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How it Works
Participants & Program Leadership
- Between 30 and 40 socially-influential students are carefully identified and selected by school staff and students to be trained as Safe School Ambassadors, and receive ongoing, annual support within Family Groups year-round.
- One or two Program Advisor(s) are trained are receive regular coaching to manage and coordinate program development and operation on the school site
- At least five and up to ten Family Group Facilitators are trained and work directly with Ambassadors in small Family Groups year-round
- A Program Management Team comprised of key adults, including the Administrator in Charge meet periodically to collaborate on program operation.
See Organization Chart
Training & Program Support
- A Safe School Ambassadors Trainer from Community Matters facilitates a two-day training involving up to 30 students (elementary) or up to 40 students (middle and high school) and up to ten adults. Students are trained to notice five types of mistreatment and learn five to seven youth-friendly actions they can use to respond. Each day of the training is designed for 6 ½ hours.
- Up to ten adults who participate in the Safe School Ambassadors training also receive two additional hours of training with the Community Matters Trainer to help them lead the follow-up Family Group meetings of Ambassadors and do the other tasks required to build an effective and sustainable program.
- Each school is assigned a Community Matters Program Coordinator who coaches the school before and after the training for as long as the program is active at the school. The School Coach works primarily with the Program Advisor(s), providing support, feedback, and resources as needed, and for at least two hours annually.
- Each school receives a Program Advisor’s Handbook with over 200 pages of operational and program implementation guides, tools, sample materials, and other resources.
- Each Family Group Facilitator receives a Family Group Facilitator’s Guide, which includes and operational guide for running Family Groups, activities and lessons for throughout the year, and guide for addressing challenges.
- In communities where several schools are implementing the program, District Administrators receive a District Coordinator’s Guide which includes ideas for supporting schools within their district and for community-wide planning.
- Schools have access to an array of web-based resources to support program implementation, including downloadable forms and manuals, a searchable Help Desk with best practices and answers to commonly asked questions, and a program management portal (under construction) that will provide a user-friendly platform for keeping track of vital data on Ambassadors and the impact of the program at the school. See a List of Program Tools
- Measurement and Assessment tools that establish pre-program baseline school climate characteristics and post-program changes from the baseline data are provided. For example, the tools include capturing school discipline & attendance data, and monitoring the impact of the SSA program on these indicators.
- Summary of Resources Provided. Resources and materials provided.
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