Safe Spaces

Creating Safe and Drug-Free Learning Environments

Make learning, not violence, the focus of your school!

School violence. From gang activity to sexual harassment, it's in the news, on our minds, and all too often, taking place in our classrooms. How can educators fight violence and substance abuse issues in our schools and communities? Safe Spaces is the first step.

Safe Spaces is a training developed through The New York State Center for School Safety. It is part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and the New York State Education Department.

This professional development guide leads participants step-by-step through the process of data-based school change. Teachers, parents, administrators, and other attendees learn how to:

• develop a functioning safe school team
• establish a set of goals and objectives
• collect and analyze data to identify areas of risk
• research potential violence intervention strategies
• implement a safe school plan specific to the data-identified needs
• follow up with ongoing planning and technical assistance
• evaluate your program

Safe Spaces consists of three related resources:

• A Training Guide with detailed process and content for conducting trainings. Three-ring binder, approximately 150 pages.
• A Participant Guide that includes all the hand-outs and overheads used in the training. Spiral bound, approximately 75 pages.
• A Planning Video (DVD) that demonstrates how to collect, analyze, and apply critical school safety data. DVD video, approximately 12 minutes.