Junior High 7B team both earning district championships.



Dr. Scott Poland to present on suicide prevention

The following are some tips provided by Laurie Rodriguez, Director of Special Programs for Dickinson ISD, to help parents when talking to their children about the seriousness of school threats.

Open a conversation with your child that includes the following components:

1. Direct statement about the facts2. Direct instruction about what words and

phrases may not be used3. Descriptive conversation about the conse-

quences (getting arrested, getting charged with a misdemeanor or felony, jail time, suspension from school)

4. Statement of expectations the parent has for the child’s behavior

Here’s how a conversation like that could happen:

1. Lately, several students have made threats. Some students have said things to other students in class or on a bus. Others have written things on bathroom walls or posted something on social media.

2. Let’s talk about words you may not use at school. You may not say anything about shooting someone. You may not say anything about bombs. You may not talk about guns, knives, bombs, hurting others, shooting, killing….”

3. When you use unsafe or threatening language, you could

a. Be arrested b. Be charged with a crime c. Spend time in jail (Juvenile Justice

Center) d. Be suspended from school e. And whatever consequence the parent

will provide4. As your parent, I expect you to NOT use

these words. I expect that if you SEE or HEAR something, you SAY something to a trusted adult.

Tips for ParentsTalking to children about school threats

Dr. Scott Poland will be visiting Dickinson ISD in January for a day-long presentation on “Youth Suicide: Contemporary Issues in Prevention/Intervention and Post-vention for Schools.”

This free presentation, which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, January 11 in the McAdams Junior High Auditorium, is open to parents, school district counselors, administrators, special programs staff, and law enforcement.

Dr. Poland’s presentation will help increase the un-derstanding of the incidence and most common factors in youth suicide. Participants will learn effective strategies to prevent youth suicide and lessons from the aftermath of

numerous suicides. The presentation will highlight key components from the Suicide Safer School plan that Dr. Poland wrote for the State of Texas that emphasized best practices. Key components are training in the warning signs of suicide and developing referral procedures to school mental health professionals.

For more information and to register for the presentation, scan the QR code to the right or contact Kathy Linkey in the Dickinson ISD Special Programs Department at 281-229-6087.


One thing the Santa Fe shooting makes obvious is the need to take local action to care for the mental health needs of our children. Dickinson ISD has taken very proactive mea-sures in partnering with local mental health organizations, and Innovative Alternatives, Inc. (IA) is honored to be one of these. IA’s mission is finding solutions to life’s most dif-ficult people problems through mediation, counseling and training, since 1989!

In this partnership, Dickinson ISD is providing office space for IA counselors at Bay Colony Elementary, Dunbar Middle School and Kranz Junior High. IA is providing counselor/mediators for one-half day per week to start and will increase for up to two days per week to serve the district, as demand requires. We are open to provide services not only to your children, but also to you as their family members. Children cannot concen-trate on academics at school if they are worried about problems at home. Problems might exist between their parents or parents and other siblings, job loss and financial issues, and of course, many of these problems stem from the pressures of flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Most people do not even realize that the relationship issues they are experiencing now are from the trauma of Harvey over a year ago. You need not worry about your con-fidentiality between IA and DISD. All intake information is gathered by phone when you call for an appointment through IA’s corporate office in Clear Lake at 713-222-2525. IA is just a mile from JSC in Clear Lake and you can also seek services their as well. Confiden-tial information is stored on an electronic health record system, and nothing is shared with the school district without express written permission of the client or parents.

IA has eligibility for anyone who has ever experienced a crime for which they need treatment to address issues related to that experience. To receive free counseling, it does not matter when the crime happened or whether it was ever reported, as long as you wish to deal with symptoms related to the trauma. If it still impacts you emotionally, in relation-ships by causing lack of trust of others, makes you jumpy, causes nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, depression or other symptoms. The key to eligibility is that you need and wish to work on the issues resulting from the crime. Each survivor receives up to 8 free individual sessions and any combination of 18 hours of group skills training (if raised in domestic violence, for instance, you may not know how to resolve conflict constructively) and/or advocacy services. The exception to this limit is when IA assists a survivor in applica-tion for Crime Victims Compensation for more recent crimes (within the last 3 years) and those which were reported.

