Foster School Safety

In 1999, following the Columbine shooting, the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) began partnering with the Office of the Attorney General to develop the Safe Communities-Safe Schools (SCSS) Model.  The SCSS Model was informed by the expertise of nationally renowned experts, including the founding director of the CSPV, Dr. Delbert Elliott, the director of the National School Safety Center, Ron Stephens, and James Comer, M.D., who developed the Comer School Development Program. 

Prevention science research consistently indicates that the risk and protective factors that predict youth violence are multi-contextual, occurring within the individual, family, peer group, school, and community contexts. The SCSS Model offers schools a strategic process to improve school safety and school climate, integrating key recommendations from the 2001 Columbine Review Commission’s Report with evidence-based violence prevention programs and strategies, including Safe2Tell Colorado, the model prevention initiative of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.