Comprehensive Planning for Safe Learning Environments

This book provides school administrators, school-based mental health professionals, and other educational professionals with the framework and tools needed to establish a comprehensive safe learning environment. The authors identify four necessary phases to achieve this (prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery) and provide numerous examples and tools to help readers create safe environments, while also addressing students’ academic, emotional, and social needs. An emphasis is placed on the importance of the balance between physical and psychological safety within a multi-tiered framework - it is not enough for students to know their school is secure; they must also feel they are safe and can turn to their teachers and school-based mental health professionals with their concerns. Aaccompanying downloadable resources contain several valuable resources, such as forms, handouts, articles, and monitoring tools.

Melissa A. Reeves, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Winthrop University. Prior to this she was a School Psychologist and Coordinator of Social/Emotional/Behvioral Serrvices in the Cherry Creek School District. She has authored or co-authored numerous articles and book chapters.

Amy Elizabeth Plog, Ph.D., is the Director of Research for Creating Caring Communites. She has previously as a Program Evaluation Advisor and a Research and Data Coordinator in the Cherry Creek School District.

Linda M. Kanan, Ph.D., is an Intervention Coordinator in the Cherry Creek School District. She is also a member and chair of the Safe Schools Design Team. Dr. Kanan has held teaching positions at the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Colorado at Denver, and the University of Denver.