Program Profile: Student Safety and Wellness
Details and data for the 2023-24 School Year
Program Overview
The Student Safety and Wellness (SSAW) office is dedicated to promoting prevention activities to increase community awareness and collaboration to support healthy life choices. It also provides prevention presentations for schools and parents on ways to prevent violence, bullying, gangs, and drug use. The office monitors state and federal websites to identify trends, professional development opportunities, and changes in regulations which may impact the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) student behavior code of conduct.
In partnership with the Fairfax County Office of Neighborhood and Community Services and the Fairfax Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB), SSAW works with schools, parents and other community members to raise public awareness of trends in alcohol and other drug use in teens. Close collaboration with the police and a review of data from law enforcement, schools, and community reports results in early identification of problems and early intervention to prevent escalation of unwanted behaviors.
Educational programs are presented for students and parents on how to avoid alcohol and other drugs, and how to resist peer pressure around the use of illegal substances. A library of resources is collected each year and shared with schools so they can, in turn, provide parents with easy access to the latest research and best practices for talking to their child about a range of topics including alcohol and other drugs, bullying, cyber-bullying, and gang involvement. Substance abuse prevention specialists assigned to school pyramids provide tier one education to all students, as well as intervention strategies for at-risk students and those students currently using substances. For those students with greater needs, SSAW links students with additional treatment options provided by the Fairfax-Falls Church CSB.
The SSAW office works with the Fairfax County Juvenile Courts to provide the supervision and probationary counseling for students who are under court supervision or who are deemed to be at high risk for court involvement and helps support the academic and social emotional progress of these students. The school court probation counselors (SCPC) are FCPS employees, and their daily presence in the schools allows them to develop close mentoring relationships with the students under their supervision. Students in the program report on a weekly basis to their SCPC to discuss progress toward reaching goals related to attendance, student achievement, and behavior. Student participation is closely monitored, with weekly documentation of response to interventions, input from the court's probation officer, and the student's teachers. The counselors meet with their students before, during, or after school in order to provide the required contacts and intervention.
The SSAW MentorWorks program matches mentors with students, building relationships with caring adults. A majority of schools in FCPS have implemented a mentoring program and provide one-to-one or group mentoring during the school day at the school site. Mentors are volunteers who may be FCPS staff members, community members, or business members. For more information on mentoring, visit https://www.fcps.edu/get-involved/be-mentor.
Lastly, SSAW provides the logistical support for the annual Fairfax County Youth Survey by assuring that all aspects of the survey process are maintained and followed in order for every 6th 8th, 10th, and 12th grader to take the survey unless opted out by parents or guardians. SSAW provides logistical support for the bi-yearly Virginia Department of Health Youth Risk Behavior survey and the yearly Virginia Department of Criminal Justice’s School Climate survey.
Students in all FCPS schools participate in one or more programs, lessons, activities or presentations developed by the SSAW Office. Individual students, referred by teachers, parents, the Hearings Office, or the courts may participate in a range of intervention programs offered by SSAW. These include:
- Participation in the School Court Probation Counselor program
- Participation in the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention and Intervention Program
- For more information about the SSAW office, please visit https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness
Prevention programs through the Office of Student Safety and Wellness are provided to all students in the school system with use of an assessment tool. The Fairfax County Youth Survey, completed yearly by students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12, is used to assess outcomes of prevention activities.
Students participating in the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Prevention and Intervention Program are administered an FCPS created pre- and post-assessment at the beginning and end of the intervention to determine mastery of content. During alcohol and other interventions, the CRAFFT Screening tool, a short clinical assessment tool designed to screen for substance-related risks amongst youth, is implemented to assist in determining the most appropriate interventions.
Students participating in the School Court Probation Officer program are assessed by their ability to make measurable progress in the areas of academics, behavior and social emotional development per their annual SMART goals.
Training and materials are provided upon request to schools each year. Specialized programs currently in use include:
- Mentor Works training manual
Current Focus
- By June 2024, 85% of the Career Mentor class at West Potomac Academy will be successfully matched to medical services personnel as part of a targeted mentoring initiative connecting MentorWorks and workforce development
- By June of 2024, participating schools in the Herndon Pyramid (Hutchison ES, Herndon MS, Herndon HS), will increase the number of community mentors supporting students in their school by 20%
- By June 2024 each Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist will provide a Tier 1 intervention for parents in all schools in their pyramid.
- By June 2024 100% of Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists will provide a Tier 1 substance abuse strategy for all high schools.
- By June 2024 each student participating in the School Court Probation Officer program will make measurable progress per their individual and targets SMARTR goal.
Future Focus
In light of the ongoing opioid crisis, SSAW will place Narcan in each FCPS school to be administered by trained staff in the event of an opioid overdose. In addition, there will be ongoing focus on opioids when reviewing the alcohol, tobacco, and drug use of students in middle and high schools when providing resources to help parents, students, and staff members address the concern.
- By June 2023 33.3% of the career mentor class at Chantilly HS will be successfully matched to medical services personnel as part of a targeted mentoring initiative connecting MentorWorks and workforce development.
The goal was met as 60% (14) students were matched to PATHS career mentors through the Medical Sciences program at West Potomac Academy (note: we shifted our focus from Chantilly Academy to West Potomac HS Academy)
- By June 2023 100% of Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists will provide a Tier 1 substance abuse strategy to each of the schools in the pyramid they support.
This goal was met.
- BY June 2023 each Substance Abuse Prevention specialist will partner with a PTA president from their pyramid and provide a substance abuse presentation to parents.
This goal was met
- By June 2023 each student participating in the School Court Probation Officer program will make measurable progress per their individual and targets SMARTR goal.
This goal was not met as 90% of students participating in the School Court Probation Program made measurable progress per their individualized SMARTR goal.
Number of Students / Staff Supported by the SSAW Office
During the 2022-23 academic year, the MentorWorks program supported 4568 students. During the 2022-2023 academic year the Substance Abuse Prevention Program supported 2223 students. During the 2022-2023 academic year the School Court Probation Officer Program supported 123 court ordered probationary students.
Contact: Stefan Mascoll, [email protected]
