School safety plans: Building prevention in schools

From both education and substance use prevention research, we know that students cannot learn if they feel unsafe in their school environment. To bond or connect with the school, the school climate must be: Physically safe, emotionally safe, and socially safe. For many, the school can be a haven from violence.

So, school climate is one of three pillars of evidence-based prevention in schools—school climate, policy, and prevention curriculum—but is often viewed as outside the prevention mission. We are hosting Kris Bosworth, PhD., Head of the Program in Educational Leadership at the College of Education of the University of Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona (School) and member of APSI's Scientific Advisory Board who has studied evidence-based school safety and prevention planning.

Dr Bosworth will discuss how prevention professionals can get involved in school safety as an important building block to prevention schools.