All counseling services needed for issues other than victimization are available on sliding scale, based upon the credentialing level of the provider. IA offers free services to survivors of crime, sliding scale services, as well as taking Medicaid and most major in-surance and employee assistance program benefits. IA offers Family Reconciliation & In-tervention Mediation (FRIM) services as well. Again, if things are not good at home, your child will not do well in school. Sometimes, parents disagree about parenting approaches and your child is acting out due to this inconsistency and not really knowing where the boundaries are at any given time. FRIM is a wonderful place to make a parenting plan to which you can both agree and then provide the structure your child needs to succeed. If the child is old enough, we even include them in creating the consequences for both

rewardable and punishable behaviors, so everyone knows what will happen ahead of time and no one is making it up on the fly. Perhaps it is your child who has begun to rebel or you fear they are using alcohol or drugs, or that someone is picking on them and they won’t tell you what is going on. If you notice a sudden change in your child’s behavior, mood or in their typical responses to other family members; you need to sit up and take notice. In these instances, it can never hurt to have a counseling assessment done to see if a neutral and objective professional can help you as the parent, get to the heart of what is happening inside your child. Often, they just need support through the typical growing pains of life, and for whatever reason, it is hard to talk with someone they love about these issues. I know this is hard to accept as a caring parent. My son would not tell me about the bullying he experienced as a child from a coach, though he said he wanted to die every day. He didn’t tell me because he knew I would go and talk to the coach. Another child’s mother had done so and it got a lot worse for him, so he was too afraid to tell.

Children hide things from parents for a variety of reasons, sometimes for very caring reasons—knowing we have our own pressures as adults in jobs, relationships, etc. they do not want us to worry about what they are going through in addition to all these worries. If nothing serious is going on, or even if something is going on, but your child is not ready or open to counseling—we will tell you. We prefer not to give anyone a bad taste in their mouth about counseling when they are not ready for it. By caring about their needs—even the need to be left alone—they will come back when they are ready. They almost always do, so don’t despair if the counselor cannot reach them in the first appointment any more than you can at home.

Most kids are very ready to open up when they don’t have to worry about the adult’s feelings or reactions and have someone listening who is solely focused on them and their problems. Many parents brought kids to us after Santa Fe and said, “I don’t think they will talk, we can’t get them to tell us anything about what they went through.” They didn’t want to traumatize their parents, but talked the whole 50 minutes in session. We need to accept that we simply can’t be all things to our kids at all times.

Even if your child does not attend one of the schools where IA counselors are locat-ed—at Dunbar Middle School, Kranz Junior High or Bay Colony Elementary -- we will offer after school hours at those schools if we know there is need. Let us know at [email protected] We are open until 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday at our Clear Lake offices and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday.

We are here to help your child or your family. Teach your children about bullying at home and the school will not need to hire IA to implement anti-bullying programs at your school.

Protecting your child’s mental health

by Sharon Bayus, MA, LPC-SPresident/CEO & Founder

Innovative Alternatives, Inc.

by Virginia Frank, Assistant Criminal District Attorney in the Juvenile Division of the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office

The Galveston County Criminal District Attorney’s Office has seen a tremendous increase in the number allegations regarding juveniles who have committed delinquent conduct involving weapons on campus or threats to commit violent acts at a school. All such allegations are taken seriously by law enforcement and many of them result in formal charges.

A threat to commit violence at a school is a misdemeanor if the threat is directed at an individual person. If the threat involves a substantial group of persons at the school then it becomes a felony. A common example of this is a juvenile’s threat to “shoot up a school.” If a student threatens to bring a firearm on school property then this is a mis-demeanor, but if the student actually possesses the firearm on campus then it becomes a felony.

The investigations of these cases are generally initiated by school administration or law enforcement. After an investigation, law enforcement determines whether there is probable cause to believe the child engaged in delinquent conduct. If so, then the juvenile

is generally detained by law enforcement and placed in juvenile detention at the Juve-nile Justice Center. The case is simultaneously referred to the District Attorney’s Office where formal charges are filed. The Juvenile Court generally detains the juvenile until they are satisfied that the juvenile can be properly supervised in the community by their parent or guardian. In appropriate cases the juvenile is placed in a treatment facility. In the majority of these cases the District Attorney’s Office and the juvenile’s attorney come to an agreement that involves the juvenile getting any necessary counseling or treatment, performing community service, and supervision by a juvenile probation officer.

The purpose of the prosecution of these cases is to protect the public while also doing what is in the best interest of the juvenile offender. The juvenile justice department has resources that can help address the individual needs of juveniles and help prevent future delinquent conduct.

Students should be encouraged to continue to report any threats of violence or weap-ons on campus. Often, students that commit these offenses are in need of help so students should also be educated regarding counseling or other resources that the schools provide before they resort to delinquent conduct.

