Any Colorado school can access a powerful new tool in school safety planning offered at no cost by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at 麻豆影院.
The school climate survey and school safety checklist -- key tools in making schools safe -- are available online through a secure Web site. The site offers students in grades 3 to 12 the ability to provide anonymous answers to questions about the positive characteristics of their school as well as incidents of bullying, violence and other problem behaviors or conditions that may be occurring.
After the survey data are collected and entered into the site, participating schools will receive a comprehensive report from CSPV about their school's climate and safety strengths and needs. The report will alert schools to areas where there may be a need for improvement as well as how they compare with both Colorado and national school climate and school safety statistics where available. If requested, CSPV will help schools interpret the results and provide recommendations on addressing problems.
"Research has shown that one of the best strategies for preventing school violence is to promote a more positive school climate," said Delbert Elliott, director of CSPV and a distinguished professor emeritus of sociology. "Safer schools, in turn, lead to fewer health problems for students, better academic performance and lower dropout rates. These surveys can play a critical role in addressing school climate issues."
CSPV's new online assessment, which also can be tailored to include sets of questions on mental health or health and wellness, is part of the statewide Safe Communities-Safe Schools initiative first launched in 1999.
CSPV also is providing the research and prevention component of the Colorado School Safety Resource Center established in July 2008. The resource center was part of Gov. Bill Ritter's legislative priorities and will operate within the Colorado Department of Public Safety to assist schools in preventing, preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies and crisis situations, and to foster positive learning environments.
CSPV will make recommendations to the Colorado School Safety Resource Center about evidence-based prevention and intervention programs and strategies. It also will help publish a quarterly newsletter on safe school planning in Colorado.
CSPV was founded by Elliott in 1992. The center is part of the Institute of Behavioral Science at CU-麻豆影院 and employs about 20 people, including four graduate students. Its long-term mission is to link research to practice by informing practitioners and policymakers about the causes, consequences and prevention of violence by providing an information clearinghouse, basic research and technical assistance services.
CSPV is fully grant-funded and has been supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the U.S. Department of Education, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For more information visit the center's Web site at .
To schedule an online school safety assessment, please contact Sabrina Arredondo-Mattson at 303-735-1633 or sabrina.mattson@colorado.edu.