NC Center for Safer Schools
September 2025 Newsletter
The Center for Safer Schools is proud to begin our first full school year as a division of the State Bureau of Investigation.
We extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed to making the 2025 RISE Back to School Safety Summit a success. With record attendance, diverse sessions and strong engagement from school staff, law enforcement and youth-serving organizations, the Summit showcased the power of collaboration. We encourage you to share what you learned with your colleagues, as it truly takes teamwork to create safer schools.
A special thank-you goes to the Statesville Civic Center, whose staff provided outstanding support and professionalism before, during and after the event.
As announced at RISE 2025, the Protect Our Students videos are now available on our YouTube channel. Related materials, including links to online attestation forms, will be sent directly to superintendents, charter heads and school safety directors. For any questions about the videos, please contact us at SchoolSafety@cfssnc.gov.
As we begin the 2025-2026 school year, I want to recognize our public-school units for welcoming and engaging with our Regional School Safety Specialists throughout 2024-2025. Your input has deepened our understanding of the critical work you do to protect your schools, while also highlighting areas where additional support is needed. We are committed to celebrating your successes and focusing on opportunities for continued improvement.
Please follow the Center for Safer Schools on social media for updates on upcoming events. I wish each of you a safe, productive and rewarding 2025-2026 school year.
— Karen W. Fairley
The Center for Safer Schools Student Engagement Team is holding a contest for K-12 students in North Carolina public school units in conjunction with the 2025 National Bullying Prevention Month.
The contest theme is “Kindness Changes Everything.” Creativity is encouraged, as submissions could include videos, songs, poems, skits, speeches and chants.
The contest is divided into three categories: Middle School, High School and Classroom.
Two Middle School winners will receive a Chromebook and a $25 gift card.
Four High School winners (two boys and two girls) will receive a Chromebook and a $25 gift card.
In the Classroom category, the winning classroom will receive a Chromebook for each student in the class and a pizza party.
The contest rules are as follows:
- Students must be currently enrolled in a North Carolina public school unit
- Students cannot be currently suspended or expelled
- All submissions must include the students’ name, grade, school, county and principal
- All video submissions must be between 1 and 2 minutes
- No inappropriate content such as vulgarity, profanity or gang-related affiliation
- All poems, speeches and songs must be only 1 page (no plagiarizing)
- Students will be scored based on a rubric
- Students are scored based on originality and creativity
- All submissions will be reviewed by a member of the Center for Safer Schools Contest Committee
- Winners of the contest will be voted upon by the CFSS Contest Committee
The deadline for all submissions is Friday, Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. All entries should be emailed to CFSS@cfssnc.gov.
If you have questions, send an email to CFSS@cfssnc.gov.
The Center for Safer Schools will host a Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method Train the Trainer Workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The training, held in partnership with the I Love U Guys Foundation, will be held from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Greenville Convention Center, 303 SW Greenville Blvd., Greenville.
SRP and SRM are used for crisis response and post-crisis reunification. The Train the Trainer Workshop introduces participants to the history, concepts and functionality of SRP and SRM and how to train the programs internally.
After learning about the five actions of the Standard Response Protocol, and their associated directives, participants will be able to implement the program and enhance their school safety plans.
Participants also will gain an understanding of the methods for planning, practicing and achieving a successful reunification using the Standard Reunification Method. They will have the ability to organize a reunification team in their school and create a reunification plan.
The workshop is open to school safety directors and support staff. Safety directors and their partners in safety (school administrators, law enforcement, etc.) are encouraged to attend together.
The CFSS will provide one manual and one instructor guide to each public school unit. Additional manuals will cost $8.75 each, and additional instructor guides will cost $6 each.
If you have questions, send an email to CFSS Assistant Director-Training & Safety-Interim Jeff Branch.
The 2025 RISE Back to School Safety Summit was held from Monday, July 28 to Wednesday, July 30 at the Statesville Civic Center. Approximately 400 school personnel, law enforcement and representatives of youth-serving organizations attended the Center for Safer Schools’ Back to School Event.
Attendees were welcomed by local and state dignitaries, including state Rep. Todd Carver, state Rep. John Torbett, Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh and Statesville Police Chief David W. Onley. State Bureau of Investigation Director R.E. “Chip” Hawley delivered videotaped remarks.
CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley updated attendees on school safety initiatives such as Reporting Requirements, Grant Funding and the Protect Our Students videos.
RISE 2025 featured sessions on Active Shooter Preparedness and Response, N.C. Internet Crimes Against Children, School Risk Management Plans, Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management, Vulnerability Assessments, and Student Leadership in School Safety, to name a few.
The Center for Safer Schools would like to thank the school resource officers from across the state who attended the 2025 RISE Back to School Safety Summit.
Congratulations to Henry Shamburger (bottom photo, right), an SRO with the Moore County Schools Police Department, who — for outstanding engagement on the Whova app — won the Leaderboard Contest!
Runner-up was Zachary Bonar (left photo), an SRO with the Jones County Sheriff's Office.
The Center for Safer Schools held the SPARK Conference in Greensboro from Thursday, July 17 to Saturday, July 19. The event – Students Promoting Awareness, Responsibility and Kindness – was the culmination of the 2025 Safe Healthy Interactive Nurturing Empowerment (SHINE) cohorts.
More than three dozen parents and middle school students from Cumberland and Stanly counties participated in sessions including Underage Drinking, Suicidality, Keeping Our Kids Safe Online and Youth Leadership.
During the opening session, CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley stressed the importance of student leadership and parental involvement in school safety.
“Children are required to go to school, so we want it to be a memorable experience in a positive way,” she said. “Your voice matters. You are your child’s first teachers. You get to set the tone for how they engage in their education.”
Fairley also announced the formation of the Student Advisory Council. The group will work with the CFSS Student Engagement Team, fostering collaboration by letting team members know what is needed in the schools.
“I feel that students need to have a voice. They know each other better than anyone,” Fairley said.
More details on the Student Advisory Council – including the application process – will be released in the fall.
