Charleston, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) will host a series of regional school safety meetings beginning in Charleston, May 7, 2024, at the Embassy Suites, 300 Court Street. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, the Fusion Center and county/school administrators will join the WVDE to discuss trending threats to child safety. Additionally, the WVDE will share updates about new technology for submitting annual school safety plans.
Students’ online activities are the continued focus of FBI special agents. Each day, hackers, bad actors and adults pretending to be juveniles engage with children through social media, gaming applications and other online communications. Investigators are seeing escalating threats that can entrap youngsters and cause them to harm themselves and/or others. The FBI will share these trends with educators and the broader community so they can intervene to protect children if necessary.
Additionally, schools and counties now have better technology tools to submit their annual safety plans. By using a program called WVDE GPS (Grants and Planning System), the process has been streamlined and can be easily updated. New features allow educators to tag data with important student information that is used when emergency reunification plans are necessary.
“The regional safety sessions serve several purposes, and all of them are designed to keep our children safe,” said Director of School Safety Jonah Adkins. “The FBI and Homeland Security understand the importance of public involvement, so this information is shared to increase awareness and prevent incidents that no one should ever experience. If we can help one student, it is worth it.”
The schedule is as follows:
May 7 – Embassy Suites, Charleston
Boone, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Putnam, Roane, Wayne, Wirt, Wood counties
May 10 – White Palace at Wheeling Park, Wheeling
Barbour, Brooke, Doddridge, Hancock, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Preston, Ritchie, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Wetzel counties
May 13 – West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg
Braxton, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Summers, Webster, Wyoming counties
May 16 – West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (WVSDB)
Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan, Pendleton, Randolph, Tucker counties and the WVSDB
Media are invited to attend the Regional Safety Meetings. In Charleston, presentations begin at 8:45 a.m. in the Embassy Suites ballroom. Regional media advisories will be distributed prior to the upcoming meetings.
For media inquiries, contact Christy Day, West Virginia Department of Education Office of Communications, at 304-558-2699 or Christy.Day@k12.wv.us.
