A recent survey of 3,300 teenagers (ages 13-19) conducted by America’s Promise Alliance found that teens are more concerned than usual about their health and their family’s health, as well as concerned about the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their families. According to the survey report, “30% of young people say they have more often been feeling unhappy or depressed, and nearly as many say they are much more concerned than usual about having their basic needs met. More than one-quarter of students (29%) say they do not feel connected at all to school adults. A similar percentage do not feel connected to classmates or to their school community.” Survey results indicate that teens are experiencing collective trauma caused by the changes in their immediate circumstances, combined with the uncertainty about the future.

In the report, America’s Promise Alliance recommends that students should be provided support as soon as possible to help address their mental health needs. Recommendations include:

• Understand young people’s evolving concerns. Even during the summer, school administrators, counselors, coaches, health care providers, and others should listen to what young people are saying about their concerns, so that they can provide timely, personalized supports.
• Strive toward equity. The survey indicates that all young people are suffering during this time, but the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating pre-pandemic racial and economic inequities. As a result, supports need to be tailored to meet those unique needs.
• Prioritize social and emotional well-being. The survey findings highlight the need for a renewed focus on ensuring students (and the teachers and families who support them) have resources to address their social, emotional, and cognitive well-being.

How SafeSchools Can Help

SafeSchools Training’s courses for students cover essential safety and wellness topics and help educators facilitate important discussions with their students. The expert-authored, video-based course modules are highly relatable and focus on the impact the topics can have on students personally or the people they care about. Peer presenters, animations, and live-acted scenarios help students visualize and apply what they’re learning. Each module comes with a lesson plan, discussion questions to help you talk with students about these important topics, and facilitated group activity ideas. Courses are customized for grades 6-8 and 9-12 to ensure age-appropriate content.

New Student Wellness Courses for Back-to-School

The new collection of courses for grades 9-12 will be available in time for back to school and includes the following courses focused on student emotional and mental well-being: Stress & Anxiety; Depression; Good Decision Making; Healthy Relationships; and Resolving Disagreements. Similar courses for grades 6-8 will be available in 2021.

Other courses currently available for both grades 6-8 and 9-12 include: Alcohol, Drugs, and Vaping; Bullying & Cyberbullying; Digital Citizenship; Sexual Harassment; and Youth Suicide Awareness.

In addition to student course modules, we also provide staff training on many of these topics to help prepare staff to better address student needs, as well as new Trauma-Informed Practices courses available within our Exceptional Child course library.

To learn more about our student or staff training, please contact us at [email protected], 1-800-434-0154, or request a demo online.

As the debate continues around when and how schools will reopen following the COVID-19 pandemic, education leaders are focusing their discussions on what it will look like when they do. When schools do reopen, things will likely not immediately return to “normal” as schools may need to alter activities to maintain social distancing guidelines and avoid gatherings of large groups of students and staff.

These changes will no doubt have an impact on planned professional development activities during the coming months. While the end of the school year and the summer months are frequently used for PD in preparation for the following year, many planned activities may have to be cancelled or altered.

How Online Courses Can Help Districts Provide Remote Professional Development

As you adjust your PD plan, an affordable, easy-to-implement alternative is to utilize online courses. You can even pair online course content with virtual web conferencing to support more in depth professional learning. And in this time of ever-changing plans, turning to a trusted provider with expert-authored courses on a wide range of topics, can help you navigate this transition and roll out PD quickly to your remote staff.

• Address safety and compliance training needs with SafeSchools Training.
• Provide paraeducators, classroom teachers, and other school staff with PD on addressing the unique needs of students with exceptionalities with Exceptional Child
• Deliver specialized training to your bus drivers with the School Bus Safety Company

All of these course libraries can be delivered through our award-winning Online Staff Training System, which features automatic training plans which are customizable by role, location, or individual training needs, new hire training plans, email notifications, easy real-time reporting, and built in policy acceptance to simplify training management.

To learn more about how we can help support your upcoming training needs and find out about our multi-product discounts, please contact us at 800.434.0154 or [email protected] or Request a Free Trial!

