School Safety and Facilities
Brandon A. Cruz, Supervisor
School Safety & Facilities
(914) 345-8500, Ext. 3167
bcruz@swboces.org
Non-Violent Crisis Intervention®
Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® Training provides your educators with the skills to safely recognize and respond to everyday crisis situations. You will learn to:
- Minimize Physical Interventions
- Recognize & Respond to Defensive Behaviors
- Understand What’s Behind the Behavior
- Address the Needs of the Individual
Regional Crisis Response Team
The SWBOCES Regional Crisis Response Team (RCRT) supports school districts after a crisis by providing Consultation, Counseling, Debriefing, and Support. A crisis can be a natural disaster, the passing of an individual within your school community, or a distant event that has a deep effect on students and staff. More information about the becoming an RCRT member or accessing services is available on the RCRT Resources Page
Coronavirus Resources
Southern Westchester BOCES has assembled and shared reliable resources about the COVID-19 outbreak since early in the pandemic. Our Coronavirus Resources Page is a continuously updated repository of information and guidance from medical professionals and public health officials, curated to inform and protect the health and safety of our community.
Events coming up
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SWBOCES - 450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd floor, Harrison, NY
SLS- OPALS User Group
Join fellow librarians for an engaging OPALS User Group session designed to foster collaboration, share best practices, and explore new features and updates in the OPALS library automation system. Whether you're a seasoned OPALS user or getting started, this session offers a space to connect with peers, troubleshoot challenges, and maximize the impact of your library program. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, showcase creative uses of OPALS in their schools, and contribute to a growing community of support and innovatio
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
via Zoom
RECOVS MHELP (Mental Health Education Leaders Partnership) Meetings
Mental health leadership teams from SWBOCES's RECOVS Mental Health Grant Consortium will meet to discuss and collaborate around grant implementation, including:
- Social-Emotional Learning
- MTSS-i (including systems & structures and data & assessment)
- professional learning
- budget & logistics
- other grant-related considerationsCenter for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
SWBOCES - 450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd floor, Harrison, NY
Science Investigations (Physics). Forces and Interactions: Induction Junction - What is your Function?
This one-day session focuses on Science Investigations (Physics). Forces and Interactions: Induction Junction - What is your Function? This Investigation is a hands-on lab experience that prepares teachers to ready students for the new Physics Regents Examination. (This is 2 of 3 Science Investigations: Physics). Participants in this one-day session will:
-experience this Investigation both as a teacher and student.
-plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field.
-develop a model of their experimental setup and describe how the model provides the supporting evidence.
-modify their setup and explain how this modification affects the strength of the magnetic field produced.
-plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.
-discuss how modifications affect the induced potential difference that produces the electric current. deepen their understanding of NYSED's expectations for the new Regents' exam in Physics.
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
via Zoom
Orton Gillingham Educator Course- FALL Cohort
Laurie Cousseau, from Green River Literacy will provide training for teachers utilizing the Orton Gillingham methodology. This course meets the requirements for the OG Classroom Educator designation with the OGA (Orton-Gillingham Academy) Teachers will be provided with an overview of dyslexia and students with reading disabilities, the neurological brain base of reading, explicit multi-sensory based diagnostic and prescriptive teaching, the nuts and bolts of phonics and the linguistic structure of the English language, phonological awareness, syllable structure, spelling generalizations, oral reading fluency, using informal progress monitoring and benchmark data to inform instruction, multi-sensory strategies, and how to identify/support struggling readers and extend existing Tier 1 and Tier 2 programming.
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
SWBOCES - 450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd floor, Harrison, NY
PE/HE Consortium: Trauma-Informed Health Education Practices
Trauma-Informed Health Education Practices" This workshop is designed to provide health educators and administrators with an understanding of childhood trauma and the ways in which it impacts student growth, development, learning, memory, behavior, impulse control, interpersonal relationships, and school attendance. Participants will learn to apply a trauma-informed lens-a universal precautions approach-to their teaching practices, policies, and interactions(whether they have been impacted by trauma or not). This data-driven method helps hold students accountable while providing the flexibility and respect needed to create supportive environment for all grade levels and all students. This workshop is designed to be interactive, reflective and applicable across all grade levels.
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
SWBOCES - 450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd floor, Harrison, NY
PK-12 Literacy Study Group:Bridging the Science of Reading into Practice
In response to NYSED'S Literacy Initiative, the Science of Reading and meeting students' academic needs, this study group will provide a recurring opportunity to convene with colleagues to collaborate around leading for literacy and the systemic and classroom-based practices that will support all students' literacy development.
As schools and districts pursue similar aims and navigate similar obstacles, space for reflecting on and sharing practices and navigating challenges can serve as a forum for mutual support. During the sessions, time for grade level focus work groups (Elementary and Secondary) will be built in.
