Dear BSD Community,

Over the past week, I have received numerous phone calls, emails, and text messages from stakeholders seeking my thoughts on the horrific tragedy that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school in Parkland, FL on Wednesday, February 14, 2018.  Students, parents, staff, quite frankly all of us, have many questions and concerns surrounding this latest incident.  How we can make a difference regarding safety in our own schools, state, and community?  What can we do in response to not only the most recent frightening, frustrating, and maddening event but to the continued pattern of school safety issues plaguing our nation? This message is meant to address those and other issues related to this event, our response and approach to it as a District, and where I stand as a Superintendent and parent. 

First and foremost, my prayers are with the family, friends, and classmates of the 17 students who were innocently gunned down at their school.  I cannot begin to imagine what such a loss feels like.  No parent should have to bury their child let alone to such a senseless act of violence.  In a country as wise, well resourced, and wealthy as ours, we have the wherewithal to minimize, if not eradicate, such horrific events.  It is a matter of will.  I believe our younger generation, our students, know and believe that as well as any.

Although I support the Second Amendment, I do not support access to weapons meant for war that allow people to harm others in great numbers.  I remain unconvinced that we, as a nation, cannot have sensible laws, regulations, and protocols that allow for responsible hunters, gun enthusiasts, and law-abiding Americans to own a firearm while responsibly prohibiting any and all firearms to those who are not mentally fit.  I believe we can be a nation whose citizens can responsibly own a firearm while also ensuring the safety of all of our citizens and of course our most valuable resource, our children.  If we cannot reach middle ground on this, shame on us.  Our young people get it and they are clearly and passionately expressing their expectations.  I applaud their efforts and know, having spent much time around them, they have the intellect and passion to push their issue and accomplish what they set out to.

Events are being planned across our nation by groups to express their strong desire for change.  I will work with all students in BSD and directly with identified student leaders, administrators, teachers, parents, and community leaders as necessary to ensure our students know they are supported.  Their right to peacefully and appropriately express their discontent will indeed be honored.  Students respect and appreciate being treated equitably and fairly.  They deserve it.  Thus, we, as a District, will plan accordingly with the safety and rights of all in mind.

In closing, I’ve been asked by many what they can do to help keep our children safe in schools.  I appreciate this outreach.  Here are some suggestions.  I have also included a few valuable links at the bottom of this message.

1. Stay closely connected to your children and their friends. If ever you feel uneasy about what could be a threat to our students and schools, report it to your principal, to me, or to the police. Be vigilant!  Tell your children to do the same; if they hear or see something that worries them, make sure they know that they should tell a trusted adult as soon as possible.
2. Discuss with your children, as appropriate, what basic actions can be taken in emergency situations. There are common sense best practices that children of all ages should know, including listening to adults for instructions, following those instructions, and staying calm and quiet. 
3. Demand to elected officials and leaders that these issues get addressed through sensible legislation, policies, and procedures. Hold those in authority accountable for the safety of our children.  Ensure when you vote at each election that you know where candidates stand on topics important to you.

The safety and well-being of our students, community, and nation deserve our best efforts always, and now is the time for us to stand together to make necessary changes. 

Sincerely,

Mark Holodick, Superintendent

State of Delaware https://governor.delaware.gov/school-safety/ 

National PTA https://www.pta.org/home/family-resources/safety/School-Safety

Federal Bureau of Investigation https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/addressing-school-violence

Ready.gov https://www.ready.gov/active-shooter

Sandy Hook Promise https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/promise/pages/42/attachments/original/1501693028/SHP_Know_the_Signs_Guide_2017.pdf?1501693028

A new Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, has become a hot topic among teens and tweens throughout the country.  The show is based on a novel in which a teenager commits suicide and leaves behind 13 audio tapes for people in her life that she says played a part in her decision to end her life.  With so many young people watching and talking about the show, or at the very least hearing about it from peers, it’s important that families are equipped with information and resources so that adults can talk to children about the series and the very serious topics presented in it.  As experts in child development and partners in your child’s well-being, we want to help.  Our fulltime staff includes school nurses, health teachers, counselors, psychologists, and social workers who undergo regular professional development and training to help them better identify and support students and families during challenging times.  Sadly, the school counselor in the program is not portrayed as supportive of the main character, and his response to her is woefully inadequate. 

