California Center for School Climate (CCSC)

This session dives into the idea that school safety is the role of all education partners. Implementing standard best practices that reinforce safety into daily school routines is a key and fundamental component in keeping students and staff safe and in reducing trauma. Ultimately, by empowering students through familiarity with safety-related situations, they are better equipped to make crucial in-the-moment decisions that keep everyone safe. 

Watch the session recording:

View the recording transcript

Session resources

• Session Slides
• Best Practice Considerations for Armed Assailant Drills in Schools
• Creating School Active Shooter/Intruder Drills
• Mitigating Psychological Effects of Lockdowns
• Operational Guidance for Implementing the Standard Response Protocol in a K12 Environment
• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Families and Educators
• Safe Spaces: Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practice for Educational and Care Settings from the Office of the California Surgeon General (OSG)

Session Speakers:

Jeff Caldwell is a senior lead in school safety in WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center. In this role, he works with state entities and school districts to provide technical assistance and resources related to school safety. He is the former associate director of school safety readiness at the Texas School Safety Center, where he was involved in the creation, implementation, and administration of statewide initiatives for school safety. Jeff has a diverse career in law enforcement, municipal government, and private industry, including roles as a school resource officer, chief of police, city marshal, city administrator, and director of various divisions, including emergency management, code enforcement, and the health department. His experience also includes facilitating professional development and personal growth training. When not working, Jeff enjoys his role as president of the board of directors of the Greater San Marcos Youth Council, as well as hiking, writing, and projects around the house. 

Shawna White is a senior lead in school safety in WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center. Dr. White brings a decade of experience leading research and technical assistance projects at local, state, and federal levels. She currently leads projects related to school emergency management and critical incident response, behavioral threat assessment implementation, and general school safety technical assistance. Prior to WestEd, Dr. White served as associate director of research and evaluation at the Texas School Safety Center, where she oversaw research related to behavioral threat assessment, school policing, and health and resilience in schools. She also led program evaluation of all center trainings and events, identifying key successes and opportunities for improvement to better serve school communities. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her two young children, as well as hiking, swimming, reading, and solving puzzles of all varieties. 

Session Moderator:

Antoinette Miller (she/her) serves as Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate.

Antoinette is also a Program Associate in WestEd’s Resilience and Healthy Schools and Communities area. In this capacity, she provides coaching, technical assistance, and professional learning to schools, districts, and county offices of education. Antoinette’s expertise is grounded in school climate and culture, mindfulness, healing-centered and restorative practices, social emotional learning and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Antoinette comes to WestEd with two decades of knowledge and experience in education, having previously worked as a general and special education teacher, districtwide intervention specialist, and a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) coordinator. Antoinette is dedicated to supporting the growth and development of all students and adults.