At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, we launched the new SafeSchools Training Student Courses with customized course collections for students in grades 9-12 and 6-8. Written by leading K-12 subject matter experts from across the nation, and delivered in a video-based format featuring age-appropriate content and peer presenters, our student courses cover essential safety and wellness topics you need to educate students on so they’re better prepared for the realities of school and life today. The modular courses also include helpful assessments, lesson plans, discussion questions, and activities to support a variety of uses.

Course titles include:

• Alcohol, Marijuana, and Vaping
• Bullying and Cyberbullying
• Digital Citizenship
• Sexual Harassment
• Youth Suicide Risk
• *Student Wellness Collection coming in 2020.

What Customers Are Saying about Student Training

Mid-way through the school year, we surveyed our customers on their use of the new program, and we’ve had a tremendous response from administrators who have implemented the courses in their districts. Here are a few highlights from our December 2019 Customer Survey.

“We chose the SafeSchools Training Student Courses to supplement instruction in areas that often cause concern with our students. We really value the ease of use, the understandability for our students, and the positive, informational content.”

Dr. Gina Wohlford, Superintendent | Norton City Schools, VA

Why do administrators choose the SafeSchools Training Student Courses?

• To provide consistent training in key areas of need for students.
  • The courses cover important topics that have a big impact on both the individual students and the school community.
  • The courses provide supplemental content to support district curriculum and state standards.
• Quality content from a trusted provider.
  • Each student course is written by a K-12 subject matter expert, so administrators can trust the quality of the content presented in the courses.
  • Many of our customers also use our SafeSchools Training Staff Safety and Compliance Training and appreciate the opportunity to utilize a consistent training format, in a convenient training system, for both staff and student training.
• Flexibility to assign courses individually or use in a group setting.
  • The flexibility and modular design of the courses support a variety of uses within a school.
    • Assigning courses to students to complete individually.
    • Using in a facilitated group setting, such as homeroom or advisory period.
    • Facilitating important conversations with students using the course modules as a foundation for discussion.
  • To provide remediation alternatives and enhancements to discipline.
    • Districts are providing training in key areas of concern to help remediate issues within the schools.
    • Administrators are using the courses to provide additional knowledge and understanding for students who would previously have only received discipline for certain behaviors.

What do customers value most about the SafeSchools Training Student Courses?

Here are a few statements our administrators shared about what they value most in the new student courses. Clearly content, student engagement, flexibility, and affordability are key!

• Consistency in curriculum for all students.
• Courses are high quality with good messages and valuable information presented by student peers.
• Allows teachers to be involved in open discussion with students with the videos being the starting point.
• The students can get information on topics they don’t normally talk about by watching the teen presenters in the videos.
• Students like the video lessons and having time to discuss current topics.
• Easy to use, informative.
• Flexibility to use individually or in group setting.
• Affordable, the cost-per-pupil makes it worth it.

“Our administration was looking for innovative ways to educate students on the topics that you offered. We have used the SafeSchools Training Student Courses for students who would have typically just received discipline for a behavior. Now, we are able to require them to use the courses to enhance their knowledge. We value the flexibility of being able to use the courses in the classroom or assign individually to students.”

Angela Watson, Coordinator of Nursing | School District of Pickens County, SC

To preview the student courses or learn more about adding these courses for your school or district, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or [email protected].

Can you believe that the school year is nearly halfway through? Now is a great time to do a mid-year training and compliance check to be sure your school is on track to meet your safety goals and manage liability. A safety compliance check now gives you time before the school year ends to check on anyone who might not have completed their training.

That’s where the SafeSchools Online Training System comes in! Here are five ways we can help you better manage compliance:

1. Compliance Management System

Every employee training assignment and course completion is automatically documented in your SafeSchools Training System and is made available for compliance reporting in real-time. All reports can be exported to Excel instantly, with just a few clicks. Learn more about how SafeSchools Training can help your district better manage compliance and automate your training to save valuable time.

2. Course Customization

Add school-specific content and/or state-specific customized messaging to the beginning or end of any SafeSchools Training course. Administrators can also link to district-specific resources and policies.

3. Track Off-line Training

Track individual or group face-to-face sessions in your SafeSchools Training System too, by giving credit to employees or students who were in attendance.