Let me be perfectly clear.  We have no reason to believe that our District or schools are at an increased risk of suicides because of this program.  Rather, we want to present information to families so that they can have productive, meaningful conversations with their children about the show and the warning signs, risk factors, and consequences of suicide.  Here are some things to consider when watching or talking about 13 Reasons Why, along with links to more detailed articles and information.

1. Ask your child if they have seen or heard of the series. If they intend to watch it, tell them you want to watch it with them so that you can discuss their thoughts about it.  Engaging in thoughtful conversations about the show gives you an opportunity to help them process what they are seeing and hearing and, more importantly, to reinforce that suicide is not a solution to problems and help is available.

2. Be aware of these warning signs for suicide, and take them seriously.

• Suicide threats. These can be direct (I am going to kill myself) or indirect (I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up), and can be either verbal or written, including online.
• Preoccupation with death in conversation, writing, drawing, or online.
• Giving away prized possessions.
• Changes in behavior, appearance, hygiene, thoughts, mood, sleeping patterns, and eating habits.
• Emotional distress, loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, and withdrawal.
• Substance use or abuse.

3. Ask your child if they think any of their friends exhibit the warning signs above, and talk to them about seeking help for that person and not keeping the information secret – even if their friend asked them to.

4. Be knowledgeable about these myths and facts on this important topic.

• MYTH: Talking about suicide will make someone choose death by suicide.
• FACT: There is no evidence to suggest that talking about suicide plants the idea.
• MYTH: People who struggle with depression and mental illness are just weak.
• FACT: Depression and mental illness are serious health conditions and are treatable.
• MYTH: People who talk about suicide won’t really do it.
• FACT: People who are thinking about suicide, particularly young people, typically show warning signs as listed above. Always take a threat seriously.

5. If you are concerned about your child or one of their peers, seek help from a mental health professional, either within the school or in the community.

6. If a student or adult is struggling with thoughts of suicide, text START to 741741 or call 800-273-TALK or 911.

Most importantly, keep the lines of communication with your child open and contact us any time if you need support or assistance.  Below are links to more detailed information from the National Association of School Psychologists, SAVE, and Nemours.

http://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/preventing-youth-suicide/preventing-youth-suicide-tips-for-parents-and-educators

http://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/preventing-youth-suicide

http://go.kognito.com/rs/143-HCJ-270/images/PK12_Webinar_041117_13ReasonsWhyTalkingTips.pdf?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTldFeFl6VTNNekJqWXpsbCIsInQiOiJNMlBDeGdWOW82YmQ5d3RQM2duRXJGdG9ZSncyK2JkYVVmRjcwdVFrdms2dEtNY2V3Q21ETTFidXo2bnNiaTFxNk5CNTYrY0JybllKSjZBY1MyckU4Y0dTVzEyaVJlRHd5Y2h2RkRNWmFqV0N3Wmo2SFdncERSRlMzbU5Oc2JGUyJ9

https://blog.nemours.org/2017/04/13-things-consider-13-reasons/

Dear BSD Community, 

As you may know, the state is facing a significant budget shortfall this year.  As a result, public education is expected to take a $37 million cut in state funding.  While nothing will be finalized until the General Assembly passes the state budget on or before June 30, the preliminary recommendations and discussions equate to a $2.7 million cut to our BSD budget for the 2017-18 school year, not including potential cuts to transportation and healthcare. 

The Brandywine School District has an operating budget of $173 million.  This includes everything from payroll, transportation, and programming, to technology, books and supplies, utilities and everything in between.   With the anticipated cut in state funding, some belt tightening and tough decision making will need to occur.  Thanks to last year’s successful referendum and careful and deliberate planning by our District Finance Committee (DFC) and School Board, Brandywine is in a better position than some school districts; however, the looming state cuts will definitely have an impact.  We will work closely with the DFC and Board to make strategic decisions in anticipation of state funding cuts, including reductions to all department and school budgets, scale backs on personnel through attrition, and a close examination of all programs to ensure that they are providing maximum support for students’ academic success.  At this time, we do not anticipate any Reductions in Force (RIFs) this year.

