| Letter Executive Summary
1. A Guide to Safe
Schools
2. Characteristics of a
School That Is Safe and Responsive to All Children
3. Early Warning Signs
4. Intervention: Getting
Help for Troubled Children
5. Developing a
Prevention and Response Plan
6. Responding to Crisis
7. Conclusion
8. Methodology,
Contributors, and Research Support
Resources
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Dear Principal and Teachers: On June 13,
after the tragic loss of life and injuries at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon,
President Clinton directed the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to
develop an early warning guide to help "adults reach out to troubled children quickly
and effectively." This guide responds to that Presidential request. It is our sincere
hope that this guide will provide you with the practical help needed to keep every child
in your school out of harm’s way.
America’s schools are among the safest places to be on a day-to-day basis, due to
the strong commitment of educators, parents, and communities to their children.
Nevertheless, last year’s tragic and sudden acts of violence in our nation’s
schools remind us that no community can be complacent in its efforts to make its schools
even safer. An effective and safe school is the vital center of every community whether it
is in a large urban area or a small rural community.
Central to this guide are the key insights that keeping children safe is a
community-wide effort and that effective schools create environments where children and
young people truly feel connected. This is why our common goal must be to reconnect with
every child and particularly with those young people who are isolated and troubled.
This guide should be seen as part of an overall effort to make sure that every school
in this nation has a comprehensive violence prevention plan in place. We also caution you
to recognize that over labeling and using this guide to stigmatize children in a cursory
way that leads to over-reaction is harmful. The guidelines in this report are based on
research and the positive experiences of schools around the country where the value and
potential of each and every child is cherished and where good practices have produced, and
continue to produce, successful students and communities.
We are grateful to the many experts, agencies, and associations in education, law
enforcement, juvenile justice, mental health, and other social services that worked
closely with us to make sure that this report is available for the start of school this
fall. We hope that you and your students and staff, as well as parents and the community,
will benefit from this information.
Sincerely,
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