Candidates for Lynn School Committee in this year’s municipal election were asked to share their views on school safety, specifically in response to this question:
Given the recent incidences of violence in the community, safety in the community is naturally on the minds of Lynn residents. Please share your thoughts on school safety specifically addressing the following:
- Your understanding of current school safety related issues
- Your views on school discipline including the use of out of school suspensions and the implementation of restorative discipline
- How you think social, economic and/or political issues factor into current issues around community safety and violence
- Your stance on protective sweeps and/or school resource officers
- Anything else you would like to share on this issue
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Incumbent school committee member, Eric Dugan, provided the following response:
School safety is an issue that is very important to me. Our students MUST feel safe at school and our educators MUST feel safe at work. Without safety, the already very difficult jobs of learning and educating become nearly impossible. Safety is more than just curbing violence in our schools but also social emotional safety. Our historically marginalized students must feel connected to their schools and they must feel that their emotional needs are being met by the adults and peers. When they are not, it is an unsafe situation. I believe the increase in social workers in our schools, which the current school committee approved will help with this over time.
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That being said, school discipline is important. I believe traditional discipline like suspensions are warranted at times. Unsafe behavior in our schools whether that be bullying or violent behavior can't be tolerated. However, current research also tells us that restorative practice discipline is also something that we need to implement in our schools. Keeping children out of a cycle of suspension and or negative interactions with the school staff and administrators is important. Restorative practices and really trying to get at the root of the problem of these students is critical in getting them moving in a more positive direction.Also, our special education students are currently being disciplined at a much higher rate than our general education students. So we need to make sure that we are meeting the needs of each student and being sure that student IEPs accommodations are being met. Being in compliance with these legal documents is critical prior to any disciplinary action.In general I think it is very important that the students are very aware of the behavior expectations of the schools. The adults need to be reminding students about these expectations. Some of the schools implement the PBIS model and I think more should. This is when students are aware of expectations and positive reinforcement is the priority. This is a research based method that does have effects on students behavior. They are rewarded for being "caught" doing the right thing, and positive interactions are at the forefront of the relationships between staff and students. This also helps to build relationships with staff and students. Students need to have a go to adult in each building that they are in throughout the educational journey. I know our educators work everyday to build these relationships, but they need the support of administrators with policies that help facilitate these relationships. All of these things will help to do a better job building pride in our schools. If students are happy with the schools, if they feel happy and safe in those schools, they are more likely to behave in a more appropriate way.Recently we (the current school committee) unanimously voted to allow our superintendent to implement the practice of protective sweeps. There is still work to do in terms of what implementation will look like, but I am in support of this practice and policy. One of the most important jobs of a school administrator is to make the school that they are in charge of safe. I believe it is my job on the school committee to give the administrators tools that will help with this. I firmly believe that this new policy does just that. I have attached a copy of the policy. I would encourage people to read it and find out what this policy does and does not do. There is a lot of misinformation out there (POLICY JIH (Protective Sweeps). The other aspect I support is having SRO's (school resource officers) in our secondary schools.I believe these jobs can help create a positive relationship between our students and our officers. Currently the school committee has budgeted for those positions, however only one at Lynn English is filled.
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For more on Dugan’s candidacy:
- Email --- edugan3533@gmail.com
- Cell — 781-640-8284
- Facebook — Eric Dugan Lynn School Committee
- Website --- tinyurl.com/Ericforlynn
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Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, November 7th!
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