We have been working with the District Finance Committee and Communications Work Group to communicate what we know and how it could impact BSD.  We also have begun meeting with the staff in each of our buildings to ensure they too are aware of the state’s budget challenges.  If you wish to take action, you can contact your state legislators and tell them that a strong educational system is important to you and important to our community.  If you’d like a sample email or phone script, please scroll down. 

While a $37 million hit to public education is certainly significant, BSD has a long history of responsible fiscal management.  As always, we will do everything we can to sustain programs that directly impact teaching and learning in order to best support continued student success.  We thank you for your continued support of our students, schools, and district.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Holodick, Ed.D., Superintendent

Jason S. Hale, Ed.D., CPA, Chief Financial Officer

SAMPLE PHONE CALL OR EMAIL TO LEGISLATORS

Hello, my name is _______________.  I am contacting you today to let you know that education funding is very important to me.  I know you have challenging decisions to make regarding the State’s budget, but I hope you will consider the value of a strong educational system.  Well-funded schools have a profound impact not only on preparing students for college and the workforce, but they also contribute to a community’s livability, quality of life, and property values.  As you and your colleagues finalize the State budget, I hope you will protect education funding to the extent you are able.  Thank you.

** If you are not sure who your elected representatives are, click here and enter your address (including zip code) in the box at the top right of the page where it says Who Is My Legislator? **

Dear BSD Community,

Happy New Year!  For most of our parents, this post will be a repeat of similar information we have shared through the years.  However, there are new families in our schools that may not know the process we use to make inclement weather decisions and communicate those decisions, so the information bears repeating.  And with the first potential snowfall coming tonight and early tomorrow morning, the timing is right for these reminders.

Our goal is to minimize interruptions to our school schedule. After all, it’s our job to educate your children, and we can’t do that effectively if they are not in school.  However, sometimes road conditions warrant a change to the schedule in the interest of keeping all children safe.  If the weather or road conditions are unsafe for our students, families, and staff, we will make every effort to alert our families as quickly as possible through several channels.

If you want the most updated information available, always check the BSD website first, specifically the yellow box on the homepage.   That is the first place we update, followed by the BSD Facebook page, Twitter feeds, state school closing website, and finally local media such as WDEL, WJBR, and Philadelphia tv stations.  While our Public Information Officer is handling those notifications, I am creating a phone message to go out to all families and staff as quickly as possible.  Finally, we send out an email notification to all subscribers to the Brandywine Briefings newsletter.  (Subscribe by sending an email to info@bsd.k12.de.us.)   You can also receive a text notification through Twitter, even if you don’t have a Twitter account.  Simply text the words Follow @BSDalerts to 40404, and you’ll be subscribed to receive texts.

If you are unsure what the conditions will bring in the morning and whether or not we will have school, I encourage you to simply load the BSD website and hit refresh to see what’s in the yellow box, as it will contain the most up-to-date information.  I typically try to make a decision about school closing by 5 or 5:30 a.m., although it can vary a bit depending on the timing of the storm. 

The rest of this post will explain how decisions are made, so if you’ve heard it all before you may want to skip ahead.  :)  When bad weather strikes, Assistant Superintendent Dorrell Green and several members of the District’s Facilities and Transportation Departments  are on the roads, in neighborhoods, and on school properties before, during, and after each storm.  They analyze the conditions and provide me with valuable information.  In addition, we work with other state agencies such as the Department of Transportation, Department of Education, and Delaware State Police, as well as our neighboring New Castle County school districts to make the most informed decisions possible when determining if and when to open schools.  Please keep in mind that even when main roads and school properties are clear, many side roads are still unpassable, sidewalks may be unavailable, and bus stops may still be unsafe.  We must consider all of our nearly 11,000 students and how they are transported to and from school when we make decisions about the school schedule. 

