Strategies to Enhance School Climate and Student Safety: Enhanced Mental Health Services and Bullying Prevention

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

This panel will describe the process and outcomes of approaches to enhance student safety and well-being through local and national evaluations. The first paper will present preliminary findings from a national study of strategies designed to prevent bullying on the school bus as well as a theoretical taxonomy of these programs and management strategies to prevent or control bullying, violence, and other types of misbehavior on school buses. Next interim findings will be presented from the national evaluation of Project-AWARE SEA, a national initiative funded by SAMHSA designed to implement comprehensive, multidisciplinary approaches to identify and effectively respond to student emotional and mental health concerns. Findings related to community context, baseline school climate and safety, and strategies to enhance student safety and well-being across 400 middle and high schools participating in the initiative will be presented. The final presentation will describe the outcomes of enhanced school-based mental health services on school safety and school climate in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) public schools.

Sub Unit

• Area IX. Juvenile Crime and the Justice System / 50. Schools, School Violence and Bullying

Individual Presentations

• Bullying and Violence on the School Bus: Perspectives of Transportation Directors on Behavioral Management Strategies - Joshua A. Hendrix, RTI International; Alana Henninger, RTI International; Erin Kennedy, RTI International; James Trudeau, RTI International

• SAMHSA Now Is The Time – Project AWARE: Strategies to Identify and Response to Threats to Student Safety and Well-being - Duren Banks, RTI International; Nicole Johnson, RTI International; Lissette Saavedra, RTI International; Anna Yaros, RTI International

• School Safety vs. School Climate as Outcomes of a School-Based Mental Health Program - Anna Yaros, RTI International; Lissette Saavedra, RTI International; Antonio Morgan-Lopez, RTI International; James Trudeau, RTI International

Chair

• James Trudeau, RTI International