The issue of school safety has received significant attention. While authorities point out that most schools are safe, and most violence among young people occurs outside school, confronting anger and violence remains a real issue for classroom teachers. Teachers also need to be prepared to help their students cope with the aftermath of all sorts of disasters, including those related to storms and other phenomena. TeachersFirst offers these resources to help teachers do their own planning and to provide tools which teachers, schools, parents, and communities can use to help keep our young people safe.
The Appropriate and Effective Use of Security Technologies in U.S. Schools - This report, released by the Department of Justice in September, 1999, is a guide to help school administrators and their colleagues in law enforcement analyze a school's vulnerability to violence, theft, and vandalism, and research possible technologies to effectively address these problems. This report is based on a 7-year study of more than 100 schools and offers practical guidance on several aspects of security, including security concepts and operational issues, video surveillance, weapons detection devices, entry controls, and duress alarms. The report is also available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
Center for the Prevention of School Violence - Information from the center based in Raleigh, NC.
Early Warning; Timely Response - A Guide to Safe Schools - This is the U.S. Department of Education's recently released guide to planning for safer schools. Both the Executive Summary and the Complete Report are available as downloadable Adobe Acrobat files. If you need the Acrobat reader, you can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox. The complete report will take 10-15 minutes to download if you have a 28.8 Kb Internet connection.
School Safety and Crisis Resources - The National Association of School Psychologists offers multiple resources on school violence, natural disasters, war, terrorism, and more. Resources include translations of parent materials into multiple languages to help parents at home.
The National Alliance for Safe Schools offers an assortment of workshops, publications, and other information on school safety and crisis management issues. These services can be customized to meet the specific needs of individual schools and communities.
Disaster Tips for Parents and Teachers - This page offers suggestions from the National Association of School Psychologists on strategies that teachers can use with their children to help cope with disasters.
Are Our Schools Safe? - Web site from CNN's special coverage section outlining reactions to several incidents involving school violence. While created for the general public, the site includes insights and reactions from teachers. Professional use only.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program - A program from the U.S. Department of Education.
The Safe Schools Initiative - From the U. S. Secret Service, this site includes information on "threat assessment."
Suicide Warning Signs - This article from the Mayo Clinic seeks to dispel a number of common misconceptions about the nature of suicidal persons, especially young people. It also provides specific strategies for recognizing and responding to warning signs of suicide.
Violence in American Schools - A report from the Center for the Study of School Violence at the University of Colorado.