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
SWBOCES - 450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd floor, Harrison, NY
NYSED Lead Evaluator Training - Foundations in Leading Educators (required for APPR Initial Certification)
This professional learning experience is designed for school and/or district leaders who are new to their role. Together we will explore NYSED APPR evaluation requirements for school and district leaders. Specific emphasis will be on aligning your APPR process to your school/district strategic goal, mission/vision, and 2025-26 initiatives, cross-team calibration, and feedback.
All leaders new to their district or role will need to attend our Foundations in Leading Educators session to meet the requirements for NYSED's Lead Evaluator Training. Please check your district's APPR plan to determine the number of days/hours approved by NYSED for your district's Lead Evaluator Training,
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
via Zoom
SLS- Follett User Group (VIRTUAL)
Join fellow school librarians and library staff for collaborative and informative Follett User Group sessions designed to keep you up to date empowered in your use of Destiny Library Manager. We'll dive into the latest updates in Destiny 23.0, explore the current roadmap and what Follett is working on for upcoming releases, and share tips for getting the most out of Destiny Discover. We'll provide a short overview of Resource Manager and discuss updates on the Professional Learning Pathways platform, including opportunities to enhance your skills and support staff development. Whether you're new to Destiny or a long-time user, this session offers practical takeaways, space for questions, and opportunities to connect with colleagues using the same tools.
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
SWBOCES - 450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd floor, Harrison, NY
Restorative Practices for School & District Leaders for RECOVS Mental Health Grant Consortium
Please note that this training is limited to leaders from districts who are part of SWBOCES's RECOVS Mental Health Grant Consortium. Lori DeCarlo of Restorative Edge Consulting will lead this interactive training, which is essential for leaders who are bringing restorative practices to their schools/districts - to understand key principles of restorative practices and conditions for systemic implementation designed to support social-emotional learning and mental health.
The training will focus on:
• Restorative practices as a trauma-informed approach for creating a culture of belonging, safety, and inclusion.
• Responsive restorative practices, including Affective Communication/Non-Violent Communication, Tier 2 Whole Group Responsive Circles, and Tier 2 Restorative Circles to respond to specific incidents of harm.
• Systemic considerations, including implementation science and discipline policies and practices (e.g. Codes of Conduct)Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support -
SWBOCES - 450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd floor, Harrison, NY
Science Investigations (Physics). Energy: Thermal Tales - The Story of Energy and Calorimetry
This one-day session focuses on Science Investigations (Physics). Energy: Thermal Tales - The Story of Energy and Calorimetry. This Investigation is a hands-on lab experience that prepares teachers to ready students for the new Physics Regents Examination. (This is 3 of 3 Science Investigations: Physics). Participants in this one-day session will:
-experience this Investigation both as a teacher and student.
-investigate the transfer of thermal energy when liquids of different temperatures are in contact using a heat transfer setup.
-plan and conduct an investigation to collect and analyze data -evidence that supports the second law of thermodynamics.
-analyze given data from a heat transfer setup to describe the transfer of thermal energy & determine if this data supports the second law of thermodynamics.
-develop a written investigation plan, based on given criteria and constraints, to produce data which can be used to:
~provide evidence that the transfer of thermal energy, when components of different temperatures in a system are combined, results in a more uniform energy distribution;
~calculate the specific heat capacity of an unknown liquid; and describe the limitations of the experimental design preventing the system from being a closed system.
-conduct their investigation and calculate the specific heat capacity of their assigned liquid.
-share group data with the class and record average class values for the specific heat capacities of the unknown liquids.
-deepen their understanding of NYSED's expectations for the new Regents' exam in Physics.
Center for Professional Learning and Curriculum Support
Mandated Training
The Mandated Training Link above lists School Safety training mandates and Facilities requirements for all NYS schools and districts. Please refer to the link and to our Training and Services listed below.
Regional Facilities News
Southern Westchester BOCES is proud to partner with the Southeastern Chapter of the New York State School Facilities Association (NYSSFA). Please use the links below to find the NYSSFA meeting calendar and training information.
NYSSFA Calendar
NYSSFA Training Opportunities
School Safety Training
- Active Shooter Training
- Building Level Emergency Response Planning
- CPR/AED
- Crisis Response Training
- DASA/Violence Prevention refreshers
- Develop Crisis Plans
- Incident Command Management
- Lockdown Emergency Training
- New Building Emergency Plan Template
- Risk Assessments
- Safety Audits
- Table Top Exercises
Facilities/Compliance
- Asbestos testing and training
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Chemical Hygiene Plan Development
- Chemical and Petroleum Storage
- Cooling Towers Inspections
- CPR/AED
- Fire Inspections
- Indoor Air Quality Testing
- Lockout/Tagout
- Playground and Gymnasium Inspections
- Right to Know
- Underground Storage Tank Programs
- Water Testing
