Menu
Scott County R-4 School District now has certified school safety specialist
BENTON, Mo. — Sgt. Lee Dodd of the Scott County R-4 “Kelly” School District has received certification as a school safety specialist.
Dodd attended the recent School Safety Academy hosted by Missouri School Boards’ Association’s Center for Education Safety. The event was held July 25-27 in Jefferson City and is designed to train and certify school safety coordinators in comprehensive school safety planning and development.
“The safety and security of our students and staff is top priority,” said Superintendent Dr. Bradley Kolwyck. “We are blessed to have Sgt. Dodd on our staff. He is dedicated to continuously improving the processes and protocols for the district to ensure the best practices are utilized.”
School safety personnel from 64 school systems throughout the state attended the academy at no cost to local school districts.
“It’s essential that students, teachers and staff are in a safe learning environment,” Center for Education Safety Director Amy Roderick said. “Schools must have processes and protocols in place and have trained staff to respond accordingly to ensure our students can focus on learning.”
Topics at the School Safety Academy included support systems for behaviors, legal aspects of school safety, trauma-informed schools and mental health resources, intervention and de-escalation, emergency preparedness and plan building, behavioral risk and threat assessments, and cyber security fundamentals and more.
The CES School Safety Academy includes the basic training needed to certify school safety coordinators with plans to expand to more advanced training and certification as the program builds over the coming years.