Creating a Positive School Environment

What comes to mind when you hear the words: Safety in Schools? Most people respond with answers related to security systems, building updates, or police presence in schools. These physical precautions to safety are often the focus of schools when trying to keep staff and students secure. We must not ignore though, a key component in keeping our schools safe: emotional security. How students feel when they are in school shapes learning and student development. Educational research has shown that a positive school climate is connected to academic achievement and positive peer relationships. The emotional security component is often overlooked in the quest for physically safer schools. The reality is emotional security needs to be a priority as well. It needs to be deeply embedded into the culture of a school, both for staff and students. By effectively addressing emotional security in schools, students will be more open to and engaged in learning, staff will be more cognizant of the individual needs of students and risk prevention strategies will automatically be in place.

This course is designed to develop an in-depth framework of emotional security in schools. In addition, this course will provide clear and effective strategies for implementing emotional security into a school system for all students and staff.

Mercy University course number: EDUT 565

Credit awarded by

Mercy
University

Professional
Development

Course Schedule

1/14/25 - 2/11/25
3/11/25 - 4/8/25
5/13/25 - 6/10/25
7/8/25 - 8/12/25
9/9/25 - 10/14/25
11/11/25 - 12/9/25

Textbook List FAQs

Outline
Objectives
Important Information
Student Academic Integrity

Outline

Module 1: The Traumatized Student

Contents:

Develop strategies for identifying traumatized students.
Explain the importance of assisting traumatized students.
Determine sources of trauma (home, school, community or globally).
Assess impacts of trauma to the identified student, that student’s teacher and to that student’s class.

Module 2: Strategies to Promote Positivity

Contents:

Determine strategies that have a positive impact on each individual at the school as well as the school as a whole community.
Compare components of Character Education Programs, Conflict Resolution Programs, Check in/Check Out Programs, and School Wide Positive Behavior System Programs.

Module 3: It’s All About Relationships

Contents:

Determine why healthy relationships are at the CORE of the school environment.
Explain the need for every student in a school to have a positive connection with at least one adult and one peer in their school.
Discuss how empowering students and staff will help them to make healthier connections.
Evaluate quick and easy skills that go a long way in the development of positive relationship building in schools on a daily basis.

Objectives

Objectives:

Develop strategies for identifying traumatized students.
Explain the importance of assisting traumatized students.
Determine sources of trauma (home, school, community or globally).
Assess impacts of trauma to the identified student, that student’s teacher and to that student’s class.
Determine strategies that have a positive impact on each individual at the school as well as the school as a whole community.
Compare components of Character Education Programs, Conflict Resolution Programs, Check in/Check Out Programs, and School Wide Positive Behavior System Programs.
Determine why healthy relationships are at the CORE of the school environment.
Explain the need for every student in a school to have a positive connection with at least one adult and one peer in their school.
Discuss how empowering students and staff will help them to make healthier connections.
Evaluate quick and easy skills that go a long way in the development of positive relationship building in schools on a daily basis.

Important Information

Online 3-graduate credit courses are 13 weeks in length.

On-site weekend courses are held Friday evening from 6:00pm-9:00pm and Saturday/Sunday, 8:30am-5:30pm.

Weekday courses are Monday-Friday from 8:00am- 6:00pm.

It is the responsibility of the student to check with their state, county, district, or school to ensure that all requirements are being met by the course you're taking.

Check the Partner Universities page for specific university information as well as course numbers which are specific to the university partner.

Students are required to purchase their own textbook, the information for which can be found here. If no book is required it will be specified on the list. We have copies of many of the textbooks should you wish to purchase directly from TEI.

Professional development (PD) participants receive a certificate of completion from TEI for 45 hours of PD credit for face to face classes and 60 hours of PD credit for online classes. These certificates are mailed within one week of the end of the class and reflect the course title, dates of attendance, and credit hour information.

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by our partnering colleges and universities and is subject to academic disciplinary action.