Local school DASA coordinators get ‘refresher’ at Herkimer BOCES Safety Services workshop

Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Safety Services recently conducted a Dignity for All Students Act refresher workshop to support local school DASA coordinators with their efforts to protect student dignity.

Kellie Maxwell, the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports coordinator and DASA and Crisis Prevention Intervention instructor for Herkimer BOCES Safety Services, facilitated the workshop along with some guest speakers.

Maxwell emphasized that along with investigating DASA complaints, school officials also are aiming to improve school culture and reduce incidents.

The end-goal of DASA is essentially to eliminate bullying and harassment because the climate has changed, there is dignity for all and everyone is respectful, Maxwell said. Although 100 percent accomplishing that is not realistic, it can be the challenge that schools strive to conquer, she said.

“We want an environment that honors dignity,” she said.

The New York State Education Department defines DASA as seeking to “provide the state’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.”

The DASA coordinator refresher workshop took place on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Central Valley Academy in Ilion. Herkimer BOCES component district DASA coordinators such as principals, school counselors, school social workers, school nurses and others attended either the morning or afternoon session. Herkimer BOCES Safety Services offer a refresher workshop annually.

In addition to Maxwell’s presentation, there were guest speakers to talk about restorative practices and legal aspects of DASA. Melissa Snyder, director of prevention and recovery services for Catholic Charities of Herkimer County, presented “Changing the School Climate through Restorative Practices.” Kristine Kiper and Kimberly Koch, school attorneys and labor relations specialists for the Madison-Oneida BOCES Labor Relations and Policy Office, presented “DASA Law and the Investigation Process.”

DASA refresher

At the beginning of Maxwell’s presentation, she asked the attendees to write down on dry erase boards the number of years they have been DASA coordinators, and some of them have been in the role since DASA was implemented statewide in 2012.

Maxwell also asked them to write down the approximate number of DASA investigations they completed or assisted in and then the number of complaints that were founded. Maxwell and attendees discussed that a small percentage of complaints end up being determined as founded but that all complaints need to be looked into.

“You should still investigate because you never know what you’ll find out,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell spoke about many aspects of the DASA investigation process such as interpreting complains, determining if complaints are about bullying or conflicts, examining the clarity of offensiveness in the complaint from blatant to ambiguous and from unintentional to deliberate, remaining impartial and being thorough throughout an investigation, reminding yourself that you can respect someone and still give out consequences to hold the person accountable and looking for teachable moments.

Guest speakers

The “DASA Law and the Investigation Process” presentation by Kiper and Koch reviewed the purpose and key elements of DASA and the roles and responsibilities of DASA coordinators. Other topics discussed included best practices in responding to and logging reports, the investigative process and fact-finding, documenting conclusions and reporting requirements and corrective responses and protective actions.

During Snyder’s “Changing the School Climate through Restorative Practices” presentation, she said restorative practices focus on repairing harm, accepting responsibility, making changes and building a culture of respect.

“What we’re trying to do with restorative practices is build a foundation of preventative measures to reduce the need for punitive measures,” she said. “So we’re looking at behavior that may be causing an issue and how to change it to try to prevent further issue.”

Snyder discussed many aspects of restorative practices including preventing issues through relationships and respect, resolving issues through responsibility and repair and transforming the situation through the reintegration of students who have been separated from an environment. She also talked about some of the methods used during restorative practices such as conferences, mediation and circle discussions. She concluded her presentation by conducting a circle discussion with attendees about their takeaways from the presentation and how they were feeling.

Kellie Maxwell presenting DASA coordinator refresher workshop in auditorium at Central Valley

Kellie Maxwell, the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports coordinator and Dignity for All Students Act and Crisis Prevention Intervention instructor for Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Safety Services, speaks to attendees during a DASA coordinator refresher workshop on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Central Valley Academy in Ilion.

Melissa Snyder, director of prevention and recovery services for Catholic Charities of Herkimer County, presents “Changing the School Climate through Restorative Practices” to attendees during a Dignity for All Students Act coordinator refresher workshop operated by Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Safety Services on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Central Valley Academy in Ilion.

Kristine Kiper (right, standing) and Kimberly Koch (left, sitting), school attorneys and labor relations specialists for the Madison-Oneida BOCES Labor Relations and Policy Office, present “DASA Law and the Investigation Process” to attendees during a Dignity for All Students Act coordinator refresher workshop operated by Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Safety Services on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Central Valley Academy in Ilion.

Kristine Kiper, a school attorney and labor relations specialist for the Madison-Oneida BOCES Labor Relations and Policy Office, speaks to attendees during a Dignity for All Students Act coordinator refresher workshop operated by Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Safety Services on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Central Valley Academy in Ilion.