Latest news with #schoolsafety
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
'Lack of coordination' responsible for delay in notifying staff and students about lead in school water
Deputy Minister of the N.W.T. department of Education of Culture and Employment says there was a lack of coordination between his department and other departments of the Northwest Territories. The department has reported elevated levels of lead in the drinking water at two Yellowknife schools. The levels were f irst detected on Jan. 22, but parents and staff were not notified until May 27. ECE deputy minister James Fulford says that has to do with poor communication and coordination within the territorial government. "There was a lack of coordination among my department, Education Culture and Employment, and other departments within the [Government of the Northwest Territories]," he said. Fulford said there will be an independent review to determine what went wrong and how to move forward. He said it's possible there has been lead in the water since before the testing but they don't know for how long. He said he expects the review should only take a week or two and that work is underway for that review to begin. Fulford said he doesn't know how much the review will cost. As a parent with a child in one of the school, he says he recognizes parents concerns and that the department is working to rebuild trust with parents, students and staff. "[The department] places the highest priority on health and safety of students and staff in schools," Fulford said. In a rare weekend press release, the territorial government cast doubt on the water test results. It said best practices were not followed, no outside experts were consulted, and that people with knowledge of water testing within the government were not consulted.
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Peterborough parents fight to save school lollipop patrols
Almost 500 people have signed a petition calling for crossing patrols near schools to be saved from a council's budget City Council announced cuts to crossing patrols at primary schools in Eye, Old Fletton, Newark Hill and Werrington to save money, leaving lollipop men and women authority said it was "one of a number of difficult decisions" that needed to be made in order to balance the petition has called for the decision to be reviewed as parents fear a child could be injured or killed if no action was taken. Kerri Deboo, a parent of a pupil at Werrington Primary School, said: "We're really worried about something happening to a child and feel there's been no robust decision making around it."Lisa Bryan had been helping children cross the road outside Eye Church of England Primary School in Peterborough for more than 26 years. She is one of four workers losing their Berry, another parent, said: "[An accident] is really now a matter of time. I know it sounds dramatic, but it is a 'when', not an 'if' now." 'Massive impact' Ms Bryan said the loss of the crossing patrols will have a "massive impact"."The traffic doesn't stop for me so what makes them think it will stop for parents, whether there is a zebra crossing or not. In the mornings, it's a fighting battle every day," she councillors previously used their community funds to keep Ms Bryan's job until the next academic year, but nothing has been put in place yet for Ellis, a Labour councillor and cabinet member for environment and transport at Peterborough City Council, said: "A proposal to remove the school crossing patrol service at four schools in Peterborough was agreed as part of the council's budget for 2024/25."Crossings and or speed restrictions such as at 20mph zones are in place at each of the schools and we are also providing road safety education for pupils."The petition will close on 11 June and will then be submitted to a cabinet it reaches 500 signatures before the deadline, it will also be eligible for submission to a full council month parents held a protest outside the Eye Primary School calling for the decision to be reviewed. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CBS News
7 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
Maryland teen sentenced to one year in prison for writing about school shootings
A Maryland teenager was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison, with all but one year suspended, for threatening mass violence and writing a detailed account of a character planning a school shooting. 19-year-old Alex Ye will serve at least one year behind bars, followed by five years of supervised probation, according to the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office. The defendant was a high school student when arrested last year. A judge found the teen guilty in January on one count of threatening to commit mass violence following a two-day bench trial. Police discover 129-page document, online searches, drawings The investigation began after someone who met the teen in a psychiatric facility contacted Baltimore-area police about the writings. Ye had written a 129-page document that included an account of a character who plans a school shooting but is ultimately arrested and receives psychiatric treatment, according to police. The teen called the writings a memoir, though the document opened with a disclaimer calling it fiction. Investigators believed the document was based on the teen's life rather than being entirely fictional, according to court records. Police obtained a search warrant and uncovered internet searches, drawings and documents related to threats of mass violence. Recent searches included queries about gun ranges, prison sentences, and a long list of past school shootings, according to court documents. Social media messages and posts by the teen referenced a desire to become famous by committing a school shooting, police wrote in charging documents. Court mandates mental health treatment During the probation period, the teen must report to court every two weeks and receive mental health treatment. Ye is also prohibited from entering two school campuses and banned from using the chatting app Discord. Montgomery County Public Schools officials said the student was completing schoolwork through a virtual learning program and had not physically attended a school since fall 2022. Court records show the teen was hospitalized in December 2022 after threatening to "shoot up a school." The following month, clinicians reported the teen was talking about "suicide by cop."