Closing school is not a decision that we take lightly.  Above all, we must consider the safety of our children.  Stay safe, stay warm, and let’s hope for a mild, dry winter!

Sincerely,

Mark A. Holodick, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Dear BSD Community,

At the start of the school year I wrote a blog piece titled “Feeling Hopeful” in which I addressed the importance of embracing our diversity and supporting one another for the greater good of all. I shared a personal story about empathy in action, emphasizing that acts of kindness matter. I was hopeful then, and I remain hopeful and optimistic now, that we, as a community, are continuing to move forward toward true equality and greatness for all.

Sadly, recent current events around the nation suggest that some people, and specific groups of people, have recently been the target of senseless acts of bigotry, inappropriate and offensive statements, and bullying. For us here in the Brandywine School District, as I hope it is throughout every other community in the nation, this is simply unacceptable. Not only does it fly in the face of both our school district’s and our community’s core values, it places all that we’ve worked for at risk. We must not forget that what makes us great is our diversity and the ability for all of us to live and work collectively and collaboratively toward common goals. This has always been, and will always be, Brandywine’s expectation and approach. We don’t always have the exact same ideas, beliefs, and opinions. We do, however, all want and expect every student and family to be respected, valued, appreciated, and cared for. Regardless of things such as economic status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or title, we all want and deserve to be treated with humility, justice, and empathy. This is the foundation of any great school and district. It is what allows for successful anti-bullying policies, initiatives, and programs to take root and have impact. I’ve said many times over that, as superintendent, I aspire to oversee schools where every student feels welcome, cared for, appreciated, safe, and valued. Every student should believe that they are our #1 customer and first priority. When a school culture is steeped in this philosophy, amazing social, emotional, and academic strides can be made. Brandywine’s reputation across the state is strong. I would argue that this is, in large part, due to the welcoming and supportive environment that we have worked so hard to cultivate and nurture.

I had the opportunity to witness this in person last night as I attended Mount Pleasant High School’s dress rehearsal of Peter/Wendy. As I watched, I saw students from different backgrounds, of different colors, genders, sexual orientation, and age working together to produce something magical for others to enjoy. They laughed with one another, were serious at times, and appeared to be living in the moment. They weren’t hanging out on social media ignoring each other, nor were they separated into small social groups or cliques. Rather, they were together, enjoying each other’s company while working together toward their common goal. It was completely evident that they were not concerned about socio-economic status, sexist stereotypes, or the racial divides that have dominated so much of the news recently. They were all one thing – students. It was truly enlightening and joyful to see. It was even better that I got to share it with my youngest daughter. She witnessed what I just described, and for this I am hopeful – hopeful that she will grow up in a community, and a nation, where we all treat each other with respect and kindness.

We have an opportunity right now to show others how it can, and should, be done. I encourage all of us, myself included, to look for both small and large ways in which we can reinforce our mission to make every person we encounter feel welcome and supported. There are actions that each of us can take that will make an immediate impact. With Thanksgiving upon us, it is the perfect time to share kind words, show compassion, and voice appreciation for everyone that makes up our wonderfully diverse community. If nothing else, spending time with our children and family keeps all of us grounded in what is truly important.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve met with a lot of different student groups. These groups include athletic teams, bands, students in leadership roles, and classes of students. While these various groups have different goals and intentions, they are very similar in at least one way. They are all made up of an incredibly diverse population of young people. The students who make up these groups come from different zip codes and different socio-economic backgrounds. They vary in skin color, religious beliefs, lifestyles, and ethnic backgrounds. Indeed they are a melting pot, a microcosm of our amazing community and nation. BSD, being a traditional public school district, welcomes and educates all who show up; there are no entrance exams, no interviews, and no selection criteria. Our students represent the entire community we serve as well as the world in which we live. I find this incredibly inspiring.

