 | | | Group breakfast/work session, from left: Orinda Union School District Superintendent Joe Jaconette, Lafayette School District Superintendent Fred Brill, Acalanes Union High School District Superintendent John Nickerson, and Moraga School District Superintendent Bruce Burns. Photo Sophie Braccini
| | | | | | For the first time, the Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda Union School Districts pooled resources to finance a new position: the Child Safety Awareness Coordinator, who when hired will teach children in the three districts about bullying, sexual harassment and child abuse prevention. This is a vast domain, but the coordinator will not start from scratch; the fourth partner and hiring agency for the project is the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County that already has some of the material and will help complete the curriculum.
"It was a recommendation of our Safety Committee last July to find a curriculum addressing child safety and teach it in our district's classrooms," said Moraga School District Superintendent Bruce Burns. "The committee reviewed several programs, including Kid Power, that were interesting, but did not address all we wanted to cover, so we decided that we would have to create our own."
Superintendents from Lamorinda districts regularly meet to exchange ideas. "This is a place where we share best practices and challenges and tap into the expertise of the group," says Lafayette School District Superintendent Fred Brill. "This is a very collaborative group. This is where the idea of a cooperative took shape and Joe (Jaconette - Orinda School District Superintendent) and I thought it would be beneficial for both our districts to teach safety to the children."
Each superintendent came back with the idea and presented it to their boards, and each of the 15 different board members agreed to support the hiring of a coordinator.
"When we revised our strategic plan last year, one of the priorities was character and wellness," said Brill. "We are not only teaching to the test score, we also want to support the development of socially, emotionally, and ethically well-balanced individuals." Each board agreed that economy of scale made sense and signed a memorandum of understanding that included that the curriculum would be approved by each district's curriculum director.
Burns contacted Carol Carillo from the Child Abuse Prevention Council who had been working with the Moraga School District in the wake of the Kristen Cunnane case and had advised the district on staff, teacher and parent training; she was ready to help.
"The idea is to develop best practices and tools that will help make sure that the children are safe," said Carillo. "We are very happy that the school districts will pay for the development of this curriculum. The new coordinator will also conduct sessions for parents; it is important that they and their children share the same language about prevention. This is the way to get communities together and foster a culture of safety for all."
The plan is that the coordinator will start teaching a pilot program before the end of the school year and will have a complete syllabus starting in the fall. "The coordinator will teach all students in first, third, fifth and seventh grades in Lamorinda's three school districts," said Burns. The full-time position is funded for two and a half years. The coordinator will be chosen mid-March.
"In the long run this will protect the children, and that's what we all want," concluded Carillo.
|
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA