Technical Assistance
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Research
A new comprehensive report, America’s Drop Out Crisis: The Unrecognized Connection to Adolescent Substance Use, has been released. View Report
Voices from the Field |
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"Voices from the Field" is a new feature for the Safe and Supportive Schools Website. View previous "Partner Highlights".
Coming Soon!
The Safe and Supportive Schools TA Center's new schedule of events will be released in the upcoming weeks. Please check back for more information on our webinar series and face-to-face events.
Survey Webinar Series: Survey Administration
*This webinar was presented in Spring 2011 to provide technical assistance to S3 grantees and others who were administering surveys to students, family, and staff at the end of the 2010-11 school year. Because S3 grantees will be re-administering their surveys to these respondent groups during the 2011-12 school year, this webinar will be rebroadcast in Fall 2011 to give grantees time to think through what went well last year and to make improvements to their survey administration processes this year. It will once again provide guidance and refresh memories on best practices for planning, establishing timelines, and administering school climate surveys.
During this Webinar, Dr. Sally Ruddy, Principal Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research and Lead Survey Specialist for the Safe and Supportive Schools TA Center, will focus on the administration of school climate surveys. Specifically, she will address the following:
- The importance of best practices in survey administration;
- Differences in administering to students, school staff, and families;
- Modes of administration (paper vs. online);
- A timeline for administering surveys, including:
- Working with LEAs and schools on planning and logistics;
- Preparing materials; and
- Collecting the data.
This Webinar is appropriate for school district superintendents and district assessment personnel, school administrators and allied staff.
OSDFS 2011 National Conference
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) will be hosting its National Conference August 8-10, 2011 at the Gaylord National Resort in suburban Washington, D.C. entitled, Making the Connection: Creating and Maintaining Conditions for Learning”. The Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center, which is located on the Potomac River, is approximately 10 miles from downtown Washington, DC.
Sessions at the conference will focus on youth alcohol and drug abuse prevention; bullying and cyber bullying; violence prevention in schools; emergency management; health, mental health, and physical education; data collection; special populations; and emerging issues. The conference targets potential OSDFS grantees, juvenile justice practitioners, policymakers, education and prevention leaders, and school administrators, among others.
Registration is available online at the conference Web site at: www.osdfsnationalconference.com. There is no registration fee for this event. Registration for the conference will close on July 22, 2011 or when space is not longer available. You can also make your hotel room reservations on the conference Web site under the Hotel & Travel section. You must register by July 9th in order to receive the guaranteed rate.
Don’t miss out. Register today and be part of this exciting conference event.
News Clips
Duncan: It's Time to Create Race to Top for Districts
Flush with $550 million in new Race to the Top money, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he intends to use the vast majority of it to design a new competition just for school districts. It seems that Duncan sees the potential of investing a half-billion dollars in districts, especially in states that are, as he calls them, "less functional" and haven't won any other competitive grants.
School Lunches Healthier than Homemade
Meals offered by the National School Lunch Program appear to be healthier than those packed at home, a study of second graders showed.
The Creative Coalition and WWE® Launch Anti-Bullying Alliance
The Creative Coalition and WWE (NYSE:WWE), announced today the launch of “be a STAR,” a multi-platform, nationwide anti-bullying alliance, in conjunction with the National Education Association Health Information Network (NEA HIN), GLAAD, True Educator Inc., Ad Council, Island Def Jam Music Group, Close Up Foundation and others.
School Climate a Key Factor in Feelings of Safety
A University of Arizona College of Education faculty member led an investigation into the perceptions students and teachers throughout Arizona hold about campus safety, finding that each school's climate plays a large role in what people believe.
SAMHSA Seeks Applicants for Children's Mental Health Funding in Tribal Communities
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration invites state and federal American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes, tribal organizations, tribal colleges, and universities to apply for the fiscal year 2011 Circles of Care Grants. The purpose of this program is to provide tribal and urban Indian communities with tools and resources that they can use to design a holistic, community-based, coordinated system of care to support mental health and wellness for children, youth, and families. The application deadline is May 31, 2011.
School Nurses See Both Bullies and Victims
School bullies and their victims both spend more time at the nurse’s office compared with their other classmates, according to a new report.
College Programs Address Suicide and 'Send Silence Packing'
Incoming freshmen this year reported record-low levels of emotional health, and most college counselors in a recent survey said the number of students on campus with “severe psychological problems” is increasing.
Student Bullying Linked to Family Violence: CDC
Student bullies, their victims and bully-victims -- those who are victimized and also engage in bullying -- face a broad range of health risks, including family violence and intentional self-harm, a new U.S. study finds.
School Burnout Can Be Turned Into Educational Engagement
The results of the FinEdu longitudinal study indicate that both prolonged exhaustion caused by schoolwork and cynicism toward school inevitably lead to an increased sense of inadequacy.
School's a Community Effort in Indiana District
A “community school” relies on ties between its district and churches, social service agencies, nonprofit community groups, and other local organizations that have built a web of support to nurture schoolchildren across the entire district from “diaper to diploma.”
Are High Schools Safer From Guns Since the Columbine Shooting?
On the 10 year anniversary of the Columbine shooting, consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services released a report suggesting schools are safer, but not out of the woods.
Supportive Environment Cuts Suicide Attempts by Gay Teens
Gay and bisexual teens are five times as likely as heterosexual peers to attempt suicide, according to new research — but a supportive social environment can cut that rate by one-fifth.
School Bus Safety Company Releases Training Module on Bullying Prevention
The School Bus Safety Company (SBSC) announced today that the company has completed the development of a completely new course – "Bullying Prevention on the School Bus," a professionally-developed curriculum created specifically to address the challenges school bus drivers face.
‘Day Of Silence’ Shows How Bullying, Hate Crimes Silence Youth
Friday, April 15 marks the “Day of Silence” – a day in which hundreds of thousands of students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-gay name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools.
Social and Emotional Learning to Support Student Achievement
Secretary Duncan stopped by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Forum to join a panel of school district superintendents, moderated by New York Times columnist David Brooks, in discussing how social and emotional factors support student achievement.
EPA Selects Environmental Achievement Award Winners
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic region announced 11 winners of its annual environmental achievement awards including two from Philadelphia Area.
Report: Domestic Problems, Safety Concerns Lead to Truancy
The D.C. Council's committee on school safety and truancy found in a report released Thursday that domestic problems and safety concerns both during commutes and at school cause truancy.
EPA Wears Many Hats in Sprawling Environmental Justice Initiative
To the U.S. EPA's vision of nationwide environmental equity, they must undo decades of politics and inequality that has left mostly poor, minority communities with the landfills, the nuclear waste, the power plants and the polluted air.
Why is Sexual Assault on Campus Tolerated?
Universities in the United States rarely expel students for sexual assault, according to an investigation by the federal government.
Unlikely Allies Call for Shifting of Monies from Prisons to Schools
The NAACP has joined forces with fiscally conservative groups, former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, and others to persuade legislators and policymakers to shift the growing amount of money spent on prisons to education.
Attorney General Holder Speaks on School Violence, Critics Question Federal Role
Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department has a central role to play in tackling the problem of youth violence, but some education experts are skeptical of the federal government’s hand in the matter.
Majority of Youth with Mental Disorders May Not Be Receiving Sufficient Services
About 3 percent of U.S. adolescents are affected by an eating disorder, but most do not receive treatment for their specific eating condition, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print March 7, 2011, in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Reference: Swanson SA, Crow SJ, LeGrange D, Swendsen J, Merikangas KR. Prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in adolescents: results from the National Co morbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement. Archives of General Psychiatry. Online ahead of print March 7, 2011.
OJJDP to Sponder Training on Law Enforcement Response to Adolescent Girls
On May 5 and 6, 2011, in Dallas, TX, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the International Association of Chiefs of Police will co-sponsor a training designed to help law enforcement officers respond more effectively in policing situations that involve contact with girls ages 12–17.
Buildings That Conserve and Educate
Sustainable school buildings, says a green-schools architect, can be powerful teaching tools to help students monitor and change their own energy-consumption behavior.
No Teacher Is an Island
Education Week
Teachers do not operate in a vacuum. The environment in which they work impacts their perception of their own level of competence. Having the support of peers, principals, and central-office administrators has an impact on how well they believe they can perform.
D.C. Council Bill Links Mental Health, Truancy and Violence
The Washington Examiner
At-large D.C. Councilman David Catania introduced a bill Tuesday that would crack down on student truancy and tailor behavioral health programming to the needs of District schools.
White House Making New Efforts to Prevent Sexual Violence on School Campuses
CNN
“Rape is rape is rape,” declared Vice President Joe Biden Monday at the University of New Hampshire, “And the sooner universities make that clear, the sooner we'll begin to make progress on campuses,” he said, announcing new guidance that will go to all K-12 schools, colleges and universities to address the growing number of sexual assaults.
Federal Government Reviewing Sexual Violence in D.C. Schools
The Washington Post
The federal government is investigating how D.C. public schools respond to reports of sexual violence and what they are doing to prevent such incidents, a senior U.S. education official said Monday.
Vice President Biden Announces New Administration Effort to Help Nation's Schools Address Sexual Violence
U.S. Department of Education
Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan introduced comprehensive guidance to help schools, colleges and universities better understand their obligations under federal civil rights laws to prevent and respond to the problem of campus sexual assault.
New Books, Apps Teach Kids About Their Emotions
USA Today
Magination Press, the American Psychological Association's children's book imprint, has released a self-help book for older kids called Understanding Myself: A Kid's Guide to Intense Emotions and Strong Feelings. It has also released a book for younger kids as an iPad app, called The Grouchies.
FY 2011 Carol M. White Physical Education Program Grant Application Released
The purpose of the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant is to assist LEAs and CBOs to initiate, expand, or enhance physical education programs that help students in kindergarten through 12th grade meet their state standards for physical education.
The application package is available on the OSHS web site at: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/applicant.html.
Nickelodeon Launches Anti-Bullying Campaign
Associated Press
Nick, the most-watched TV network among kids ages 2 to 14, will begin an on-air public service campaign Monday featuring some of its stars offering advice on what young people should do when confronted with hostile texts, emails or Facebook posts.
Underreporting Masks Violence in Philadelphia Schools
Education Week
A yearlong Inquirer investigation of violence in Philadelphia schools uncovered dozens of cases of students assaulting each other, punching teachers, kicking school police officers and threatening to harm staff. The incidents only came to light—weeks or months later—when city police issued arrest reports on the incidents, prompting district officials to ask principals about them. Teachers and union officials, meanwhile, spoke of constant pressure from senior administrators at the district and school level—sometimes subtle and unspoken, sometimes blatant—to hold down the reported numbers.
Teens Exposed To Gun Violence Face Tough Road
NPR
According to the Chicago Police Department, last year a total of 70 children of school age, including dropouts and non-public school students, were killed by guns. More than 600 were wounded. Some experts say witnessing gun violence can lead to violent behavior that may perpetuate crime in at-risk neighborhoods.
