California Safe and Supportive Schools

Youth Perspectives on School Safety (CCSC Youth Advisory Team)

School Safety

Youth Perspectives on School Safety (CCSC Youth Advisory Team)

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School safety has become an increasing concern for education leaders, especially as recent years have marked record highs for shootings, wildfires, and other emergencies on school campuses.

A few Youth Advisory Team members described how school staff tend to emphasize order, control, and hierarchies in their exchanges with students, which harms their ability to express themselves and build relationships at school. Part two of this two-part brief  examines the role that school safety plays in students’ classroom experiences in addition to the overall well-being of school communities.

Featured Speakers:

  • Alexa Southall, 10th grade student
  • Jubia Chavez, 12th grade student
  • Amiya Farias, 11th grade student
  • Julian Berkowitz–Sklar, 12th grade student
  • Aisha Bilgrammi, 10th grade student

View the transcript from this audiocast

Download the brief

Meaningful Youth Engagement to Guide School Climate (CCSC Youth Advisory Team)

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Partnering with students, caregivers, and community partners is crucial in creating environments that are safe, supportive, and inclusive. School leaders can achieve a higher level of participation by offering students collaborative roles in affecting change based on their critical examinations of learning conditions. Collaborating with students is especially important for secondary students, as creating opportunities for youth to practice decision-making skills aligns with the neurological and developmental needs of adolescents.

The CCSC has prioritized youth engagement through the creation of the Youth Advisory Team (YAT), a group of six high school students who provide input on climate needs based on their lived experiences in public schools throughout the state.

Featured Speakers:

  • Alexa Southall, 10th grade student
  • Jubia Chavez, 12th grade student
  • Amiya Farias, 11th grade student
  • Julian Berkowitz–Sklar, 12th grade student
  • Aisha Bilgrammi, 10th grade student

View the transcript from this audiocast

Download the brief

Harassment and Bullying

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How can school communities make sure their environments are free from all forms of aggression and victimization, including harassment, violence, and bullying? This What Works Brief provides school staff with suggestions, including how to:

  • Be visible, active, and interested
  • Implement and advocate for clear, consistent, and fair behavior management policies, practices, and programs
  • Encourage student and community involvement
  • Provide conflict resolution education

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

Physical and Emotional Violence Victimization

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Peer victimization, or bullying, occurs anywhere youth are—schools, neighborhoods, online—and can be physical or verbal, or through social exclusion from groups. Bullying affects the general sense of safety at school, instilling a sense of vulnerability, isolation, and fear in its victims. It also reduces victims’ ability to organize their mental and emotional resources, negatively affecting student outcomes.

To combat bullying, schools must provide resources for all students, including the victims, aggressors, and bystanders. This What Works Brief focuses on how schools can best prevent and intervene in cases of bullying, including:

  • How to be prepared when bullying happens
  • Ways of taking action
  • 10 best practices for bullying prevention and intervention

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

Physical and Emotional Violence Perpetration

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Many schools have instituted various safety practices that research has shown to be ineffective or even harmful. Effective evidence-based strategies that reduce rates of physical and emotional violence all have a common denominator that includes non-punitive, restorative prevention and intervention practices. This What Works Brief provides evidence-based strategies that educators, families, and community members can use to:

  • Implement positive and restorative behavior policies and practices
  • Provide clear, consistent, and culturally relevant expectations
  • Reflect on existing discipline procedures

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