Safe schools resources

Internet safety

  • See the FBI’s Safe Online Surfing Internet Challenge targeting parents, students and school staff.
  • The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office offers a range of tips and resources aimed at making sure your son and daughter are safe online. Here, for instance, read the latest about “sextortion.”
  • This is a very comprehensive fact sheet on sexting – what it is and how to prevent it – from researchers at the Cyberbullying Research Center.

General school safety

  • The Colorado School Resource Safety Center provides abundant resources and training to help parents and students foster positive learning environments. Get information on safe routes to school, bullying programs and see the latest Colorado Safe Schools Newsletter.
  • Get a report featuring ten tips for safer schools posted on the Colorado Attorney General’s website.
  • SAFE2TELL is designed to help parents and children anonymously report any threatening behavior. As of May 2010, the organization fielded more than 8,000 information and educational calls and 2,574 Safe2Tell reports resulting in investigation, early intervention and prevention. The reports came from 158 cities and 56 counties across Colorado.
  • Consult the Center for the Prevention and Study of Violence, based at the University of Colorado at Boulder, to access a research clearing house violence. And if you’re short for time, read the facts about school violence that scroll across the right side of the home page. Scary – but enlightening.
  • The “I Love U Guys” Foundation takes its name from the final communication Platte Canyon High Schooler student Emily Keyes made to her family before she was killed at school after being held hostage. Her family’s organization focuses on the importance of the Standard Response Protocol, the dangers of “sexting” and educating teens that “regretting is harder than telling” in terms of potential dangers in or outside of school.
  • The Parent Engagement Network (PEN) in Boulder Valley is a parent-led grassroots community movement that has received local and national attention for its interactive, positive approach to parent engagement.  While based in Boulder, its incredible roster of events for parents are free and open to anyone, such as one talk entitled “Celebrate parenting in a world of diversity” or “You-Twit-Face,” an event aimed at helping parents understand the ever-changing world of technology. Sign up for the PEN newsletter.
  • The American School Counselor Association offers tips to parents on bullying, making your home preteen friendly and appropriate use of the Internet.
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics offers up a slew of tips on everything from safely crossing the street to what to do if your kid is the bully.
  • This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Pathways site has seven course modules that educate parents in depth about bullying and violence in schools.  The modules are loaded with helpful information, yet they are not overwhelming and do not have to be taken all at once.
  • What does the research say about violence and crime prevention? See this best practices page full of resources, courtesy of the State of Colorado.
  • The Colorado Department of Education offers a range of juicy informational nuggets on bullying, suicide prevention, threat assessment and drug use among teens on its Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities page.
  • If you feel need more information and tools in your community due to school safety concerns, visit Safe Communities – Safe Schools, which falls under the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Bullying

  • Check out StopBullyingNow, a website run by various government agencies. This site contains valuable resources about bullying awareness, prevention and intervention for kids and adults.
  • See these tips on creating a safe and caring home from the National School Climate Center. The center also runs the Bully Bust program, now raising money selling some “wickedly” cool Flip video cameras. Yes, it involves the Broadway musical “Wicked.” You can also learn about “upstanders” and “bystanders” in terms of bullyspeak.
  • If you are the parent of a bullied child, here are tips on how to confront school officials about the issue from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The federal agency also runs Stop Bullying Now! Find some great resources here on cyber bullying and state laws regarding bullying.
  • The Cyberbullying Research Center, run by two academics, offers a wide array of information and resources on what has become a widespread, and disturbing, trend.

Substance abuse and underage drinking

  • The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers this free pamphlet featuring tips for teens about marijuana use. The website also offers abundant resources on substance abuse and mental health issues affecting children and teens.
  • Get the latest data on underage drinking, drug use and cigarette use among high school aged youth through the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Monitoring the Future survey findings.
  • The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides a tool to help you tackle underage drinking in your home and/or community.

Mental health

Safe routes to school

  • The Colorado Department of Transportation offers up some tips on ensuring safe walking or bicycling routes to and from school.
  • The National Center for Safe Routes to School has abundant resources, along with tips and resources to run your own successful Walk to School Day event.
  • The Boltage program, begun at a Boulder elementary school, is one of the most innovative programs we’ve seen because of the way it blends technology with more traditional prizes. A solar powered machine beeps or buzzes every time a kid with a Boltage sticker on his or her bicycle helmet rides under it. The buzz or beep is cool on its own – but also serves a purpose by logging the number of days children bike (or walk) to school. Children get prizes at the end of the year based upon the days they’ve logged.
  • The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is a fast-growing network of hundreds of organizations, government agencies and professional groups working to set goals, share best practices, secure funding, and provide educational materials to agencies that implement Safe Routes to School programs. The partnership’s mission is to serve a diverse national community of organizations that advocates for and promotes the practice of safe bicycling and walking to and from schools throughout the United States.

Crisis management

  • This Channel 7 News Video encourages parents to keep schools on their toes when it comes to emergency planning and suggests several questions for parents to ask regarding safety in emergencies.
  • Here is a list of 10 practical things parents can do to assess school security and crisis preparedness. These are questions every parent should consider asking their school officials, such as how often emergency guidelines are practiced or whether school employees have received proper training for a crisis.
  • Review the Governor’s Columbine Review Commission Report for insight into what remains a horrific, yet defining, moment in school safety and crisis preparedness.
  • Learn more about the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This standardized response to emergencies ensures that first responders, state agencies, and school officials are all on the same page when an emergency situation arises.
  • Learn more about the role of the bystander in preventing a targeted attack in this Colorado Department of Education fact sheet. In 1999, as a result of school shootings like those at Columbine High School, the United States Secret Service and the United States Department of Education initiated a study, the Safe School Initiative (SSI), which researched incidents of planned attacks in our schools. The SSI studied 37 incidents of targeted attacks in American schools and concluded that there were important key findings which indicated that future attacks can be prevented.

Gangs

Share more resources

  • Have you found useful resources for parents addressing safe schools? E-mail the EdNews Parent editor.

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