protecting students

Employee & Volunteer Standards

Ursuline High School begins by thoroughly evaluating the backgrounds of our employees and regular volunteers, including:

Initial and regularly updated national criminal background checks and finger prints for all employees and volunteers.
Adherance to the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown Safe Environment Policy for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults, which contains Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Sexual Harassment Policy.
We require orientation and ongoing training for our employees and volunteers through VIRTUS, the National Catholic Retention Group’s program that thoroughly addresses the issues of boundaries between adults and students.

Mandated Reporters

All employees of Ursuline High School are “mandated reporters” as outlined in the Revised Code of the State of Ohio. If an Ursuline employee has reasonable cause to believe a student, known to them in his/her professional and official capacity, may be an abused or neglected child, he/she shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to the Children’s Services Agency of the appropriate Ohio county and, if applicable, the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

VIRTUS Training

The Diocese of Youngstown and Ursuline High School requires orientation and ongoing training for our employees and volunteers through VIRTUS, the National Catholic Risk Retention Group’s program that thoroughly addresses the issues of boundaries between adults and children.

Ohio Tip Line

The Safer Ohio School Tip Line is a free safety resource available to all Ohio schools. The tip line is an anonymous reporting system that accepts both calls and texts 24 hours-a-day.

This tip line allows students and adults to anonymously share information with school officials and law enforcement about threats to student safety — whether that involves a threatened mass incident or harm to a single student.

Every tip can remain anonymous. School safety analysts may ask for additional information, but the caller can remain secret or leave his or her contact information for later follow-up.

Calls or texts to 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) are answered by analysts within Ohio Homeland Security. If action is needed, the analysts immediately forward information to local school officials, law enforcement agencies and the Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC) for action and follow up.

The OSSC partners with the Ohio Department of Education to follow up with affected school and law enforcement agencies to make sure that the incident is investigated, action is taken and resources and supports are provided when necessary.