Talking with and watching these young people interact, support one another, and work collaboratively toward common goals has been uplifting and leaves me with tremendous optimism for our future. In many of my meetings, I spoke, rather frankly, with them about current events, many of which are disheartening, confusing, frustrating, tragic, and sad. Yet, I am hopeful because I have watched these young people consistently practice acceptance, respect for each other, and empathy. They care for, and about, each other and are more concerned with their similarities than their differences. They give me great hope, leading me to say to them that we, as adults, should model their behavior and actions and look for ways in which we can make connections with others, especially those who may be in need or could benefit from support or an act of kindness.

I saw that sort of empathy in action early yesterday. At 6:50 in the morning, I found myself waiting outside the Panera at Christiana Mall. The doors open at 7:00. I was grabbing coffee for myself and a colleague as we met there to carpool to Polytech High School in Dover for a meeting. I took the 10 minutes to make a work call and, as I was on the phone, a State Trooper pulled up. A few people were, like I was, waiting for Panera to open. One man, who appeared to be homeless, was sitting alone on a bench. As the doors to Panera opened and I was ending my call, the Trooper exited his car and discreetly said something to the man, and off they walked away together. After hanging up, I went in to purchase my coffee and saw the Trooper buying the man a coffee and breakfast. As the officer walked past me near the back of the shop, I couldn’t resist and asked, “Pardon me, did you just buy that gentleman breakfast?” The Trooper responded, “Yeah, I know what it’s like to be hungry,” and off he went. He appeared embarrassed that someone had noticed.

Witnessing this, I felt that sense of hope again, knowing what a huge impact small acts of kindness can have. As we start the school year and enter an election season that is already full of negativity and divisiveness, I hope and pray that we, as a community, look for ways to support one another and lift each other through acts of kindness, small and large. Thanks to our amazing BSD students who practice inclusiveness and empathy every day, as well as this State Trooper, today I am especially hopeful!

Dear BSD Community,

In less than a week, all of our schools will be filled with children and young adults engaged in activities that help them learn, grow, and prosper. It is an enormous responsibility for all of us who work in BSD, but more importantly it is a great privilege. Helping young people become their best selves is why my colleagues and I became educators.

In addition to a rigorous curriculum and outstanding instruction, one of the best ways we can ensure student success is through safe and positive learning environments. Through innovative and proactive programs such as No Bully, Responsive Classroom, and Positive Behavior Support, we are working hard to address and support the social and emotional needs of all students. Parents can help us in this work by reinforcing expectations at home. Establishing deadlines, instituting routines, modeling good behavior, and setting goals at home can transfer to students’ maximizing their learning at school. Similarly, ensuring that students have completed their homework, eaten healthy foods, and gotten enough sleep sets them up for success at school and in life.

I hope all of you have had a relaxing summer and have had many opportunities to create memories with family, friends, and loved ones. We look forward to welcoming all of our students back on August 29th and 30th so that we can create new school-year memories with them as well.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Holodick, Ed.D.
Superintendent

P.S. In a few days, I will be posting a short video to our website and social media sites. The video contains an important message about where we are and where we need to go with respect to technology and its impacts on the learning environment within all of our schools, PK-12. Technology is an important aspect of our District Success Plan and warrants attention, discussion, and input from all stakeholders. Indeed technology is a rapidly changing environment. Navigating it successfully to best benefit our students requires dialogue and collaboration with everyone. I hope you will watch the video when it is posted, and I look forward to further discussions on this topic.

A Guest Post by BSD's IT Department

The Brandywine School District, to save money and support hours, relies on Delaware’s Department of Technology and Information (DTI) to handle both our CIPA-compliant Firewall needs, as well as email filtering. This allows BSD's IT staff to concentrate on more important matters, such as keeping on-site IT infrastructure operational and putting devices in the hands of teachers and students for educational purposes.

