BKW is one of just two school districts in the state to pilot Cyber S.W.A.T., or Safety While Accessing Technology, a grant-funded internet safety program to be led by BKW’s School Resource Officer, Albany County Deputy Sheriff Nathaniel Bray.
Deputy Bray will help BKW students learn how to safely navigate online communities, while making positive choices and avoiding unnecessary risks. He’ll work with a core group of teen mentors in the high school, who will later share their knowledge with fellow students.
Besides online safety, they’ll tackle tough topics like bullying, online predators, and suicide prevention. Empowered by the SRO-led discussions and group meetings, and under the guidance of the SRO, the Cyber S.W.A.T. student-mentors will then teach their peers and younger middle and elementary school students.
The Albany County Sheriff’s Office was selected to pilot Cyber S.W.A.T. this school year as part of their broad, comprehensive school safety initiative. SROs including Deputy Bray have completed training provided by the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
The NW3C was awarded funding by the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, a Department of Justice entity, to pilot the Cyber S.W.A.T. program in select schools and locations.
BKW is one of just two school districts in New York State selected to participate in the pilot program, with Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk being the other.
Here are links to media coverage about the program:
WTEN:
https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/school-resource-officers-trained-for-pilot-cyber-safety-program/
WNYT:
(news story no longer available)