Fort Mill School District STEP (Safety Through Engagement and Prevention) Initiative

The Fort Mill School District (FMSD) serves approximately 18,200 students in the Town of Fort Mill, the City of Tega Cay, and adjacent unincorporated areas of York County, South Carolina. The district is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, and has experienced explosive growth, adding about 900 students per year since 2015.The district operates 20 schools (3 high, 6 middle, and 11 elementary), and construction on a new elementary school is scheduled to begin in May 2023. The district is also opening an alternative school campus in August 2023. Two additional schools (one middle and one elementary) are currently in the planning process. The district will implement Safe School Ambassador program offered by Community Matters and the Link Crew program offered by the Boomerang Project, both of which have been shown to improve school culture and reduce violence. Using the Community Matters platform, school administrators, staff members, and school resource officers will receive training on restorative practices and promoting a positive school climate. Parent workshops discussing bullying, cyber bullying, and harassment are also planned. School resource officers and district personnel will be trained in digital threat assessment through the International Center for Digital Threat Assessment and in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design, through the National Association of School Resource Officers. Additional training and professional development will be provided by attending national school safety conferences. A full-time safety specialist position will be created to implement and manage grant programs, promote stakeholder engagement, and focus on violence prevention and intervention efforts. The safety specialist will coordinate student safety summits, public forums, and staff training and track progress through a variety of objective and subjective measures.