Our Whole School Safety Policy
Safety is everyone's responsibility. At CPS, we're committed to supporting the holistic safety of all of our schools by addressing the physical, behavioral, and social-emotional safety, health, and well-being of every student. The Whole School Safety policy was developed in collaboration with CPS parents, students and community members, and was adopted on July 24, 2024. It builds on the District's existing Healing-Centered Framework and wellness and social-emotional learning policies and initiatives. The policy will guide all schools to adopt the comprehensive Whole School Safety Framework that addresses the following three components:
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Physical Safety: Administrators understand how best to respond to threats of violence, neighborhood incidents, and emergencies to keep students and staff safe.
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Emotional Safety: Administrators, staff, and students feel safe to express emotions, are comfortable in their environment, feel secure about taking risks, and are challenged to try new things.
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Relational Trust: Interpersonal relationships among administrators, students, teachers, and staff are built on mutual trust.
Supporting the Whole Student
At CPS, we recognize that student safety goes beyond just the physical spaces where learning and growth occur. It also involves ensuring the emotional well-being of our students and fostering trust in relationships with caring adults.
To address these safety needs, we have developed the Whole School Safety Framework. This framework operates on the premise that the physical and emotional safety of our students are deeply interconnected. A safe physical environment is crucial for fostering a healthy emotional and learning atmosphere to ensure the social and emotional well-being of our students.
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What is a Whole School Safety Plan?
A Whole School Safety Plan is a detailed document that outlines a school's vision, priorities, and strategies to cultivate an environment of physical, emotional, and relational safety.
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Who Created the Whole School Safety Plan Framework?
A diverse Steering Committee, made of principals, students, teachers, and representatives from Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), worked together to design the framework.
This template serves as a guideline for schools in formulating their individual Whole School Safety (WSS) plans.
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How are Whole School Safety Plans (WSSP) Created for Each School?
The plan is collaboratively developed by a Whole School Safety (WSS) committee, incorporating views from teachers, staff, parents, and students. The committee concentrates on the following key areas:
- Implementing holistic restorative practices
- Increasing access to social-emotional learning and mental health resources
- Creating a safe and welcoming physical environment in schools
- Boosting investments in student leadership and participatory decision-making
Pillars of School Safety |
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|---|---|---|
| Physical Safety | Emotional Safety | Relational Trust |
| Responding to threats of violence, neighborhood incidents, emergency management, etc. | Supporting teachers/students, restorative justice practices, active supervision of students in hallways, classrooms, cafeterias, etc. | Interpersonal relationships between teachers, students, administrators, and staff are founded on trust |
Proactive (Climate Development) |
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| Example: Controlling the flow of who and what enters the building: ensuring the safe passage of students |
Example: Creating a school climate that is calm and conducive to learning |
Example: Ensuring that teachers and students have trusted individuals in the building to whom they can bring concerns |
Reactive (Safety Response) |
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| Example: Responding to an active threat in the building |
Example: Maintaining discipline systems that support students and teachers |
Example: Executing mandated reporting when issues are shared/discovered |
Pillars of School Safety |
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|---|---|---|
| Physical Safety | ||
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Responding to threats of violence, neighborhood incidents, emergency management, etc. Proactive Initiatives (Climate Development) Example: Controlling the flow of who and what enters the building: ensuring the safe passage of students Reactive Protocol (Safety Response) Example: Responding to an active threat in the building |
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| Emotional Safety | ||
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Supporting teachers/students, restorative justice practices, active supervision of students in hallways, classrooms, cafeterias, etc. Proactive Initiatives (Climate Development) Example: Creating a school climate that is calm and conducive to learning. Reactive Protocol (Safety Response) Example: Maintaining discipline systems that support students and teachers |
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| Relational Trust | ||
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Interpersonal relationships between teachers, students, administrations, and staff are founded on trust Proactive Initiatives (Climate Development) Example: Ensuring that teachers and students have trusted individuals in the building to whom they can bring concerns Reactive Protocol (Safety Response) Example: Executing mandated reporting when issues are shared/discovered. |
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The Curie Way
See how Curie High School transformed its culture to put “care” at the center of its approach to school safety.