Safe school climate

Ensuring safe environments for elementary and secondary school students, educators, administrators, and others is essential.

In 2008, the agencies collaborated again and released a report that further explored one of the key SSI findings, namely, that prior to most attacks, though other students had information about the attackers’ plans, most did not report their concerns to an adult.

The findings of this report, known as the Bystander Study, highlighted the importance of creating safe school climates to increase the likelihood that students will speak up in order to prevent an attack.

The school community should feel confident that team members will be responsive to their concerns, and that reports will be acted upon, kept confidential, and handled appropriately.

More broadly, administrators should work to address any concerns regarding bullying school-wide and ensure their school has a safe climate for all students.

climates A crucial component of preventing targeted violence at schools relies on developing positive school climates built on a culture of safety, respect, trust, and social and emotional support.

Teachers and staff in safe school environments support diversity, encourage communication between faculty and students, intervene in conflicts, and work to prevent teasing and bullying.

Students in safe school climates feel empowered to share concerns with adults, without feeling ashamed or facing the stigma of being labeled a “snitch.”

Administrators can take action to develop and sustain safe school climates. • Break down “codes of silence” and help students feel empowered to come forward and share concerns and problems with a trusted adult.

At one school, administrators used a faculty meeting to identify students who lacked a solid connection with an adult at school. They provided faculty with a roster of enrolled students and asked them to place a mark next to students with whom they had a warm relationship. For students without a mark next to their name, popular, well-liked teachers and staff were asked to reach out and develop positive connections with them.

Help students feel connected to the school, their classmates, and teachers. This is an important first step to creating school climates that are supportive, respectful, and safe.

Encourage teachers and staff to build positive, trusting relationships with students by actively listening to students and taking an interest in what they say.

Help students feel more connected to their classmates and the school.

One teacher asked her elementary students to write down names of classmates they wanted to sit next to. If a student’s name did not appear on anyone’s list, the teacher placed that student’s desk next to a friendly or outgoing classmate in an effort to help the student develop friendships.

This effort could be easily adapted with middle or high school-aged students by asking students to identify one or two classmates they would like to be partnered with for a project and assigning any student not named on a list to be partnered with a friendly or outgoing classmate.

Adults can also help students identify clubs or teams at school they can join or encourage them to start their own special interest group.

Create and promote safe school climates Schools can also support positive school climates by implementing school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs.

These programs actively teach students what appropriate behavior looks like in a variety of settings, including in the classroom, with their friends, or among adults.

Teachers frequently praise prosocial behavior they observe and encourage students’ good behavior.

PBIS can improve academic outcomes for schools and has been shown to reduce the rates of school bullying.

While teachers and staff can foster relationships and connectedness among the student body, students themselves have a role to play in sustaining safe school climates.

They should be actively engaged in their schools, encouraged to reach out to classmates who might be lonely or isolated, and empowered to intervene safely when they witness gossiping, teasing, and bullying.

Following an averted attack at a high school, the school principal sent a note home to students and parents about the incident. He used the note to explain what had been reported, the steps the school had taken to avert the attack, and praise for the students who had alerted school officials about concerning and threatening statements they saw online.

In the note, he also asked parents to encourage their students to speak up if they ever felt concerned about a classmate’s behavior, explaining that students’ “cooperation [with school officials] is important for everybody’s safety.”

Providing training on other topics, such as suicide awareness and prevention, conflict resolution, mental health, and developmental disabilities, might also allow school faculty, staff, and administrators to foster positive school climates.

Training can also educate students about other actionable steps they can take to cultivate a safe school climate, including ways they can safely intervene with bullying, gossip, or name-calling.

Messaging should demonstrate to students that there is a big difference between “snitching,” “ratting,” or “tattling,” and seeking help. While snitching is informing on someone for personal gain, here, students are encouraged to come forward when they are worried about a friend who is struggling, or when they are trying to keep someone from getting hurt.

Remind students that if they are concerned about a classmate or friend, they need to keep speaking out until that person gets the help they need.

Finally, maintaining a safe school climate includes providing students with training or lessons to acquire skills and abilities to manage emotions, resolve conflicts, cope with stress, seek help, and engage in positive social interactions.

Schools can encourage local officers to co-teach classes at the school, serve as coaches or assistant coaches of sports teams, and work with parents and teachers at after-school events.

In some communities without school resource officers, local law enforcement agencies have encouraged officers to “adopt a school,” stopping by the school to greet and become familiar with students and teachers, eating lunch on campus, or doing paperwork in an office at the school.

Everyone has a role in preventing school violence and creating safe school climates.

Resource guide developed by the U.S. Department of Education for schools to create nurturing, positive, and safe environments to help boost student achievement and success.

Clearinghouse and technical assistance center that supports schools, school districts, and state agencies to create and implement a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional, and behavioral support.