Safety Services
A variety of supports to keep our students and staff safe and healthy
Charlottesville City Schools offers a variety of programs to support our students and staff. The foundation is a commitment to wellness and promoting a positive school culture. Beyond that, we proactively make plans to keep our students and staff safe. Read below to learn more about specific ways we work to promote the wellbeing of our school communities.
Superintendent Committee on School Safety/Security Resources
Earlier this fall, Dr. Atkins appointed a number of superintendent committees to provide recommendations in three areas (Covid-19, school names, and school safety). The committee for school safety/security resources was prompted in part by the schools and the Charlottesville Police Department jointly ending our 2016 Memorandum of Understanding for School Resource Officers (SRO’s). The committee’s goal is to recommend the best path forward for the near-term and longer-term.
More Information about the Committee on School Safety/Security Resources
As this safety/security resources committee begins meeting, we will post updates to this page. Check back here or sign up to receive email updates as they are posted.
Click here to sign up to receive email updates
Click here to give feedback or suggestions to the committee
Committee Meeting 1 (November 10, 2020)
Committee Meeting 2 (November 18, 2020)
Committee Meeting 3 (November 24, 2020)
Committee Meeting 4 (December 2, 2020)
Committee Meeting 5 (December 8, 2020)
Committee Meeting 6 (Public Forum on School Safety, January 12, 2021)
- Slides
- For overview/recap, see slides and minutes from January 14 meeting, below.
Committee Meeting 7 (January 14, 2021)
Committee Meeting 8 (February 2, 2021)
Presentation for Listening Sessions
Related Resources
Safety Programs at Charlottesville City Schools
A System of Supports
A System of Supports: VTSS and PBIS
Charlottesville City Schools has implemented a framework for creative a positive, consistent school culture using the models of Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports (VTSS) and Positive Behavorial Intervention and Supports (PBIS). The school division has won a trailblazer’s award for the way we have included attention to mental wellness in our implementation of VTSS.
Wellness
Wellness
Social, emotional, and physical wellness are foundational to life and learning
Charlottesville City Schools recognizes the strong link between a child’s social, emotional, and physical health and their ability to learn. Schools also play an important role in teaching children about wellness.
In 2016, our school division won a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools District Sustainability Award in recognition of our policies in place to promote healthy choices for our students and staff. We have also won national recognition for our attention to mental wellness through social and emotional learning programs and our systems of positive supports.
Our 2017-23 Strategic Plan places a strong emphasis on “Safe and Supportive Schools,” with specific goals for social, emotional, and physical wellness.
The School Health Advisory Board—made up of health professionals, community agencies, parents, educators and students—advises the School Board in the development and evaluation of our state-recognized Wellness Policy and programs that support the health and well-being of students, families, and school staff.
More Information:
- Charlottesville City Schools Wellness Policy (Policy JHCF)
- CCS Wellness Policy Brochure (2017) — distributed to all families
- Physical Fitness Programs at Charlottesville City Schools
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Counselors, Social Workers and Psychologists including Bullying Prevention and Peer Mediation
- Employee Wellness Benefits and Overview of Programs
- Green Initiatives at Charlottesville City Schools
- Safety Programs and Planning
- School Community-Building Programs
- School Health Advisory Board
- School Nurses and Student Health
- Information about student insurance for qualifying families (FAMIS)
- School Nutrition at Charlottesville City Schools
- School-wide Positive Supports (Virginia Tiered Systems of Support and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)
Sample Partners and Related Programs:
Community
Fostering School Community and Relationships
One of the goals for Charlottesville City Schools is to promote a positive and inclusive culture in our learning communities. Relationships are at the heart of a thriving community. We strive to encourage strong relationships among and between staff, students, and families through mentoring and other initiatives.
