Ensuring
Safe Learning
Environments

The National Resource Center for Safe Schools provides training and technical assistance to schools and communities to create and maintain safe learning environments.

The center assists schools and communities throughout the country to create and maintain safe learning environments free of crime and violence.

Center services support a comprehensive approach to the development of safe school plans by schools and communities to build a solid foundation of programs that embrace diversity, build resiliency, and provide educational programming within the context of comprehensive school improvement plans.

Comprehensive safe school plans contain such essential components as positive schoolwide behavior and academic standards for all students; sensible schoolwide safe school policies; active and engaging school/community partnerships; secure physical safety and facilities and crisis-response plans; early identification, intervention, referral, and treatment of antisocial and violent children and youth; and a safe school planning team that is linked to the overall school improvement planning efforts.

The center collaborates with state educational agencies, state and local juvenile justice agencies, state school safety centers, professional organizations, and technical assistance providers.

Center Components

Safe School Plans

The center provides assistance to schools and communities in developing safe school plans for implementing and sustaining a targeted, comprehensive set of activities.

Training and Technical Assistance

In addition to the workshop on Creating Safe Schools: A Comprehensive Approach, the center provides training and technical assistance through Regional Safe School Conferences and technical assistance to school district to (1) assess the conditions of schools and communities; (2) strengthen school policies; (3) develop an early warning and response system; (4) develop and implement effective strategies and practices in violence prevention and reduction, and crisis response; (5) foster school/community partnerships; and (6) evaluate prevention program efforts.

Information Dissemination

The center disseminates information on safe school issues and concerns, highlighting effective programs, prevention strategies, best practices, training opportunities, and other resources.

National Network on Safe Schools

The center works to refine effective training materials, methods, research-based information, and protocols on school safety, in collaboration with a national advisory committee, state educational and juvenile justice agencies, the Hamilton Fish Consortium on School and Community Violence, state school safety centers, and other training and technical assistance providers.

National Conference on Safe Schools

A national safe schools conference will be conducted in 2001 to bring together educators, prevention practitioners, school safety experts, student juvenile justice workers, law enforcement officials, community members, and parents to share cutting-edge information on the prevention and reduction of school violence and disruptions that are detrimental to a safe learning environment.

Major 2000 Accomplishments

Field tests were conducted of the Creating Safe Schools curriculum, which consists of six units: Understanding a Framework for Comprehensive Safe Schools Planning, School and Community Collaboration, Needs Assessment, Developing a Safe Schools Plan, Identifying Strategies and Implementing Programs, and Evaluation.

A safe schools conference was conducted for school districts in the Mississippi Delta region focusing on safe school plans, a comprehensive approach to safe schools, and emergency response procedures.

The Southeast Regional Safe Schools Conference was conducted at Charleston, South Carolina, with 180 participants.

The center participated in a multiagency task force formed by the U.S. Justice Department to provide technical assistance to 13 communities as part of the White House Livable Communities Initiative.

A meeting of 25 school safety leaders from 15 states was cosponsored by the South Carolina Department of Education to exchange information about the operation of state centers and continue organizing a national network of leaders working in school safety.

Four newsletters and four fact sheets were developed and disseminated to 80,000 teachers, administrators, and school federal program coordinators.

The center responded to more than 500 requests for information and publications, and there were more than 150,000 Web site accesses to obtain publications, information on hot topics, and other useful resources.