Safe Schools
Oregon Pride Survey - Curry County - 2009-2023
Talking To Kids
About School Safety To guide parents through discussions about school violence, Mental Health America offers the following suggestions: Encourage children to talk about their concerns and to express their feelings. Some children may be hesitant to initiate such conversation, so you may want to prompt them by asking if they feel safe at school. When talking with younger children remember to talk on their level. For example, they may not understand the term “violence” but can talk to you about being afraid or a classmate who is mean to them. Talk honestly about your own feelings regarding school violence. It is important for children to recognize they are not dealing with their fears alone. Validate the child’s feelings. Do not minimize a child’s concerns. Let him/her know that serious school violence is not common, which is why incidents such as Columbine and Conyers, Georgia, attract so much media attention. Stress that schools are safe places. In fact, recent studies have shown that schools are more secure now than ever before. Empower children to take action regarding school safety. Encourage them to report specific incidents (such as bullying, threats or talk of suicide) and to develop problem solving and conflict resolution skills. Encourage older children to actively participate in student-run anti-violence programs. Discuss the safety procedures that are in place at your child’s school. Explain why visitors sign in at the principal’s office or certain doors remain locked during the school day. Help your child understand that such precautions are in place to ensure his or her safety and stress the importance of adhering to school rules and policies. Create safety plans with your child. Help identify which adults (a friendly secretary, trusted teacher or approachable administrator) your child can talk to if they feel threatened at school. Also ensure that your child knows how to reach you (or another family member or friend) in case of crisis during the school day. Remind your child that they can talk to you anytime they feel threatened. Recognize behavior that may indicate your child is concerned about returning to school. Younger children may react to school violence by not wanting to attend school or participate in school-based activities. Teens and adolescents may minimize their concerns outwardly, but may become argumentative, withdrawn, or allow their school performance to decline. Keep the dialogue going and make school safety a common topic in family discussions rather than just a response to an immediate crisis. Open dialogue will encourage children to share their concerns. Recognize behavior that may indicate your child is concerned about returning to school. Younger children may react to school violence by not wanting to attend school or participate in school-based activities. Teens and adolescents may minimize their concerns outwardly, but may become argumentative, withdrawn, or allow their school performance to decline. The following behaviors are signs that a child may need help:
Seek help when necessary. The more signs you see the greater the chance the child needs help. Contact a mental health professional or the school based health center. (541-251-1606) Don't wait. Start today. Mental Health America’s toll-free
Information Line can help parents and teachers find
community resources. Mental Health America also provides
informational brochures on children’s mental health
issues, such as a Teen Survival Guide to Surviving Stress,
Teen Depression, Coping with Loss, Youth Violence and What
Every Child Needs for Good Mental Health. If the person you
care about is still in school, our Back
To School (28 page
PDF toolkit) or Life On Campus materials may better fit
your needs. Youth
Mental Health Emotions Matter
(2 page PDF) Massachusetts
“Safe and Supportive Schools” provisions signed
into law, boosts trauma-informed school movement House Speaker Robert DeLeo saw the connection between reducing gun violence and school achievement and was instrumental in the bill’s passage. When the original sponsor of a Safe and Support Schools Act, Katherine Clark, left the state legislature for the U.S. House of Representatives, some advocates were concerned the void would not be filled. Their fears were assuaged when Rep. Ruth Balser of Newton and Sen. Sal DiDomenico of Boston became lead sponsors. The schools act supporters were jubilant that the legislation they labored on for years was incorporated in the gun violence bill now signed into law, and expressed deep relief and excitement about the achievement. They also said the hard work of statewide implementation now begins. The law requires the state education department to develop a framework for safe and supportive schools, first developed by a task force established by the legislature in 2008, that provides a foundation to help schools create a learning environment in which all students can flourish. The framework is based on a public health approach that includes fostering the emotional wellbeing of all students, preventive services and supports, and intensive services for those with significant needs. Within the framework, schools are encouraged, but not mandated, to develop action plans that will be incorporated into the already required School Improvement Plans. The law also provides a self-assessment tool to help in the creation of the plans. Under the leadership of the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI), a coalition of the Massachusetts Advocates for Children and Harvard Law School, the “Safe and Supportive Schools Coalition” was formed to move the legislation forward. A campaign was created that included an advocacy site and regular communication with legislators. (For the text of the legislation and other information on the bill and the campaign to enact it, go to TraumaSensitiveSchools.org.) Susan Cole, director of the TLPI, says the framework will help schools integrate services and align initiatives so that students feel safe — emotionally, socially and physically — and connected at school, and are able to succeed. The legislation, she says, emphasizes overall school operations rather than specific programs such as anti-bullying and truancy reduction. The framework, according to Cole, promotes a whole-school approach to help all children, including those who have or are experiencing adversity. Susan Cole, director of the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative The bill also had the “wholehearted support” of the Boston Teachers Union according to Angela Cristiani, political director for the union and a school psychologist. She said the safe and supportive schools’ provisions that address prevention in schools provided the “missing piece” in the gun violence reduction legislation. Cristiani described Boston as an early adopter of the safe and supportive schools framework and said the law makes “real reform” possible statewide and provides a model for states across the nation. The new law, she says, will provide the tools for schools to support children to