General OverviewNorth Vancouver schools are committed to the development of the whole child. This means the emotional well-being, and safety of children as well as their academic and athletic excellence. To meet this goal the North Vancouver School Distinct has created the Safe and Caring Schools Initiative. Its purpose is to identify, support and enhance eight areas of schooling that relate to the wellness and security of children.
The Eight Aspects of Safe and Caring Schools are:
- Positive School Climate,
- Code of Conduct,
- Violence Prevention
- Emergency Management
- Community Support
- Intervention Strategies and Behaviour Management
- Student Empowerment
- Site Security
Since 2002 the North Vancouver School District has been formally surveying all school staffs, and a sampling of students and parents on how well these aspects are functioning in North Vancouver schools. A school audit is conducted every second year, and on alternate years the School District surveys every student from grade four to grade twelve. The purpose of this comprehensive surveying is to determine attitudes toward, and comfort, with a number of societal issues encountered at school. In response to these data, the District chooses one or several of the Safe and Caring Schools aspects to pay special attention to. For the 2007/2008 year the District has chosen Student Empowerment as its focus. When an aspect is given special focus, additional initiatives, training, and funding are provided to enhance the aspect.
Each of the eight aspects of Safe and Caring Schools contributes to the well-being of children in North Vancouver schools. It is important that these aspects are actively supported so that children can get on with the business of learning and developing as citizens and caring human beings.
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