Examples include:
- A strong sense of community is at the heart of our division-wide framework for supporting students’ academic, behavioral, and mental health needs (Virginia Tiered Systems of Support and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). Both Johnson Elementary and our alternative learning center, Lugo-McGinness Academy, have led the way as we establish practices that build community, encourage good behavior, and deepen relationships.
- From school-wide meetings at Venable to Fun Fridays at Clark to the Harry Potter-style “house” system at Jackson-Via, our elementary schools promote a positive sense of community. Need another example? How about the “welcome back” field days at the start of each semester at Burnley-Moran.
- We believe in mentoring, whether that means Buford eighth-graders serving as reading buddies at neighboring Johnson Elementary, upperclassmen at CHS welcoming ninth-graders through Link Crew, or teachers, coaches, and community leaders guiding students at every step of the way.
- Our school counselors foster social-emotional health in a variety of ways. They offer classroom lessons, such as Walker students guiding their blindfolded partners to solve jigsaw puzzles. They also sponsor clubs and groups such as the Walker Peace Squad or the Jackson-Via Bully-Nots. Social-emotional learning is also part of our curriculum, and trauma-responsive practices are in place in all our schools.
- Relationships (and reading skills) can deepen even during the summer through our teachers’ and librarians’ Books on Bikes program! The BoB team visits neighborhoods to deliver free books, popsicles, and smiles. (A therapy dog even makes the rounds!)
- Parents are a big part of our school communities, whether through staying connected, volunteering, or attending events such as Doughnuts with Dad at Johnson. We are proud to have a Family Engagement Coordinator and are so grateful for the good work of our active PTOs!
- Clubs, athletics, and our amazing fine arts programs also build relationships and community.
- An award-winning and comprehensive commitment to wellness — from mental health to outdoor gardens — lays the foundation for our community-building.
Related Information
Community Partnerships
School safety is not limited to the school day. We are a model of community partnership for areas such as mental health (partnering with Region 10 to provide no-fee counselors at CHS, Buford, and Walker); trauma-informed practices (co-founding and partnering with the Charlottesville Trauma Network for staff training and agency consistency); and community policing (working with the Charlottesville Police Department).
Safety and Emergency Planning
Emergency Planning
School leaders work throughout the year evaluating security measures and planning for crises and emergencies. Student safety is our top priority. We work with local police, develop building-specific security procedures, and participate in emergency management training and activities. Each school has a threat assessment team to promote safety in the schools.
Our plans include:
- Training for all employees
- Routine safety drills
- Building-specific security procedures
- Strong school-based staffing of counselors, social workers, and psychologists
- Threat assessment teams at all schools
- Surveillance cameras, screening procedures for visitors, buzz-in entrances, lighting/locking upgrades, and standardized exterior door signage to assist first responders
- Continued awareness of local or national events and their impact
- Participation in local emergency management activities and drills with government, school, and public health officials
- Attendance at school safety conferences to stay in step with best practices
- In addition, in March 2018, the Charlottesville School Board approved a Resolution on Gun Violence Prevention.
In 2020, the schools and the Charlottesville Police Department jointly ended our 2016 Memorandum of Understanding for School Resource Officers (SRO’s). The superintendent has convened a committee on safety and security resources to explore future models. Learn more by visiting charlottesvillesvilleschools.org/safety.
These emergency plans complement our larger goals for promoting safety by building systems of supports for all students, promoting wellness, and creating a positive school culture.
What Can Families Do?
There are concrete steps you can do now to make sure you stay informed and to help create a positive community.
- Keep your contact info up-to-date. Has your telephone number or email address changed? Contact your school!
- Customize how you hear from us – choose phone, email, or text! Log in to PowerSchool and click on “School Messenger.”
- For help creating your PowerSchool login, call your school secretary or registrar.
- Click here for detailed instructions about how to edit your contact settings.
- Stay connected with your school’s PTO!
- Talk to your children about school safety, particularly when there has been a national incident. Click here for tips from the National Association of School Psychologists.
- Follow the national conversation on school safety and advocate as you see appropriate.