No School - Monday, January 20

All schools and offices in the East Greenbush CSD will be closed on Monday, January 20 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

School Safety and Security

Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act

SAVE legislation was passed by the New York State Legislature in 2000 to address issues of school safety and violence prevention. The laws require school districts to develop district-wide and building-level school safety plans.  The district has in place a comprehensive district safety plan and individual school building safety plans with procedures in place to maintain a secure learning environment.

Safety Measures at East Greenbush CSD

  • All schools have a locked single point of entry through which students, employees and visitors enter
  • All staff must wear photo ID badges while in school buildings
  • All visitors must sign-in and put on a visitor sticker before entering school
  • Security cameras monitor school entrances and surrounding areas
  • Columbia High School and Howard L. Goff Middle School each have a police officer who serve as a School Resource Officer every day at those schools. They may also report to other schools as needed.
  • District-employed security personnel monitor Columbia High School during school days and in the evening and on weekends
  • All employees must be fingerprinted and pass a thorough background check before starting work in the District
  • Students must adhere to the East Greenbush CSD Code of Conduct, which contains information on the range of consequences that may be imposed if students misbehave. This information is reviewed with students each year during the opening weeks of school.
  • All schools have an integrated security system with the ability to lockdown buildings
  • Every school in the district engages in a comprehensive set of safety drills (fire, lockdown, secured lockout) to ensure that students, faculty and staff are prepared should an emergency occur. Each November, every school in the District dismisses students 15 minutes early to test its Emergency Management Plan. The “Go Home Early Drill” tests the effectiveness of the transportation and communications systems in the event of an emergency.
  • Safety training is provided to staff and students
  • Student-issued chromebooks and computers have filtering and monitoring software
  • Columbia and Goff have a digital hall pass system that provides real-time data on how many students are out of class at a given time and where they are in the buildings
  • All school buses have stop arm cameras installed to monitor for vehicles illegally passing buses
  • Bus ID card system allows for the Transportation Department and parents/caregivers to know where students are during transportation

Resources