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Resources in Our Schools

Resources in Our Schools to Support Student Safety & Wellbeing

Staffing

As part of our ongoing Counseling Program, every elementary, middle, and high school has a counselor and counseling curriculum. School counselors advocate and provide support for maximum student achievement in the areas of academic, career, and personal/social growth. They work with parents, educators, and the community to provide developmentally appropriate and comprehensive services that meet the needs of all students in order for them to become productive members of an ever-changing global society.

Each one of our schools has an assigned nurse (or health assistant). School nurses connect health care and education by providing services that promote the health and well-being of children and minimize barriers to learning. 

Every elementary school has a Behavior Intervention Aide, while middle and high schools each have a Prevention & Intervention Specialist. Behavior Intervention Aides facilitate the presentation of social skills, anger management, and conflict resolution to students, help with positive behavioral support, and take part in school-wide behavior/intervention programs and teams as needed. Prevention & Intervention Specialists conduct substance prevention education activities and provide support in areas related to chemical dependency, violence prevention, and social service interventions.

School Safety Assistants (SSAs) help ensure the safety of students and staff in school-wide emergency and high-risk situations. The primary duty of SSAs is to monitor and maintain discipline among students in and around the school campus. They ensure and maintain the security and safety of building, staff, students and other personnel. SSAs work directly with students to prevent and/or intervene in potentially violent situations and help ensure evacuation and implementation of proper procedures during all safety drills.

Social Service Managers (new in 2018!) Social Service Managers (SSMs) support students and families who experience barriers to school success. SSMs promote school stability and success through partnerships with educators, families, students, and communities.  They collaborate with schools and families to identify students’ needs, develop strategic interventions and implement plans to enhance social emotional wellbeing and improve academic performance.

Project 360 Navigators provide case management for transitioning students to identify and address barriers to success. Navigators are currently located in ten schools with high numbers of military dependents. These staff are part of Project 360, funded by a grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity.

Military and Family Life Consultants (MFLCs) are provided by local military installations and often made available in schools with high numbers of military dependent students. MFLCs are available to help service members and their family members deal with deployment and redeployment issues, relationship issues, parenting challenges, communication problems, stress and anxiety, depression, grief and more. 

The Military Student Task Force is a component of the district's DODEA Project 360 grant. The coalition shares services available to military dependent students, to address any gaps between needs and available resources to work together to increase efficient collaboration. The task force advises the Military Student Support Coordinator, shares services available to military dependent students to increase efficient collaboration, and works to address any gaps between needs and available resources.

School Climate & Student Wellness Programs

Our district is a Safe & Civil Schools district, with manyschools implementing CHAMPS (Classwide Positive Behavior Support) to support student achievement and promote positive behavior.

Jump Start programs at middle schools and Ignition programs at high schools help create welcoming and inclusive schools by addressing the needs of new and transitioning students.

  • The Jump Start program was originally created as part of a Department of Defense Education Activities Grant to help newly enrolled military students transition to a new school. The program is now implemented in all middle schools to address the needs of transitioning students by providing a welcoming introduction to their new school environment.
  • Ignition helps connect new students to one another, to upperclassmen, and to school staff on Ignite Day (the first day of school for new students). It also provides ongoing mentoring and transition services throughout the year, positively impacting school culture.

The "Signs of Suicide" program uses a simple and easy-to-remember acronym, ACT (Acknowledge, Care, Tell), to teach students action steps to take if they encounter a situation that requires help from a trusted adult. Check out the Public Service Announcment video created by our students! The SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program is the only youth suicide prevention program that has demonstrated an improvement in students’ knowledge and adaptive attitudes about suicide risk and depression, as well as a reduction in actual suicide attempts. Listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, the SOS Program has shown a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64% in randomized control studies. Signs of Suicide (SOS) is supported at middle and high schools by a grant from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.  

"Sources of Strength"is a strength-based comprehensive wellness program that uses teams of peer leaders mentored by adult advisors to change peer social norms about help seeking and encourages students to individually assess and develop strengths in their life. The program focuses on suicide prevention but impacts other issues such as substance abuse and violence.  Joel’s Place is implementing the Sources of Strength program in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and several high schools are participating. 

Safety Related Programs

ALICE - Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate – is a set of proactive strategies that moves beyond lockdown and increases the chance of survival during a violent intruder event. In coordination with the Alaska State Troopers, Fairbanks Police Department and North Pole Police Department, the school district is preparing for a shift in our active shooter response. Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate are the key components of this training which empowers individuals to make proactive response decisions rather than follow a passive, mandated, one-size-fits-all response protocol. ALICE is supported by more than 2,500 law enforcement agencies around the country and complies with the standard of care developed by the Federal Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Alaska's Safe Children's Act provides age-appropriate lessons on sexual abuse awareness/prevention and dating violence awareness/prevention. Through this program aimed at educating and empowering students, we want to provide your student with the knowledge and skills to use if ever affected by sexual abuse or dating violence.