
The Center for Safer Schools is holding its annual RISE Back to School Safety Summit from July 29-Aug. 2, 2024, at Union Station Conference Center at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, according to a press release by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI).



What is the Center for Safer Schools?
The Center for Safer Schools promotes safe learning environments in the more than 2,500 public K-12 schools across North Carolina, according to DPI’s website, by serving as a hub of information and providing technical assistance on school climate, school discipline, and emergency preparedness.
The Center has six areas where it focuses its work: mental health; physical security and emergency preparedness; school climate and discipline; substance use; gang intervention; and school resource officers (SROs).
The Center works with educators and staff, law enforcement, youth-serving community agencies, juvenile justice officials, policymakers, as well as parents, guardians, and students.
The Center distributes grants for school safety. In January 2024, it announced $35 million for these schools.
Who leads the Center for Safer Schools?
Karen Fairley is the executive director of the Center for Safer Schools. In a message on the website, Fairley says, the primary goal of the Center “is to maintain our schools as centers of learning and not fear.”
Collaborative efforts, she says, “are what will help encourage, empower, and sustain our youth and help them to realize they are key participants in the safety of our schools.”
Fairley’s approach is district-oriented, versus top down, and recently she hired regional liaisons who will provide individualized, enhanced support for districts.
“The Center’s staff has more than doubled in size since last year’s RISE,” she said. “We hope school staff and law enforcement engage with … our Regional School Safety Specialists. The specialists will have the closest interaction with School Safety Directors going forward, so RISE 2024 is a great opportunity to make meaningful connections.”

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said the larger staff will allow the Center to be a better resource in all matters of school safety.
“The Department of Public Instruction is excited to have regional liaisons available for school safety,” she said. “RISE sessions not only will help our public school personnel gain knowledge in various aspects of school safety — including legislative requirements — but they will also give them an opportunity to foster relationships with the Center staff who will help guide their efforts.”
Fairley posts monthly video messages on DPI’s YouTube site. For example, in June, she talked about student safety duing the summer.
What does RISE stand for?
RISE — the Center’s signature event — stands for Resiliency, Information, Support, and Empowerment.

More than 300 stakeholders are attending the summit this year, which is offering a range of sessions, including bullying, suicide, and critical incidents as well as other vital information about trauma and victimization among children and adolescents, according to the press release.
Scheduled trainings include gang awareness, School Risk Management Plans, reportable offenses, suicide prevention and Sandy Hook Promise’s SAVE Promise Club.
According to the press release, new for RISE 2024 is a parent/student component, which will be held by invitation only during the last two days of the summit. Sessions include internet safety, family engagement, and resilience.
“RISE launches our school safety initiatives for each school year. It is important that parents have a role in these initiatives,” Fairley said. “What happens in the community goes over into the schools, and what happens in the school goes over to the community, and home is the base.”
Fairley said it’s important for the Center to engage with parents given their critical role in school safety.