4. New Hire Training Plan

New Hires may have different start dates, have different job titles, and be located in different buildings. Your SafeSchools Training System offers an easy way for you to assign and track training specifically for new hires. Once set up, your New Hire Training Plan automatically assigns the courses you’ve identified to employees loaded into the system as new employees. Plus, as you add new employees, the system automatically assigns your training and tracks completions.

5. Compliance Notes

These helpful reminders provide additional actions that are needed to achieve full compliance. Examples of SafeSchools Training courses that have compliance notes are Asbestos Awareness, Bloodborne Pathogens, and Hazard Communications.

To learn more about how SafeSchools Training can help your school or district with compliance, please contact us at [email protected], 1-800-434-0154, or request a free trial.

Aberdeen School District 06-1, in South Dakota, serves roughly 4,500 students and 600 employees in 9 schools. The district adopted the SafeSchools Online Training System in 2014 to shift their safety and compliance training online. Since then, over 1,000 users have completed more than 21,000 SafeSchools Training courses!

The Need: A More Efficient Way to Deliver District-required Training to Staff

Before adopting SafeSchools Training, Aberdeen administrators were having a difficult time training employees due to limited resources and time. Aberdeen selected SafeSchools Training for the wide variety of training options, the convenience of being able to conduct training anywhere, at any time, and the documentation of required district trainings.

Hartford Public Schools is the largest public school district in Connecticut, with over 20,000 students and 3,000 employees in 46 schools. Since 2017, staff members have completed almost 24,000 SafeSchools Training courses!

The Need: A User-Friendly System to Manage and Track Compliance Training

Why did Hartford select the SafeSchools Online Training System as their online safety and compliance provider?

“Being a large district, we needed a platform that could easily track completions of our compliance trainings, while also allowing us to create customized trainings specific to our district. The platform also needed to be user friendly for various levels of our staff to use it. We had tried other platforms before but they just didn’t offer exactly what we were looking for and left our team having to do a lot of extra work to make sure we were staying compliant,” states Rachel Stimpson, Performance Management Specialist.

Before adopting SafeSchools Training, Hartford held large group meetings for trainings, but they felt like it was a waste of valuable time. Plus, only 50% of their staff were taking the mandatory trainings. After using SafeSchools Training for two years, they now have a 97% completion rate! And, staff can now take their trainings online, when it’s most convenient for their schedule.

The Results: Increased Accountability and More Personalized Training

Rachel loves how user friendly the SafeSchools Training system is, “We have a variety of staff with varying levels of technology skills that need to take the trainings. SafeSchools Training is easy to navigate for everyone. As an admin, I also like how easy it is to set up courses and run reports to check our compliance ratings.” She also notes, “The site is very user friendly and easily allows us to track our compliance rates and notify staff when they need to complete a training. The catalog of available trainings is extensive and fits the needs of our large district perfectly.”

The biggest benefits Hartford has seen using SafeSchools Training? Their compliance rating has gone up over 50% using this platform, they can easily track who still needs to complete their training with reports, they can hold staff accountable by keeping clear data on which trainings they have taken versus which trainings they are supposed to take, and they can assign more trainings on an individual basis if there are certain staff members who need training in one area during the year.

Now the district can rest assured they are better training employees and preventing serious safety incidents before they occur. Keep up the great work, Hartford!

To see how SafeSchools Training can help you increase compliance, provide more personalized staff training, and improve safety in your district, sign up for a free trial today!

As the leading provider of online compliance training for school employees, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new SafeSchools Training safety courses for students! Our powerful, new, web-based courses cover the essential safety topics you need to educate your students on to keep them safe and to positively impact your school culture, including:

1. Bullying & Cyberbullying
2. Youth Suicide Prevention
3. Alcohol & Drug Prevention
4. Sexual Harassment
5. Digital Citizenship 

And, our courses are perfect for prevention training or remediation with students who have disciplinary issues.

Each short, age-appropriate, modular course features peer presenters, so students can more easily connect with each lesson. Administrators can assign courses to individual students to complete independently, use in a facilitated group setting with a staff presenter, or add our courses to your existing LMS. Each course includes helpful assessments, lesson plans, discussion questions and activities.

Click on the video below to watch an overview of our student courses.

