California Safe and Supportive Schools

Overview of Promoting Student Resilience (PSR) Grant Program

Behavioral Support Strategies

Overview of Promoting Student Resilience (PSR) Grant Program

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In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $4.75 million in Promoting Student Resilience (PSR) grants to three local educational agencies (LEAs): Baltimore City Schools; Chicago Public Schools; and St. Louis Public Schools. The communities in these three LEAs had experienced recent significant civil unrest (i.e., demonstrations of mass protest that involved law enforcement).

The funds supported LEAs’ efforts to build capacity to address the comprehensive behavioral and mental health needs of their students by supporting systems-wide approaches that link schools, mental health service providers, and community-based organizations.

This resource provides a brief overview of the grantees, their activities, support provided, and lessons learned.

Management Factors for Successful Program Implementation

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The team tasked with evaluating the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant created this brief document to outline what is known from research about management factors that contribute to a program’s success. Activities and mindsets that contribute to successful program implementation are organized into 4 key areas:

  • Day-to-day project management
  • Administrative-level support
  • Training
  • At-risk student referral systems

While this document was intended to guide implementation of school climate improvement programs, the key tenants can be applied to other school-based program implementation scenarios.

Mindfulness-Based Practices for Schools

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Mindfulness practices cultivate attention to one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and how they affect one’s actions. Mindfulness is a promising approach to teaching educators and students self-awareness and self-regulation skills associated with success in school and through adulthood. It can be taught as standalone strategies for teachers’ own benefit and/or for use with students, and can be integrated into existing school structures and routines.

Research has linked mindfulness-based practices with outcomes indicative of a positive school climate and academic improvement, including:

  • Cultivation of compassion and empathy
  • Increased well-being, positive emotion, popularity, and friendship
  • Improved self-regulation
  • Reduced test anxiety
  • Increased student focus and concentration on cognitive tasks in the classroom
  • Improvement in reading competence

This brief describes the benefits of mindfulness for teachers and students, and shares ideas for integrating mindfulness throughout the school day, identifying evidence-based mindfulness programs to match strengths and needs, helping educators implement mindfulness programs and practices, and providing intensive supports for students facing additional challenges.

A Case Study of San Juan High School’s Safe and Supportive Schools Project

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San Juan High School, a low-income, ethnically diverse school struggling to boost student achievement in California’s San Juan Unified School District, demonstrated consistent gains in its School Climate Index (SCI) over the three years of the California Safe and Supportive Schools Program implementation. This case study reflects on the programs and strategies that the school implemented and draws upon data collected as part of the program’s evaluation. Some of the key strategies discussed are:

  • Stakeholder engagement and student voice
  • Social-emotional learning
  • Freshman mentoring
  • Restorative justice
  • Project-Based Learning
  • Intervention efforts

Proactive and Inclusive School Discipline Strategies

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Innovative school leaders have shifted away from punitive school discipline approaches because they generally do not work to reduce the behavior for which they are applied and, more often, have unintended negative and counterproductive consequences. This What Works Brief describes a range of innovative approaches that promote self-discipline and reduce punitive discipline by:

  • Explicitly teaching students expected behaviors
  • Motivating students to commit to school rules by noticing and encouraging students who follow them
  • Addressing underlying conditions that provoke students to break school rules by providing opportunities for feedback and pro-social skill building

Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize state-of-the-art practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on the most current research, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, parents, and community members. They are organized into three sections:

  • Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
  • Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
  • Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth

Substance Use at School

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Schools can be a major player in both preventing student substance or drug use and helping students who are battling drug addiction. Prevention efforts must include regular education campaigns along with opportunities for students to cultivate their personal strengths, interests, and hobbies. Schools must also construct and maintain a system through which at-risk students can be referred to appropriate outside resources.

This What Works Brief offers schools strategies for handling drug use at school, including how to:

  • Build awareness and knowledge
  • Bolster positive youth development
  • Encourage parent and community involvement

The brief also provides a list of evidence-based programs and therapeutic practices.

Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize best practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on research and grounded in experience, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, families, and community members. They are organized into three sections:

  • Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
  • Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
  • Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth