Safety and Security
The safety of our students, staff, and community is a critical foundation to the operation and success of the District. In line with federal, state, and local guidelines, the District maintains various programs and procedures to mitigate actual and potential safety risks. This includes physical safety protocols as well as behavioral health/school climate and other initiatives. Some of these programs are listed below.
Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others.
For more information, please select this link or the Safe2Say Something logo above.
School Climate refers to the quality and character of school life and is based on patterns of students, parent, and staff experiences and perceptions of school life and school personnel’s experience of school life. School climate can also reflect norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching, and learning practices, and organizational structures (Source: National School Climate Center). Schools with positive, healthy climates have been associated with positive learning outcomes.
Newport School District periodically participates in the PA Climate Survey. This survey is administered through the PA Department of Education’s Office for Safe Schools (PDEOSS), with core standard questions generated by the Commonwealth. There are three domains measured by the PDEOSS School Climate Surveys:
- Social Emotional Learning
- Student Support
- Safe and Respectful School Climate
The Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) Survey has been administered to students and is a helpful tool in identifying and addressing barriers to learning. By asking and compiling data on how students feel about school we are able to identify interventions that may be helpful in addressing motivation, connection to school, confidence, and provide other supports needed to thrive. We are also able to identify trends and provide feedback to staff.
In connection with the District’s recent implementation of the PASS survey for students and collection of important data through other school climate surveys, the District is intent on continuously monitoring and improving the overall school climate. All survey results are completely confidential.
Threat Assessment
In June 2019, Act 18 of 2019 amended the Public School Code of 1949 by adding Article XIII-E, Threat Assessment Among its provisions, Article XIII-E requires all school entities in Pennsylvania to establish at least one Threat Assessment Team for 2021-2022 school year. The teams are responsible for “the assessment of and intervention with students whose behavior may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community or others.”
All District threat assessment team members are trained in Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) practices.
Please see the following resources regarding Newport SD's Threat Assessment Teams.