Educating students and parents that school threats can involve serious legal consequences

DICKINSON DIALOGUE NOVEMBER 2018SC

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A Facility Evacuation is when the students and staff are required to exit the building. (Example: Fire (not for drills) or Gas Leak)

Employees

• Principalmakesschool-widean-nouncement

• EmailfromESCtoallemployees• Off-siteDHSstudentswillbe

notifiedtoremainoffcampus• Transportationnotified• Printoutletter/scriptforESC

frontdesk

Parents• District-widetext,call,email• District-widetext,call,email

whenissueisresolved.• Forreunifications,

furthercommunicationwillbemadeforlocationandtimes

• PublicInformationOfficewillpostinformationondistrictsocialmediaandwebsite

Students

• Principalmakesschool-wideannouncement

Media

• PublicInformationOfficesendsemailtomediaoutlets

• Respondtomediainquiriesasneeded

Hold: In your classroom. Clear the halls. (Example: Non-emergency reasons, such as disruption in the front office, a fight in the hallway or completion of campus-wide assessments)

A School Threat is a verbal or written threat to cause harm to the school and shared via the larger school community. (Example: A written or verbal threat, including one posted to social media.)

Employees

• Principalemailtostaffwithscripttoshareifneeded

Parents• Respondtoparentinquiresas

needed

Students


Media


Employees


• EmailfromESCtoallemployees• Printoutletter/scriptforESC

frontdesk

Parents• District-widetext,call,email

dependingonthenatureandseverityofthethreat

• Additionaldistrict-widetext,call,email,ifadditionalfollow-upisnecessary

• Forreunifications,furthercom-municationwillbemadeforlocationandtimes


Students

• Teacherswillcommunicatewithstudentsasneeded

• Principalmaymakeanannouncementifneeded

Media


Dickinson ISD Emergency Communications

Dickinson ISD is partnering this school year with Gaggle to keep students safe when they use G Suite for Education from Google. Dickinson ISD will use Gaggle Safety Management for G Suite to further promote student and educator productivity in a safe and controlled environment.

Gaggle Safety Management combines technology with expert Safety Repre-sentatives, who review content 24/7 to assure students are safe. Gaggle identifies inappropriate words and images in Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs and more. Trained professionals then apply consistent, school- or district-approved policies for positive intervention, alerting school officials if there is an imminent threat to a student.

“Gaggle is one of several measures Dickinson ISD is implementing this school year to make our schools safer for students and staff,” said Robert Cobb, Assistant Superintendent for Administration.

DISD and Gaggle partner to monitor student safety with online resources

Dickinson ISD has contracted with Social Sentinel to provide social media monitoring. They will monitor our area’s social media for threats, suicide ideation and bullying by assessing public posts to determine if they contain harmful lan-guage. The assessment is based on a library of more than a half million behavioral threat indicators developed by experts in mental health, public safety, security, linguistics and data science. The library continually evolves and adapts to address changes in language and expression. The system is also designed to recognize the context in which the words were used .

Social Sentinel will notify specific Dickinson ISD personnel when this infor-mation is identified. The administrators will then work together with the district’s school liaison offers to investigate the information and determine if disciplinary action is necessary.

Social Sentinel assisting with school safety through social media monitoring


Dickinson ISD Emergency CommunicationsSH

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Lockout: Get inside. Lock outside doors.(Example: Law enforcement notification regarding a police search for burglary suspect or law enforcement serving arrest warrant in the area.)

Employees

• PrincipalnotifiesESCandemailsallstaff.


• TransportationDepartmentnoti-fied

• Printoutletter/scriptforESCfrontdesk

Parents• Call,emailandtexttocampus

parentsthatlockoutisineffectforprecautionarymeasuresonly

• Call,emailandtexttocampusparentsonceissueisresolved

• Furthernotificationifendofdaydismissalisinvolved

Students


• Reminderfromteacheroflockoutprocedures

• Off-siteDHSstudentswillbenotifiedtoremainoffcampus

Media


Shelter is used for a hazard that would require implementation of a safety strategy. (Example: A chemical plant release at a nearby refinery or a reported tornado in the area.)

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Lockdown: Locks, lights, out of sight. (Example: Aggressive intruder/active shooter on campus)

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• PublicInformationOfficewillemailinformationtoalldistrictemployees

• Printoutletter/scriptforESCfrontdesk

Parents• District-widecall,textand

emailtoparentsandpostingondistrictsocialmediaandwebsite

• Updatedinformationsentviacalls,text,email,socialmediaandwebsiteasnewinformationbecomesavailable

• InitiateReunificationprotocolandcommunication,ifnecessary

• Parentmeetingtoreviewincident,answerquestions,ifneeded

Students


• Off-siteDHSstudentswillbenotifiedtoremainoffcampus

Media

• PublicInformationOfficesendsemailtomediaoutlets


• Prepareformediatobeatthesiteandforpressconference

Employees


• EmailfromESCtoallemployees• Printoutletter/scriptforESC

frontdesk

Parents• District-widetext,call,email• District-widetext,call,email

whenissueisresolved• Forreunifications,further

communicationwillbemadeforlocationandtimes


Students

• Teacherswillcommunicatewithstudentsasneeded

• Principalmaymakeanannouncementifneeded

Media• Respondtomediainquiriesas

needed

Dickinson High School is using time during Navigator class this year to teach students about character development and social/emotional learning skills through a new “CharacterStrong” curriculum. Navigator is a 25-minute class every Wednesday morning, which is basically a homeroom period for students to get important school information through Gator Nation News plus an opportunity for the teachers to talk to students about other important topics, such as character education.

