The purpose of the School Safety Survey (SSS)
is to assess risk factors and response plans for school safety and violence.
The survey is designed to help school leaders evaluate
-
The extent to which the school provides a safe learning environment;
-
Training and support needs related to school safety and violence prevention;
and
- Responses to violence and the effectiveness of protective measures.
The School Safety Survey is conducted on an annual basis with a minimum of five
staff members. The data is summarized and graphed as two separate scores: risk
factors and protective factors.
Instructions for Completing the Safety Survey
Who should complete the Safety Survey? Ask
a minimum of five staff members to complete the survey based on the list
of staff roles below. Additional staff, as well as students,
parents, community members, and others, can also be asked to complete surveys.
Staff Roles
-
administrator
-
teacher
-
special education teacher
-
educational assistant
-
office staff
-
custodial staff
-
related service provider
Other School and Community Roles
-
student
-
parent
-
community member
-
other
Each person should complete the survey separately.
When should Safety Surveys be completed? Conduct a
School Safety Survey annually in time for the data to be available for annual
reports and action planning.
How much time is required? The survey takes about 10 minutes
to complete.
What steps should be followed? To complete the survey,
complete each of the following steps:
-
Select the most appropriate description of your role from the list at the top
of the survey
-
Read each risk factor and indicate the extent to which the factor exists in the
school and neighborhood. If you do not have enough information to rate a
factor, select "don't know".
-
Select the "Safety Factors" tab and follow the same procedure.
-
When you have answered all the questions, click on the "Submit" button.
Using the School Safety Survey Results
The team managing the positive behavior support goal uses the information as
part of the annual action planning process. The overall goal is for the risk
factors to decrease and stabilize while the protective factors increase and
stabilize. The following chart illustrates the School Safety Survey results for
eight schools in one district. Using this data should always be combined with
other data sources (EBS Self-Assessment Survey, SET).