The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students and the Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and its Persistently Dangerous Schools Technical Assistance Center to coordinate a special event titled Building Positive School Climate: Strategies for Success.
The purpose of the event was to provide DOL Persistently Dangerous Schools grantees (1) research related to creating a safe and supportive schools environment; (2) tips on identifying effective school-based strategies for building supportive relationships; (3) easily transferrable positive youth development strategies; and (4) easily transferrable de-escalation and risk reduction skills and strategies.
The training was introduced by Marilyn West, CEO of M. H. West & Co., Inc., and Sandy Keenan, Director of the Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center. Clay Roberts, Trainer for the Safe and Supportive Schools Center, then conducted the training with Sandy Keenan. The training included a PowerPoint presentation along with a series of activities.
Materials from this event, including the presentation and handouts, are below.
Download the presentation slides (PDF)
Download all handouts (PDF)
1. Introductions
(Slides 1-3)
Handout 1: SSSTA Introduction (PDF)
2. Overview and Objectives
(Slides 4-6)
Handout 2: Objectives (PDF)
3. Review of the Research Frameworks Contributing to a Safe and Supportive School Climate
(Slides 7-12)
Handout 3: Risk and Protective Factors (PDF)
4. Positive School Climate: Building Stronger Student/Staff Relationships
(Slides 13-20)
Handout 4: Developmental Assets (PDF)
Handout 5: Levels of Relationships and Influence (PDF)
5. How to Be More Deliberate And Intentional in Building And Sustaining Relationships
(Slides 21-36)
Handout 6: Redirecting Inappropriate Behavior (PDF)
Handout 7: Relationship Plan (PDF)
6. Risk Reduction: De-escalation
(Slides 37-49)
Handout 8: De-escalation Techniques (PDF)
7. Positive Youth Development
(Slides 50-54)
Handout 9: Five Vocabularies for Positive Youth Development (PDF)
Handout 10: The Resistance Skill (PDF)
Handout 11: Asset-Building Affirmations (PDF)
Handout 12: PDS Training Event: Case Study Form(PDF)
8. Individual School Team Planning: Next Steps and Resource Review
(Slides 55-56)
Handout 13: Action Planning (PDF)