Week 2 of School Safety Month: A Focus on Emotional Safety

10/10/2023

Celebrate School Safety Month by focusing on the emotional safety of your school. This year's theme for Ohio School Safety Month is "Relationships for Safety," which recognizes the impact that positive relationships between school staff, students and community play in maintaining a safe learning environment. Schools have a critical role in promoting emotional safety and can take action to help everyone feel safe and supported. Emotional safety practices can include:

• Fostering connectedness, trust and caring relationships between staff, students, families and communities;
• Creating a positive school climate through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation and trauma-informed practices;
• Expanding resources for vulnerable and at-risk populations;
• Providing violence and suicide prevention programs, mental health services and implementing an Active Threat Assessment Team;
• Ensuring open lines of communication where all students feel comfortable asking for help or reporting concerns about their peers.

To support school safety, Ohioans can report school safety concerns through a new smartphone app and online web form to the state's free Safer Ohio School Tip Line (1-844-SAFEROH). Together we can create relationships and school environments that facilitate emotional safety for everyone.

For questions regarding school safety, please contact saferschools@education.ohio.gov.