ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) – Wednesday is the first day of school for more than 18,000 students in the Rowan-Salisbury School System.
Rowan-Salisbury and Kannapolis City Schools are among the systems in North Carolina with the earliest starting days this year, defying state law in the process.
This year, the superintendent said it’s all about experiences. She is encouraging teachers to create what she said are “one-of-a-kind experiences” for students that will enhance learning beyond the classroom.
Dr. Kelly Withers was a longtime teacher, and administrator, assistant superintendent, and was named Rowan-Salisbury superintendent in August of last year. She called the first day of school one of the most exciting days of the year.
“So you’re always excited about the first day of school, so much fun,” she said. “Just laying out your clothes, getting ready, and it’s no different as a superintendent, it’s just good to see the students, the energy around school, so the first day of school is a new beginning.”
Aside from the first-day excitement, schools have a lot of responsibility, especially when it comes to keeping kids safe. For teachers and staff, safety is one of the highest priorities.
That’s why the district’s administrators sat in on a special session hosted by the State Bureau of Investigation ahead of the first day of school.
Run by the SBI’s BeTA, or behavioral threat assessment, unit, the agents told administrators what to look out for regarding the behavior of students. The signs might indicate that they could act out in some way that could be harmful.
Several agents made the presentation. It was the first such presentation made by the SBI to a public school system, but they plan on visiting many more systems. Their message is that if they can work in partnership with school administrators, they may be able to recognize trouble before it’s too late.
”I think having the SBI here generally gives it a little bit of credibility,” Withers said. “You sit up a little taller listening to their expertise on the topics, but it really allowed our staff to think about students and how we meet students and proactively work to prevent acts of violence or prevent mental health crisis for our students.”
The SBI said the primary purpose of threat assessment is the prevention of targeted violence.
Agents hope the presentation gave administrators a good understanding of how to make assessments on potential violence, and what to do in case they think violence is a possibility.
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