Nineteen education professionals throughout Colorado attended the first School Safety and Student Behavior cohort meeting in early September in Lakewood with an additional group attending virtually.

It was the first session of CDE’s professional learning cohorts for school and district leaders -- year-long gatherings for educators to learn about and share best practices in improving student outcomes on a variety of topics, including chronic absenteeism; community schools; newcomer support; special education; and family, school and community partnerships.

The cohort on school safety and student behaviors examined what schools are doing to make their schools safer and what preventative measures they are putting in place.

Research shows that if schools focus on creating a positive school climate by implementing trauma-informed and restorative practices, bullying prevention, and social and emotional learning, and they do so with fidelity, they can significantly reduce negative outcomes related to safety and behavior issues. A total of 31 school and district leaders from 17 districts participated in the meeting, which included an online portion.

Stephen Walls, an intervention coordinator at School District 27J, said he came to the cohort meeting to learn from other districts.

“That is the biggest goal for me, to meet and know other people who I can turn to and bounce off ideas,” he said. 

The cohort will be meeting throughout the year. Find out more about CDE’s learning cohorts here: https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeedserv/cdeleadershiplearningcohorts.