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Associated Press
Volusia County Schools Deploys ZeroEyes AI Gun Detection Platform to Strengthen Campus Safety
Florida District Adopts Proactive Security Technology to Protect Students and Staff Against Gun-Related Threats PHILADELPHIA, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeroEyes, the creators of the first AI-based gun detection video analytics platform to earn the full U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation, today announced that its AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness technology has been deployed by Florida's Volusia County Schools (VCS) to proactively protect students and staff from gun-related violence. According to data from the ZeroEyes Gun Violence Research Center, 40.4% of analyzed gun-related incidents in Florida occurred on K-12 campuses. VCS has added ZeroEyes to a multi-layered security strategy that includes safe school officers at each school, as well as rapid communication protocols, Centegix badges for emergency alerts, and single-point entry at all facilities. The adoption of ZeroEyes' AI gun detection technology adds another critical layer of protection to VCS's safety program. 'Our goal is to be a trailblazer for school safety in Florida,' said Dr. Carmen Balgobin, Superintendent of Volusia County Schools. 'After seeing the Daytona Beach Police Department's success with ZeroEyes, we conducted a thorough evaluation of the technology. We began piloting it in a few of our schools and quickly recognized the critical value it provides. We want our students to focus on learning, building friendships, and preparing for their futures, rather than worrying about their safety.' With more than 60,000 students and 8,000 employees across nearly 70 traditional schools, VCS is the 14th-largest school district in Florida and the largest employer in the county. The district's diverse campuses span a variety of settings, from beachfront communities to wooded areas and urban centers. ZeroEyes' AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software layers onto VCS's existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images are instantly shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), the industry's only U.S.-based, fully in-house operation center, which is staffed 24/7/365 by military and law enforcement veterans. If these experts determine that the threat is valid, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence — including visual description, gun type, and last known location — to first responders and school staff as quickly as 3 to 5 seconds from detection. 'Every school should be a place where students and staff feel safe and protected,' said Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes. 'Volusia County Schools is taking a leadership role in setting new standards for campus safety, and we are proud to work with a district that emphasizes proactive security solutions to help protect its students and staff.' About ZeroEyes ZeroEyes delivers a proactive, human-verified AI gun detection software solution that integrates into existing digital security cameras and helps to mitigate mass shootings and gun-related violence by reducing response times, providing actionable intelligence with images and delivering clarity among chaos — ultimately saving lives. ZeroEyes' patented solution has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a promising anti-terrorism technology and was the first video analytics technology to receive full SAFETY Act Designation. Founded by Navy SEALs and elite technologists, ZeroEyes dispatches accurate and real-time actionable intelligence about the illegal brandishing of a gun near or in an occupied area or building, to local staff and law enforcement with an image of the shooter(s) and location of the threat, as quickly as 3 to 5 seconds from the moment the gun is detected. The ZeroEyes team also provides tech consulting, installation assistance and practice drills for active shooter events to enhance safety at schools, corporate and government facilities. Headquartered in the Greater Philadelphia area, the company's affordable and effective gun detection solution has been adopted by the US Department of Defense, leading public K-12 school districts, colleges/universities, healthcare facilities, commercial property groups, manufacturing plants, Fortune 500 corporate campuses, shopping malls, big-box retail stores and more. Learn more about ZeroEyes at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE ZeroEyes
BBC News
21-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Moray Council insists Buckie High School is safe after concerns
Moray Council has insisted Buckie High School remains a safe environment for pupils and staff after photos were posted online appearing to show it in a poor local authority said improvement work was ongoing and issues were being media posts of the secondary in a state of disrepair have been uploaded in recent days, with one parent saying the picures were a "massive concern".However, in a statement, council leader Kathleen Robertson said some of the damage shown was from storms in 2024, and that those specific issues were addressed at the time and had since been resolved. Stephen Birtwistle has a son at the school - as well as a son and daughter who will be moving up soon. He told BBC Scotland News: "Nobody wants to stress about their kids having to go into a school which is unsafe. "From the look of the pictures and the stories I am being told it is a massive concern as a parent, you just do not want that phone call saying something has happened to your child. "Our kids deserve better, it is not acceptable to have them at a school in that condition." Parents have long campaigned for an improved school to be built in its place but Moray Council said "work towards a long-term solution" was ongoing. Council leader Ms Robertson said: "We are aware of recent posts and photographs circulating online about the condition of Buckie High School and understand that parents, carers, and members of the community may feel concerned and upset by what they are seeing and reading online."While some current concerns have already been identified by both the council and the school, our maintenance teams are addressing them where appropriate."Any urgent matters are responded to as a priority."
