MSSC Maine Safe Schools Initiative

Our Maine Safe Schools Initiative focuses on Supporting a Restorative Culture of Care and Safety in schools through training, guidance, and technical support for the whole school and the whole student. Our vision is to assure the overall safety of Maine’s Schools, to the highest degree possible, providing an environment that allows students, staff, parents and visitors to feel welcomed, safe and secure thereby providing the environment to grow, thrive and succeed. Our mission is to develop a safe school infrastructure that will deliver high quality, up-to-date nationally recognized practices, procedures, training and technical assistance and support to Maine Schools.

Principles

Systemic– looking at the whole system from day-to-day school operations, services provided to the school or by the school, the framework of public safety in the community, our counties, and our state.

Pragmatic– practical fixes to larger problems. Safety improvement doesn’t mean large sums of money must be spent to upgrade security systems but encourages practical fixes and actions that have significant impacts, like replacing broken windows or burnt-out lights.

School Culture- plays a large role in safety. Whether there is pride in the facility by having a clean school, being a part of a staff that feels connected and appreciated or being the place students feel supported and comfortable, the school culture impacts the overall safety climate.

Collaboration- schools are a business. They require multiple experts from different fields of study, professional trainings, and experience to run day-to-day operations. They influence the lives of not only their staff and students but the families, neighbors, and communities they serve. From a school nurse to school finance, from the teaching staff to the custodial staff, a school brings together a multi-disciplinary team to operate day-to-day business. These same professionals provide unique perspectives to the topic of safety and are vital to the overall safety of a school.

Strategy

Our overarching strategy is to employ a public health approach to address school safety.

Holistic / Systemic- Addressing the problem in a multi-disciplinary manner.

Preventative- Utilizing measures to improve the health and safety of all individuals by addressing underlying risk factors that may increase the likelihood of violence.

Empower local, county and state stakeholders- So that local resources can be leveraged to efficiently and effectively deliver services and supports to our school communities.

Purpose

A central location for school safety and security information
A resource for the prevention of youth violence and dysregulated behavior
A promoter of overall school safety including positive school climate, multi-hazard mitigation and response
A resource to facilitate and assist local schools and public safety stakeholders in preventing, preparing for, and responding to threats and acts of violence including self-harm, through a holistic solutions-based approach