Conceptualizing and Measuring Safe and Supportive Schools

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Conceptualizing and Measuring Safe and Supportive Schools Jenna Howard Terrell 1

&

Christopher C. Henrich 2 & Amanda Nabors 1 & Kathryn Grogan 1 & Joseph McCrary 1

Published online: 12 August 2020 # California Association of School Psychologists 2020

Abstract This paper describes how a partnership between a large, urban school district and researchers resulted in a process to measure school climate and support schools and the district in school safety efforts. The partnership utilized a comprehensive framework of safe and supportive schools, where constructs such as physical safety and security were included along with connectedness of staff and students, emotional safety, physical environment, engagement, and norms and policies. Researchers then developed a process for measuring these constructs using existing, school-level data collected by the state and the district and communicating the results to district and school staff. This paper aims to describe the method of identifying and utilizing school-level data, our development of a standardized measurement model, and our processes to communicate and consult with the district and schools on using a data-driven process to improve school safety. Keywords School climate . School safety . Research practitioner partnership

Introduction School districts and states around the country are grappling with a variety of safety and security challenges following recent school shootings. While school violence is on the rise, national statistics show that schools are still the safest place for children (Fox and Fridel 2018); the rates of violence in schools are far lower than the rates of violence in many neighborhoods across the country (Nekvasil et al. 2015). Still, school districts and states are struggling to understand what practices make schools safe and how to effectively identify safety and security challenges before a tragic event occurs. Studies show that when students report feeling physically and emotionally safe

* Jenna Howard Terrell [email protected] Christopher C. Henrich [email protected] Amanda Nabors [email protected] Kathryn Grogan [email protected] Joseph McCrary [email protected] 1

WestEd, San Francisco, CA, USA

2

Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA

in school, students are more likely to attend school and less likely to engage in problematic behaviors (Kuperminc et al. 2001; Thapa et al. 2013). Conversely, students who are suspended and expelled from school are more likely to experience negative outcomes including truancy and delinquent behaviors (American Academy of Pediatrics 2003; Hemphill et al. 2006), academic failure leading to high dropout rates and failure to graduate on time (Arcia 2006; Vaughn et al. 2013), drug use (American Academy of Pediatrics 2003; Hemphill et al. 2012), and gang involvement (Bradshaw et al. 2014). Negative student outcomes such as these can be precursors for a developmental trajectory toward crime and future placement in the juvenile and/or prison system (Christle et al. 2005). These challenges are ex