Page 53 - Superintendent Report 2023-24

Safe Schools Ambassadors

The Safe Schools Ambassadors (SSA) program recruits and enlists student leaders from various groups on school campuses
to serve as allies with adults in preserving positive campus climates.

Safe Schools Ambassadors intervene with specific diplomatic communication skills in non-classroom settings to defuse
conflicts, support targets, distract or reason with aggressors, and neutralize cruel humor, harmful gossip, rumors, and
intergroup prejudice.

SSA is a program for students, by students. According to School Effectiveness Questionnaire (SEQ) data, students’ opinions
of safety on campus differ vastly from that of the staff, thus promoting why SSA and its fundamental foundation are so
important for every school. It is important to note that SSA will not look the same on every campus as it is designed to be
unique to each school’s culture and climate.

Following initial onsite training provided by Department of Safe Schools trainers, school site advisors meet with SSA
regularly to supervise, debrief, and encourage them. The FY23 school year provided a shift in support as the department
expanded the number of trainers from 1 to 18 trainers. With the help of Department of Justice grant, the team will support
more schools with creating and enhancing SSA on District campuses.

School Effectiveness Questionnaire

The FY23 School Effectiveness Questionnaire (SEQ) was administered in January and February. The FY23 SEQ represents
an improvement from previous years as the survey was redesigned to align with the District’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan and
to increase participation. The modification entailed creating items that measure specific aspects of the plan while reducing
the number of items to eliminate survey fatigue and increase participation.

Overall participation increased from FY22 to FY23:
• 25.2% to 62.1% for students
• 43.2% to 61.2% for staff
• 2.7% to 15.8% for parents

Mental Health and Wellness was the category with the lowest positive response from each stakeholder group. As such, this
will be an area of focus for improvement.

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