School safety was the focus at the district’s Superintendent’s Conference Day in September, featuring a presentation by school-resource officers Sabrina Pitch and Christine Ammon from the Suffolk County Police Department. Both officers frequently talk to students at the middle and high schools about topics like bullying, drugs and alcohol.

“Basically we want to keep them making good decisions and smart choices, because that doesn’t just help them, it helps us,” said Pitch. She went on to delineate the difference between school law and criminal law, how the law defines a juvenile and harassment, how police respond to school-related incidents, identifying at-risk students, and determining when police notification is necessary. Pitch also outlined steps that district teachers and staff should follow in various scenarios, such as when students get into physical altercations or when drug use is suspected or observed.

“The officers are to be highly commended for putting together a most informative, timely and critical workshop that assisted our staff in being better prepared to deal with school violence,” said Superintendent Eva J. Demyen.