Celebrating SROs: National School Resource Officer Day
School Resource Officers (SRO) perform many roles within their schools. In addition to providing safety and security for students and staff, SROs serve as role models, teachers, counselors, friends, and so much more to the students they interact with daily.
An SRO is another adult with whom students can build rapport, seek advice, and talk to when help is needed. By interacting with students every day, SROs can build positive relationships with students and help to promote a climate of safety in the school. SROs work hand in hand with school administrators to help create a safe, inviting learning environment.
In recognition of National School Resource Officer Day (January 9), we salute Montgomery County Schools’ director of school law enforcement, Chris Barrier.
Chris was instrumental in building the partnership between KASA and the Kentucky Association of School Resource Officers (KyASRO). The KASA/KyASRO partnership brings school administrators and school resource officers together as a cohesive team working together for the safety and success of all students. In an interview, Chris stated “I consider being an SRO my life’s work. I could be a police officer anywhere but being a police officer in schools with the ability to impact kids gives my work purpose and fulfillment.”
For his work, Chris was presented KASA’s first Telescopic Star Award at the Annual Leadership Institute this past July. The award signifies his visionary leadership. Learn more about Chris and the award in this article written by KASA Executive Director Rhonda Caldwell, Ed.D.
Be sure to recognize the SROs in your district. And, invite them to attend the KASA Annual Leadership Institute with your administrative team, July 28-30 in Louisville.
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In a year of directives, expectations, guidance, recommendations and unprecedented change, it is easy to forget that some things have remained the same. And foremost among things that have remained the same are processes and timelines that apply to personnel decisions all school districts must make each spring. The pandemic has not altered the need to be thorough, accurate and timely in addressing routine year-end personnel matters.
KASA will again this year offer a free webinar to all KASA members covering these annual personnel procedures. The "Personnel Essentials" webinar will take place on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021, from 2-5 pm Eastern/1-4 Central time.
I will cover all of the routine annual steps districts need to take to address personnel assignments for the upcoming school year, from non-renewal to reassignment to demotions. You won't want to miss this opportunity to reacquaint yourself with these important and mandatory processes and deadlines. Registration information is coming your way soon.
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The role of school leader has never been more challenging and the need for up-to-date relevant training has never been more important.
As an administrator, you must use every minute and dollar wisely, especially when it comes to your own professional growth. It’s time for professional learning to become more personalized, more efficient, and ultimately more effective. You need specific information, you need easy access, you need EILA credit, and you need it Now!
With Kentucky administrators in-mind, KASA, The School Leaders Association, offers 2021 KASA Now! live event series and the KASA EILA Resource Center (ERC).
LIVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENTS
KASA Now! provides access to live, 90-minute virtual professional development events scheduled with the nation’s most respected educational experts without the travel costs associated with most professional learning of this quality. Each event provides EILA credit will be recorded and added to the KASA Now! EILA Resource Center (ERC) for later access if live viewing is not possible.
KASA EILA RESOURCE CENTER (ERC)
The ERC, formerly known as the Online Resource Library, contains a rich menu of professional learning topics for viewing at your convenience. All video sessions come with EILA certification and provide an efficient way to meet the just-in-time professional learning needs of today’s growth minded leader.
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Does your school/district have students who are working to give back to the community in which they live? Or maybe, they have expanded their reach to include the global community. If so, please encourage them to apply for one of Kentucky Association of School Administrator’s (KASA) Student Impact Grants.
This grant program enables recipients to unlock classrooms and accelerate learning into real world, project-based applications. Research continues to show that our students care deeply for and about giving back, and so our grant program focuses on student learning that contributes positively to communities, either locally or globally.
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