Interview++with+Dan+Glass

__ Interview with Dan Glass __ __ June 18, 2010 __ Christy and I met with Mr. Glass to both interview him for this presentation and also as part of our internship in Central Office. Dan Glass is the Safety Coordinator for Russell County Schools. His job duties include: School safety Survey of safety concerns in schools Safety (whether custody, threat, etc…) Health issues and informing and educating staff and students Observations of teachers Policies of Russell County Schools (being online makes teachers and the school system to be more accountable) Conduct Code REMS- Readiness Emergency Medical System When we asked Mr. Glass about the county’s policy on Cyberbullying and Sexting, he showed us the policy in its entirety from the Russell County website which states: • ** P. THREATS AND BULLYING (18.2-60) ** • Students, either individually or as a part of a group, shall not harass or bully others. The following • conduct is illustrative of bullying: • • Physical intimidation, taunting, name calling, and insults. • • Comments regarding the race, gender, religion, physical abilities or characteristics of • associates of the targeted person. • • Falsifying statements about other persons. • Students who attempt to intimidate or bully other students by mode of dress, body decorations, verbal • threats or physical threats may be suspended, expelled, or placed in an alternative education program. • Students who threaten other students may also be reported to law enforcement officers and charged • with assault. If the threat is written, signed or unsigned, and contains a threat to kill or to do bodily • injury to an individual or member of his/her family, it is a Class 6 felony. If the communication is • oral and contains a threat to kill or do bodily harm to any employee and occurs on a school bus, • school property, or during a school-sponsored activity, it is a Class 1 misdemeanor He stated that the more clear and concise a policy is, the better protected the school system can be from litigation. However he also said that by being more specified on our policy it truly does “lock the county in to reacting a specific way across the board. He said these cases are handled on a case by case basis and due to the severity of the charges i.e…child pornography, sex offenders list for life, etc….a lot of courts don’t want to touch these cases unless they are extremely graphic or severe. Educators are concerned that being charged so severely will “brand a child for life” and would make those students be more likely to drop out and to FAIL when it comes to be an active member in society. We discussed different scenarios that have occurred in the county and how those cases were handled or “not handled” depending on the situation.