The “CharacterStrong” curriculum was built by teachers for other teachers to easily use in classes. Lessons include character development, developing meaningful relationships, community building, cultivating growth mindsets and more. The stu-dents learn about character dares, which are practical challenges for the students to put their character into action as well as the eight essentials of character -- patience, kindesss, humility, respects, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty and commitment.

“CharacterStrong” curriculum started at DHS through Navigator class

Several Dickinson ISD schools are promoting respect throughout the campus by becoming “No Place for Hate” designated campuses. The “No Place for Hate” initiative is a program of the Anti-Defamation League and provides educators and students with the resources to ensure that anti-bias and diversity education are an integral part of the school curriculum.

Bay Colony Elementary is just one example of the Dickinson ISD campuses very involved in the program and was recognized recently with Counselor Amy Cmaidalka earning the Walter Kase Educator Excellence Award for her commitment to integrating the “No Place for Hate” program at the school. She has incorporated the program into character traits of the month, daily announcement, school assem-blies and character building activities blended into rotation like physical education, music, art, library and technology.

“No Place for Hate” program in place at several Dickinson ISD campuses


Excellence and Equity in Education

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDDICKINSON, TX 77539

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DICKINSON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTIf you need this information in an alternate format, please contact the Public Information Office at 281-229-6080.

Si necesitan esta información en una forma alternative, favor de llame a la oficina de información pública al numero 281-229-6080.

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The Internet is a powerful tool that is so new we do not know the eventual consequences of its’ use. What we have learned is the permanence of information posted online and the ability for individuals to hide behind a screen, using this tool to potentially harm others. Cyberbullying, Cyberstalking, Human Trafficking and Identity Theft are common issues that arise due to unsafe network activity. Educating Dickinson ISD students to be safe when utilizing the Internet is a key component of the DISD Technology Applications lessons. Students (and adults) must remember that anything placed online becomes a tattoo that is very difficult to remove. Screenshots of posts may be taken and shared even if the original post has been deleted. Colleges and employers have divisions within their organization to research the online activity of applicants. Scholarships and jobs have been lost due to information found online, even very old posts.

Cyberbullying, sexting and transmission of inappropriate content are potentially dangerous activities that students can easily become involved with if not adequately educated and monitored. Cyberbullying includes any activity that is “mean-spirited” and often posted anonymously. Sexting involves the sending of explicit photos or words via text message and depending on the severity of the offense, the persons involved and the number of incidences, can be prosecuted under the law. Being aware of online and texting activity of our children is critical to protecting them. As chil-dren grow into adolescence they are more likely to be vulnerable to individuals who are looking to groom children for dangerous activity including but not limited to the transmission of drugs, pornography and sex trafficking.

In order to help protect children from potentially dangerous online behavior there are monitoring applications that can be installed on devices. Some of these apps are free, others have nominal monthly fees but allow parents/guardians to view and con-trol a variety of levels of activity on internet enabled devices. Vault Apps are

Protecting children online must be a team effort -- schools and parentsapplications students download onto their cell phones to hide text messaging apps, photo albums and other applications. These Vault Apps typically appear to be a calculator app but have a small lock icon on the keypad.

Privacy is no longer the given that many of us are accustomed to having. One of the teaching tools that Dickinson ISD will be using with students and staff includes an online module that teaches what information can be found in six simple clicks online about a person. Depending on the number of applications a person uses, the level of security on each application and the type of information shared, this training shows how quickly a predator could learn information about a young person that would make them an easy target.

In Dickinson ISD students are provided lessons regarding online safety, responsible use of the Internet and appropriate communication techniques. District software ensures (Children’s Internet Protection Act) CIPA compliance through monitoring of all district web traffic as well as 24/7/365 monitoring and alerting of school provided Google Drives and Google Email.

Protecting our children online must be a team effort. When parents/guardians and the schools work together we are more likely to help grow our children into responsible adults and keep them safe along the path to adulthood.

by Dr. Melissa Williams-ScottExecutive Director

of Information Systems

Resources to help parents monitor their children’s online activity

• MM Guardian Parental Control app• Family 360 app• Open DNS by Cisco• “Our Pact” - www.ourpact.com• Linking iPhone accounts to another device such as an iPad.

These are not endorsed by Dickinson ISD but are reasonably priced options that can be useful.

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