The school environment is safe and secure and students are equipped with the skills to confidently navigate their complex lives.
Goal: Advance a districtwide welcoming and affirming environment that values, represents and respects all individuals.
- Enders Road Elementary School students participated in an international initiative called Pinwheels for Peace. The project encourages students to use visual artwork and words to express feelings of respect, peace, tolerance and living in harmony.
- F-M students participated in “Chalk the Walk,” an initiative that promotes normalizing conversations surrounding mental health and wellness. Led by school building leaders and the district’s mental health educator, students chalked empowering and heartfelt messages of hope and encouragement on some of the district’s sidewalks, pavement and other spaces for all to see.
- Wellwood Middle School hosted its first Cultural Day to learn more about the diverse cultures within the school community. Students and their families were invited to the inaugural event to share their family’s culture and heritage. Experiential learning opportunities included performances, games and food sampling
Goal: Develop collaborative learning spaces and schedules that support student inquiry.
- Eagle Hill Middle School utilized homeroom to implement wellness activities that enhanced the school community and students’ individual expression. The school’s Character Education Committee and Pride Club, along with the school district’s mental health educator, led opportunities in small groups during homeroom to identify goals and positive messages to display throughout the building. Further, activities presented during students’ lunches reflected opportunities for peer collaboration and affirmation.
Goal: Provide social-emotional learning and counseling and mental health services to support the development of the whole child.
- The district partnered with Contact Community Services, an organization that specializes in social and emotional learning and provides training and consultation to support student mental health and wellness. In addition to offering wellness activities and training to the K-12 school community and families, the partnership includes providing the district with a full-time mental health educator.
- Virtual workshops focusing on mental health awareness and wellness were offered to F-M families. Three virtual sessions focused on topics such as anxiety, depression and suicide prevention.
- The district implemented the Behavior Intervention Monitoring Assessment System – Second Edition (BIMAS-2) in grades K through 12. This confidential and voluntary screening tool was adopted by the district’s mental health support team to help assess student social-emotional wellness, learning, and development, and help school officials make effective plans to meet students’ social emotional learning needs at the school, class and individual levels.
- New additions to the district’s therapy dog program brought the therapy dog count to twelve and each F-M school has at least one therapy dog. The district’s certified therapy dog program provides social-emotional support to students by helping with emotional regulation.
Goal: Monitor board-approved recommendations from the district Safety and Security Task Force.
- To evaluate the district’s physical security, as well as policies and practices related to safety, security and emergency preparedness, the district underwent a safety and security audit. The audit was conducted by Crisis Leadership Preparedness Solutions (CLPS), a professional security consulting firm that works with approximately 3,500 schools across 21 states, and True Security. A final written report of the audit included commendations for the safety and security improvements the district has implemented since its last audit five years ago, along with recommendations to assist district leaders in making future strategic safety improvements.
- During the 2022-23 school year, the district maintained its School Information and Resource Officer (SIRO) and Special Patrol Officer (SPO) program, which was expanded during the previous school year with the addition of four SPOs. The program also includes three SIROs so that each school campus has at least one assigned officer. Of the seven officers working with the district, the district’s SIROs are active duty Town of Manlius police officers assigned to serve the school district, and the four special patrol officers are peace officers hired by the town to serve the district.