Equip your students with the knowledge and skills they need, so they’re better prepared for the realities of school today with SafeSchools Training’s new student courses!

Our new student courses will be available in June in perfect time for the new school year. To preorder or to learn more, please call 1-800-434-0154 or email [email protected]. 

Royse City Independent School District in Texas is home to almost 5,500 students and 800 employees in 9 schools. With other curriculum demands, district administrators found it challenging to find time to train staff on important safety and security topics. To motivate employees, administrators developed a new program that allows staff to earn badges and certificates upon completion of their training assignments in the SafeSchools Online Training System.

Royse Staff can earn up to four badges- CPR, Medical, Safety, and Security, by taking a variety of SafeSchools Training and district policy courses. To earn the CPR badge, employees must take two courses for a total of six hours of training. The Medical badge entails 15 courses for 3.65 hours of training. The Safety badge is 13 courses for 4.25 hours and the Security badge is 10 courses for 4.6 hours. Staff members that earn awards are also invited to a Board meeting to be recognized as well.

The results? Staff members have completed almost 23,000 safety courses in SafeSchools Training since implementing the program in 2016!

Now the district can rest assured it is meeting required training mandates and creating a safer learning environment for all staff and students. Keep up the great work, Royse City!

The Maine Department of Education has partnered with Vector Solutions to provide their SafeSchools Online Staff Training System and Bullying: Recognition & Response course to all schools in Maine. This course addresses Maine’s anti-bullying law and specifically highlights Maine DOE’s bullying policy and procedures.

Why did the Maine DOE select SafeSchools Training? The SafeSchools Online Training System completely automates staff training, saving administrators valuable time (and money). The system offers hundreds of courses on important school safety topics written by leading experts, all available in one convenient online system. Course completions are automatically tracked and compliance reports can be generated with just a few clicks! Plus, staff can complete their courses online, whenever it’s most convenient for their schedules!

To access this course, district or school leadership should contact Justin Moore at [email protected] or 1-800-434-0154.

Read the full press release here.

Corpus Christi ISD employees have until the end of March to complete an online course on active shooter training, Corpus Christi ISD chief of police Kirby Warnke said.

The training covers facts about school shootings, understanding how to reduce the likelihood of active shooter situations, learning evidence-based methods to improve the odds of survival during an active shooter event, and a list actions to take in the event of an active shooter situation.

Warnke said the training, which is part of the SafeSchools Training program suite created by Vector Solutions, is supplementary to a manual for staff and classroom curriculum on crises at schools. The manual was issued after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.

The Corpus Christi ISD police department has undergone active shooter training for more than a decade. The district is among the about 150 school districts in the state that has a police department.

One of the reasons the district recently took on SafeSchools Training is to provide employees with factual data on active shooter situations in school settings, Warnke said.

“We’re firm believers in training,” he said. “(The SafeSchools training) helps dispel some myths about school shootings.”

Homicide is the second leading cause of youth ages 5 to18, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s School-Associated Violent Death Study of deaths between 1992 and 2010.

Data from the study indicates that between 1 percent and 2 percent of these deaths happen on school grounds or on the way to or from school.

The leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 14 are accidents, or unintentional injuries, according to data published by the CDC. The second leading cause of death for youth ages 15-19 is suicide, according to data published by the CDC.

A 2014 study conducted by the Department of Justice indicates there were 160 active shooter incidents in the U.S. between 2000 and 2013. Thirty-nine of those active shooter incidents, or 24 percent of them, took place in an educational environment, according to the study.

Twenty-seven of the 160 active shooter incidents took place at pre-K to12 schools, including two school board meetings.

Warnke said the district is compliant with recommendations issued to school districts by Gov. Greg Abbott but is hoping to “exceed state requirements.”

For example, schools are required to conduct three emergency response drills per school year.

“We’re doubling it next year to six drills,” Warnke said.

Abbott’s order was issued in response to the massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

It states school safety audits required by state law must be completed and confirmation of thee audits’ completion must also be filed with the Texas School Safety Center.

Abbott ordered the Texas Education Agency to publish a list of school districts that have not completed their audits.

Warnke said Corpus Christi ISD will not be one of them.