Annual Notifications/Policies and Procedures

Asbestos Management Plan (Annual Notification of Availability)
In accordance with the EPA’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) of 1987 (40 CFR Part 763), the Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District is required to give annual notification stating that the Asbestos Management Plan for each building is available and kept in the main office of each building and in the office of the Superintendent of Buildings & Grounds. These records are available for review during normal school business hours.

In addition, in accordance with this act, a six-month periodic surveillance is conducted in each building that contains asbestos. The periodic surveillances are conducted in June and December of each year.

Before the start of any project we will make sure all building occupants are properly notified and all signage will indicate the scope of the project.
For more information, please contact Trevor Chaisson, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds and LEA Asbestos Designee at (518) 234-4133.
 
District-Wide School Safety Plans
The Cobleskill-Richmondville CSD has developed a District-Wide School Safety Plan and confidential Building-level School Safety Plans for each building as required by New York State Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (S.A.V.E.) Law. This law requires the district to annually provide written information to all students and staff about emergency procedures. As required, the District-wide School Safety Plan was originally submitted to the New York State Education Department in June 2001. Each confidential Building-level Emergency Response Plan was originally submitted to the local police and New York State Police in June 2001.

The District-wide School Safety Team annually reviews the District-wide School Safety Plan. The Building-level School Safety Teams annually review the confidential Building-level Emergency Response Plans. All updates are approved by the board of education prior to resubmitting them to the New York State Education Department and the local police and New York State Police respectively.

The district will provide training throughout the year and will conduct at least eight fire drills and conduct four district-wide drills to test sheltering plans and/or early dismissal. Tabletop exercises are also conducted to test the building-level teams’ procedures and ability to respond to various emergency situations.


Dignity for All Students
The intent of the New York State Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) is to ensure that elementary and secondary school students have the right to attend school in an environment that is free of discrimination, harassment, and bullying. DASA went into effect on July 1, 2012. Cobleskill-Richmondville Board of Education policies are consistent with DASA regulations. DASA requires that at least one person at every school be thoroughly trained to handle harassing behaviors that may be related but not limited to a person’s actual or perceived:  race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practices, sexual orientation, gender, sex and/or mental and physical disabilities. Designated school professionals will be trained to act as Anti-Bullying Coordinators for Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District and each of the buildings within the district. 

C-RCS’s roles and responsibilities include: prevention, intervention, training, reporting and investigating by the Dignity Act Coordinator as determined by New York State Education Department’s Regulation and Dignity for All Students Act. Key Definitions from DASA include:

Bullying: A hostile activity which harms or induces fear through the threat of further aggression and/or creates terror.  Bullying may be premeditated or a sudden activity. Bullying often includes the following characteristics:
Power imbalance: Occurs when a bully uses his/her physical or social power over a target.

Intent to harm: The bully seeks to inflict physical or emotional harm and/or takes pleasure in this activity. Threat of further aggression: The bully and target believe that bullying will continue. Terror: When any bullying increases, it becomes a systematic violence or harassment used to intimidate and maintain dominance. There are several types of bullying, including verbal, physical and social/ relational.
Discrimination: The act of denying rights, benefits, justice, equitable treatment or access to facilities available to all others, to an individual or group of people because of the group, class or category to which that person belongs (as enumerated in the harassment section).
Harassment: The creation of a hostile environment by conduct or by verbal threats, intimidation or abuse that has or would have the effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a student’s educational performance, opportunities or benefits, or mental, emotional or physical well-being; or conduct, verbal threats, intimidation or abuse that reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause a student to fear for his or her physical safety.  The harassing behavior may be based on any characteristic, including but not limited to a person’s actual or perceived: race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, sex, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and expression), and/or mental and physical disabilities.
Hazing:  An induction, initiation or membership process involving harassment that produces public humiliation, physical or emotional discomfort, bodily injury or public ridicule or creates a situation where public humiliation, physical or emotional discomfort, bodily injury or public ridicule is likely to occur.

If you are a student victim, the parent/guardian of a student victim, a close adult relative of a student victim, or a school staff member and wish to report an incident of alleged bullying, harassment or intimidation, complete the form linked below and return it to the principal at the student victim's school. 

The DASA reporting form can be found here: DASA Form.
The Discriminatory Harassment Complaint form can be found here: Complaint Form.

Our district DASA coordinators are as follows:

District-level: Coriellen Houck, 518-234-4032, ext.1000, or [email protected]
Ryder Elementary: Becky Dostie, [email protected]
Radez Elementary: Lori Vandervalk, [email protected]
Golding Middle School: Nicholas Yatrakis, [email protected]
C-R High School: Michael Massucci, [email protected]

Fire Inspection Reports
Notice is hereby given that the annual inspection of the school buildings of the Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District for fire hazards which might endanger the lives of students, teachers, employees therein, has been completed and the report thereof is available at the district office of the Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District, 155 Washington Avenue, Cobleskill, NY 12043 for inspection by all interested persons.

Pesticide Neighbor Notification Law
The Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District is taking an aggressive, yet precautionary, approach to dealing with pesticides in and around its schools.

The development and implementation of the district’s integrated pest management (IPM) program is the key in achieving pesticide use reduction while providing effective and economical pest control.

Any public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school that decides to use a pesticide product as a last resort in addressing a pest problem must comply with the Pesticide Neighbor Notification Law (section 409-h of the Education Law) .

This notice is to inform all parents, guardians, and staff that pesticide products may be used periodically throughout the school year. Any parents, guardians and staff who wish to receive a 48-hour written advanced notice from the schools of an actual pesticide application should contact Trevor Chaisson, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds at (518) 234-4133.

Water testing
In September 2016, a state law went into effect that requires all public school districts in New York to test water for lead. The law requires school districts to sample all water outlets currently or potentially used for drinking or cooking purposes in buildings that may be occupied by students and to submit those samples to a state-approved lab for analysis. Regulations called for testing to take place again in 2020 and every five years thereafter, unless the state Commissioner of Health requires testing sooner.

View C-R's results here.
 
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
FERPA provides rights to guardians and students over 18 years of age certain rights with respect the student's education records.

View C-R's Student Record Policy and Student Records Regulation.

Student Directory Information
C-R celebrates the learning and accomplishments of students and staff with local media and on district-approved platforms.

Names, honors, awards, non-graded work, art work, sports games, theatre events, music concerts as well as photographs, video, and audio recordings may be shared with the media, or posted to the District’s social media channels, its website or in the newsletter.

The release of such information could also be published in other district-approved publications, school or public functions, and in a school yearbook.
A student’s name or photo will typically appear with a clear school-related purpose, and an intent to praise and honor student learning and achievement.
The Federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act allows school districts to release certain pieces of “directory information” unless a parent or legal guardian exercises their right of refusal.

No action is required for those allowing the school district to publish or display this information for non-commercial purposes.

Families not granting permission to release information should write a brief note with the student’s first and last name, grade level and desire, and submit the information to the District Office by Sept. 30.

Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR)
Annual Professional Performance Review is an evaluation of a teacher's or principal's practice and includes student achievement and growth data. All school districts in New York State are required to adopt and submit an APPR plan to the State Education Department. The purpose of the plan is to improve student achievement through improved teacher performance. 

View C-R's APPR plan.

Freedom of Information Law
For access to C-RCSD's records under the NYS Freedom of Information Law, please submit a letter or email to Tracy Fraleigh, records access officer, detailing the records you wish to view or copy. Please provide detailed and specific information in you request. Letters may be mailed to Tracy Fraleigh, Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District Business Office, 155 Washington Ave., Cobleskill, NY 12043 or email to [email protected].