About Us

Improving School Safety and Preventing School Violence

The National Center for School Safety (NCSS) is focused on improving school safety and preventing school violence. We are based at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and an affiliated project of the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. We are the Bureau of Justice Assistance Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence National Training and Technical Assistance Center. As a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional center, the NCSS provides expert-led training, technical assistance, and a database of additional resources to address school safety challenges.

NCSS supports schools, districts, mental health agencies, police departments, community-based organizations, and state, local, and tribal agencies across the country to implement evidence-based school safety programs. Our team is composed of national leaders in criminal justice, education, social work, and public health with expertise in school safety research and practice.

Our programs are designed to help increase the ability of school communities to identify appropriate school safety strategies and adapt them to fit their unique contexts, including their school’s capacity, population, geography, and funding constraints. Trainings and other assistance resources are provided in multiple formats, including webinars and self-paced online classes, and are free to anyone interested in school safety.

Through expert-led trainings, technical assistance, and a database of additional resources, the NCSS provides comprehensive and accessible support to Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence grantees and the nationwide school safety community to address today’s school safety challenges. STOP grantees are funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Contributing partner organizations include

This website is funded through Cooperative Agreement No. 2019-YS- K001 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).

Strategies and Guidance

Our programs are designed to help increase the ability of school communities to identify appropriate school safety strategies and adapt them to fit their unique contexts, including their school’s capacity, population, geography, and funding constraints. Trainings and other assistance resources are provided in multiple formats, including webinars and self-paced online classes, and are free to anyone interested in school safety.

A National Advisory Board (NAB) guides our work to ensure our tools, trainings, and support practices are appropriate, adaptable, and sustainable for each community. NAB members also assist in keeping resources up-to-date and accessible.

NAB members include:

Education, criminology, and developmental researchers
Superintendents and principals from rural, urban, suburban, and tribal districts
Law enforcement
National education organizations
Youth leaders
Other experts in school safety

See our NAB members.

Training

We focus on developing comprehensive, easily accessible trainings that provide participants with the information and tools needed to implement evidence-based school safety plans, leverage best practices, and address implementation issues.

Our trainings are designed with the needs of current and future school safety practitioners in mind. We conduct an annual assessment of STOP grantees’ training needs and solicit feedback from training participants to ensure our programs remain current and valuable for the school safety community.

Trainings are available in-person, online, through webinars, and in peer-to-peer Learning Communities.

View our trainings or see our other related resources.

Technical Assistance

Have a school safety question or need help implementing a new strategy? Connect with us through our virtual helpdesk, online chat, or email us at schoolsafety@umich.edu.

Want to connect with your school safety peers? Join our trainer- and expert-led Learning Communities and exchange goals, challenges, and best practices with other school safety practitioners.