SAVE: Securing and Achieving a Vigilant School Environment is a multifaceted approach in securing schools with a positive climate through training, assessing, reporting, and hiring key positions.

Long Beach School District, through the SAVE: Securing and Achieving a Vigilant School Environment project, will accomplish many safety prevention initiatives. These include the prevention of school violence using an anonymous reporting system, a focus on building a positive school climate using School Climate Coaches (additional teacher duty with stipend) in each school who will oversee projects, School Climate kits and lessons, and giving students the tools and support they need to resolve conflict by teaching conflict resolution techniques to students in PreK-grade 12. Additionally, students in grades 6-12 will utilize peer mediation to solve conflicts using the correct steps of conflict resolution. Peer Mediators will undergo intensive training each year, giving those students additional tools in resolving conflicts. Conflict Resolution/Peer Mediation Coaches will be employed to ensure the continuity, organization, and safety during Peer Mediation sessions at Harper McCaughan Elementary, Long Beach Middle School, and Long Beach High School.

A support system for students and staff will be accomplished through the employment of an elementary school psychologist, a secondary school psychologist, and a social worker. Each of these positions will be put in place to help students with mental health issues, which is a major contributor to school violence.

A School Climate Specialist will be employed to oversee all safety prevention initiatives and to ensure follow-through on all projects. Safety and school violence prevention measures go together to ultimately provide the safest school environment possible for students throughout Long Beach School District. The School Climate Specialist will serve as a liaison between the school district and the Long Beach Police Department and will report any incidents found in the Anonymous Reporting System.

Finally, Long Beach School District values the relationship with the Long Beach Police Department. There are two visible School Resource Officers at Long Beach Middle School and Long Beach High School who are highly trained and continue to receive training. They will receive Adolescent Mental Health Training through this grant, giving them more tools to adequately work with juveniles.

Long Beach School District strives to put these various school violence prevention measures in place to ultimately create a safe and positive environment for students so that they can achieve all the success in school as possible.