achieve their full potential and to act when a child is having difficulties. When tragedies occur, Cristiani says people often reflect back to the time a child was in school and trouble signs were present but not acted upon. The bill continues a small grant program, funded at $200,000 in FY 2014, to support “exemplar schools” that are models for creating safe and supportive schools, and authorizes technical assistance to help schools use a self-assessment tool and develop school action plans. It also creates a commission to assist with statewide implementation of the framework and make recommendations for additional legislation. Advocates will have to return to the legislature to secure funding for staffing and other costs related to the initiative. According to Cole, this is “doable” since the funds to implement the law are relatively modest. Cole says it has been an iterative process leading to the enactment of the law, one that will continue with its implementation. The early research conducted in the state by Bessel van der Kolk on psychological trauma and later the CDC’s ACE Study were part of the foundation for the initiatives the state undertook, including the Trauma-Sensitive Schools grants starting in 2000 and subsequent studies and reports that followed. The “hard part” as described by advocates will now begin with the law’s implementation. The summary of the bill on the TLPI website highlights what they describe as a “groundbreaking” definition of safe and supportive schools: “… schools that foster a safe, positive, healthy and inclusive whole-school learning environment that (i) enables students to develop positive relationships with adults and peers, regulate their emotions and behavior, achieve academic and non-academic success in school and maintain physical and psychological health and well-being and (ii) integrates services and aligns initiatives thatpromote students’ behavioral health, including social and emotional learning, bullying prevention, trauma sensitivity, dropout prevention, truancy reduction, children’s mental health, foster care and homeless youth education, inclusion of students with disabilities, positive behavioral approaches that reduce suspensions and expulsions and other similar initiatives.” In addition to the new definition, the site summarizes the key provisions (in italics):
The Safe and
Supportive Schools Commission The Safe and Supportive Schools Commission First Annual Report is now available. To view the final report clicker here. (24 page PDF) This Commission will play a crucial role in fulfilling the law’s vision of supporting schools across the Commonwealth to create safe and supportive school environments that serve as a foundation for learning for all students. Specifically, it was created to collaborate with and advise the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on statewide implementation of the Safe and Supportive Schools Framework. One of the Commission’s most important jobs will be to investigate and make recommendations to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) on a process for updating, improving and refining the Safe and Supportive Schools Framework and Self-Assessment Tool. (The Commission will begin with the Self-Assessment Tool developed by a statewide Task Force in 2011 and expand these to include all of the activities and initiatives involved in creating safe and supportive school environments.) In addition to its work on the Framework and Self-Assessment Tool, the Commission is also charged by the law with several other specific duties. These include:
The law requires many important education stakeholder groups to appoint members to serve on the Commission. Currently, the members include:
TLPI’s Director Susan Cole was
elected to serve as co-chair of the Commission. The other
co-chair of the Commission is the Commissioner of Elementary
and Secondary Education’s designee, Rachelle Engler
Bennett. The Commission meets regularly and all meetings are
open to the public. For more information, visit the Safe and
Supportive Schools page on DESE’s website. LGBT Safe & Supportive
Schools FACT
SHEET: Ensuring Safe and Supportive Schools for All
Students
Today, The White House Council on Women and Girls, together with the U.S. Department of Education, the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, and The National Crittenton Foundation, is hosting a conference titled “Trauma-Informed Approaches in School: Supporting Girls of Color and Rethinking Discipline.” The Obama Administration is committed to promoting policies and practices that support the needs and potential of underserved populations, including marginalized girls, young women and their families. Despite progress made over the recent years in academic achievement, access and school support, girls -- and particularly girls of color – still disproportionately face barriers in education. This convening will help participants focus on improving school systems’ discipline practices and developing approaches that better serve students who have experienced trauma. All too often, girls of color experience disproportionately high rates of school suspensions. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) black girls are 8 percent of enrolled students, but represent 14 percent of students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. By adopting supportive school discipline practices, schools foster success for all students and increase the likelihood that students will stay engaged and stay in school. Trauma from sexual assault may also impede a young girl’s success in school. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 8 percent or an estimated 10 million girls experienced rape or attempted rape during youth. When the trauma of sexual assault is not addressed, it can have a devastating effect on a girl’s physical and mental health, leading to serious problems in school. Like colleges and universities, K-12 school districts must comply with legal obligations under Title IX to respond to allegations of sexual assault of a student. K-12 school districts must also provide support for student survivors of sexual assault to ensure they can receive equal educational opportunities. As part of today’s conference, the White House is announcing additional supports from the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to help address sexual assault misconduct in schools:
In addition, the following external commitments are being made to support trauma-informed approaches to school discipline:
Today’s conference will bring together educational teams from 15 States and 23 school districts around the country, as well as key researchers and experts in this topic, and nonprofit partners who have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving supports and outcomes for this vulnerable population. Participating States and districts include:
The conference builds on the Administration’s commitment to fostering school success for all youth, and reducing unnecessary exclusionary school discipline practices, including:
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- Gordon Clay