Unfortunately, this means we are also beholden to DTI’s policies and decisions on matters relating to these two services they provide, which sometimes generates problems such as the current blocking of some emails to the State. Ultimately, DTI is also responsible for safeguarding the networks of the Divisions of Revenue (Taxes), Department of Transportation, and the Department of Justice in addition to ours. Since email is a common attack vector, they must act in a manner that safeguards our most sensitive information, given that a majority of the email they handle goes to State agencies that are not the Brandywine School District. They have to remember that if the Division of Revenue or the Department of Transportation are hacked, the State would be on the hook for millions of dollars of identity theft. Many hackers are associated with harder criminals as well, supporting them in their activities, so the Department of Justice is equally at risk. A hack of those systems could result in wrongful convictions from tampered digital evidence, or criminals going free because the only digital evidence of the crime was lost – not to imply that it would be easy to do so, but getting malware onto that network would be the first step.

The reason some emails are getting dropped by the State email firewall is because two of Gmail’s servers sent so many spam, phishing, and malware emails that they were flagged by several email server trust lists as “do not receive from.”  The scoring our State’s email firewall rule goes from -10 to +10, with -10 being the worst possible score. Normally, Gmail is in the positives, but right now these two specific servers are sitting with a -10. With -10, the email gets dropped instead of filtered.

Ultimately, there is no a silver bullet solution here. DTI has two bad choices: 1) they weaken their network protection by letting two email servers that are KNOWN to be spreading malware to send messages to State recipients and increase the potential for a virus outbreak on the network, decreasing the security around systems that contain sensitive personal data, or 2) they leave it as-is and allow the mail server’s owner time to clean up the reputation of those servers and add additional protections onto those systems so that they don’t send these kinds of emails in the future. Even though the flagged servers are from Google, DTI must respond appropriately and thoroughly to protect the integrity of the State's email system.

Delaware has opted to be cautious since we know the cost if something bad gets on our network.  DTI is still working to resolve this, both by contacting Google directly to let them know what is up, as well as by leveraging the various groups who use Google as their organization’s email service to contact Google to put additional pressure for a speedy resolution. Unfortunately, there is no way for us in BSD to know the timeline for when Google will fix their community trust issue.

It is important to note that this is not the first time this has happened with a major email distributor. Comcast, for a while, enjoyed similar infamy in the email community. They eventually fixed the issue, restored the online trust, and were allowed yet again to send to mail servers running on Delaware’s network.

We appreciate your continued patience as the State and Google work to resolve this issue, and we will be sure to post updates as they are available.

Dear BSD Community,

You might think summer is a quiet, relaxed time for a school district. After all, school's out so there's not much going on, right? Well, in actuality summer is a very busy time for school districts.

Right now in BSD, students and staff are busy in several programs. We have an Extended School Year (ESY) program for eligible students with special needs occurring at Harlan Elementary School, Hanby Elementary School, and P.S. duPont Middle School. More than 200 students from across BSD are enrolled and receiving a full range of services. For the third year, Harlan is also hosting a Summer Enrichment program for 60 students. These students are receiving math and reading interventions and are participating in extracurricular activities such as gardening, poetry, art, and science clubs.

STEM Camp took place in mid-July and was another big success. More than 85 students participated in grade-appropriate camps at Brandywine High School, learning about computer programming, robotics, environmental science, engineering, and much more.

We are proud to offer a new radio camp opportunity at WMPH this year, thanks to a grant from the Delaware Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. And of course credit recovery courses are ongoing for students in middle and high school who were unsuccessful in earning course credit during the school year.

That's not all, though. Our facilities crews are hard at work to prepare buildings and grounds for the start of a new school year. Here is just a partial list:

- The Mount Pleasant High School track rehabilitation is complete. Small gym renovations in final stage, and a school-wide water fountain replacement is in its final stage. Also at Mount, the main hallway ADA project is ongoing, as is a project to replace the railings in the stairwells. Locker room and fitness room work is nearly complete.

- The nurse's office at Mount Pleasant Elementary is in the process of being renovated.

- Maple Lane Elementary is receiving work on its HVAC system, as well as parking lot improvements.

- The generator at Claymont Elementary School is being replaced.

- New sidewalks are being installed at Harlan Elementary School and P.S. duPont Middle School.

- Roof work is being done at Talley Middle School.

There is more, of course, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what summertime is like in BSD. I hope all of you are staying cool and enjoying time with loved ones!

Sincerely,

Mark A. Holodick, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Dear BSD Community,