The Safe School Climate Network
A network of K-12 schools and districts that use the same student data, the same student voice process and the same training to keep school climate safe. Every member school asks, listens and acts in the same way, so each one can compare what it sees with every other school in the network.
Schools do this work alone
Every school is working on school climate, school safety, student mental health and student engagement. Most do it with separate surveys and separate programs, and with no way to know whether what they see on campus is common or a warning sign. In the network, member schools ask students the same core questions, act on the answers through the same monthly cycle, and train staff and students with the same curriculum. A school that joins gains the experience of every other member school.
Three parts, and the program behind each one
Data shows what students are experiencing on campus and flags warning signs early, so adults can act before a problem grows.
Student voice is gathered by trained student leaders, who reach their peers and connect them with adults who can help.
Staff and student leaders train together and learn from other member schools at shared trainings and two annual conferences.
Students gather the information and lead the response
The network mobilizes young people to be part of the solution. Students are the source of the information a school needs, and they carry the response to their peers. Direction and the PLUS Program are used together so a school has both the numbers and the reasons behind them.
Students answer short surveys through the school year in the same database every member school uses. The results show how many students are affected by an issue and whether that number is moving.
PLUS students hold Forums with a new group of their peers each time. What students say in the Forum is recorded, and it explains what is behind the survey results.
With both kinds of information in hand, the PLUS Team creates the activities the campus needs and leads them with their peers. Adults receive a report they can act on, and students see their input put to use on their own campus.
Because every member school uses the same database, current data can be shared across schools and districts. Members see the latest trends as they develop and can compare their campus with the rest of the network.
Data from Direction and the PLUS Program sets the agenda and the workshops at the School Climate Conference and the School Safety Conference, so members train on the trends the network is seeing.
Four priorities, one approach
Students report what they are experiencing on campus every 30 days, so leaders work from current data.
Your data is compared with other member schools, and a result outside the normal range is flagged as a warning sign.
Data shows where students need support. Trained student leaders reach those peers and connect them with adults who can help.
Student Forums bring a new cross section of students into the conversation each time, and what they say is recorded as data the school can act on.
Studied by university researchers
PLUS is an evidence-based program. University researchers have studied it in member districts, and the results are published in peer-reviewed journals.
A study of a districtwide high school course compared 153 participating students with matched students who did not take part.
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness
One district reported bullying among fourth and fifth grade students falling as student-led work with school climate data strengthened its positive behavior system.
Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 2022
Researchers from six universities documented how evidence gathered by PLUS students informed decisions by district leaders.
Evidence and Policy, 2019
Three ways to join
Choose the level that fits how your school will run it. Each level has its own page with pricing and everything that is included.
An activity your leadership students lead on campus. They hold a Forum, Direction shows what their peers are experiencing, and your program chooses activities matched to the results. No class period is required.
For a school that will run PLUS as a year-long leadership course. A trained student team runs the 30-day cycle of survey, Forum, action plan and report through the school year.
For a district with five or more sites. Information moves from each PLUS class to the district office and the board, and decisions come back to the students.
PCE Solutions and the University of Oregon are recruiting 24 California high schools for a five-year study of student voice, funded by the William T. Grant Foundation.
Questions? Call 866.403.9484 or email pce@pcesolutions.org.