Center for Safe Schools (CSS) offers onsite and online professional development opportunities, including one-time trainings, courses, and conferences.
CSS’s diverse, skilled staff hold an extensive array of certifications, expertise, and practical knowledge and are highly experienced in school safety, youth violence prevention, youth mental health, and behavioral threat assessment.
Perception of Safety and the School Climate
A school can have strong safety systems, but do students and staff feel safe?
This interactive training explores the connection between school climate and perceptions of safety and how those perceptions influence trust, belonging, engagement, and willingness to report concerns. Participants examine the factors that shape how students, staff, and families experience safety and identify practical strategies to strengthen communication, relationships, consistency, and confidence in school safety practices.
Available to schools and organizations nationwide, in person or virtually.
Creating a Trauma-Informed Plan
Move from understanding trauma to creating meaningful, lasting change.
This interactive professional learning helps school teams build a practical trauma-informed plan tailored to their school or district. Participants explore how trauma affects students, staff, and school communities, and identify strategies to strengthen safety, connection, resilience, and everyday practice.
Through discussion, reflection, and collaborative planning, teams leave with practical tools, resources, and actionable next steps for creating a more trauma-informed school environment.
Available to schools and organizations nationwide as a 4-hour professional learning or full-day institute, delivered in person or virtually. In Pennsylvania, this training can be customized to support Act 55 requirements.
Journey to Self-care
You spend your days supporting others. When was the last time you invested in yourself?
This interactive professional learning explores self-care through a strength-based, trauma-informed approach. Participants will gain a better understanding of compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress while exploring practical strategies to support their own well-being. Through discussion, hands-on activities, and a little friendly competition, participants will learn simple wellness tools they can use themselves and adapt to help students build resilience and healthy coping skills.
Participants will leave with practical ideas they can use right away, along with a personalized self-care plan designed to support lasting, realistic change.
Available as a 90-minute professional learning session, 3-hour workshop, half-day institute, or full-day institute. This professional learning is best delivered in person.
Behavioral Health Awareness
Recognize concerns. Respond supportively. Connect people with the right resources.
This comprehensive 4-hour training equips educators, school staff, and administrators with practical tools to recognize and respond to behavioral and mental health concerns. Participants explore warning signs, supportive response strategies, self-care, student and caregiver rights, referral pathways, and school and community resources.
Available to schools and organizations nationwide. In Pennsylvania, this training can also be provided in alignment with PCCD and Act 55 training requirements.
Behavioral Threat Assessment Refresher
Know what to notice. Know when to report.
This practical refresher gives school staff a clear understanding of behavioral threat assessment basics, including what may constitute a threat and how to recognize concerning behaviors. The training is customized to incorporate your school’s specific reporting procedures, so staff know what to do when concerns arise.
Available to schools and organizations nationwide, in person or virtually.
Substance Use Awareness
Recognize the signs. Respond with confidence. Support student well-being.
This 90-minute training equips school staff with practical strategies to recognize and respond to student substance use concerns. Participants explore current youth substance use trends, warning signs, supportive response strategies, student and caregiver rights, and school policies and procedures.
Available to schools and organizations nationwide. In Pennsylvania, this training can also be provided in alignment with PCCD and Act 55 training requirements.
Standard Response Protocol (SRP) Training
Strengthen your school’s emergency preparedness with Standard Response Protocol (SRP) training. We offer in person and virtual seminars designed to equip school and district personnel with the knowledge and practical strategies to implement the nationally recognized Standard Response Protocol with confidence.
Participants gain a comprehensive understanding of the SRP, including its history, core concepts, and practical application, while learning how to establish a common language for emergency response, improve coordination among staff and first responders, and enhance overall school safety. Whether you’re looking to build internal training capacity or provide foundational professional learning for your staff, this SRP training helps create safer, more prepared school communities.
Standard Reunification Method (SRM) Training
Strengthen your organization’s emergency preparedness with Standard Reunification Method (SRM) training. We offer both in-person and virtual seminars designed to equip school and district personnel with the knowledge and practical strategies to plan, practice, and implement safe, coordinated, and accountable reunification of students with their parents and guardians.
Whether you’re looking to build internal training capacity or provide professional learning for your staff, this SRM training helps schools develop effective reunification plans and strengthen emergency preparedness.
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program Training and Implementation Package
The Olweus (pronounced Ol-VAY-us) Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) is a comprehensive approach that includes schoolwide, classroom, individual and community components. The program focuses on long-term change to create a safe and positive school climate. It is designed and evaluated for use in elementary, middle, junior high and high schools (K-12).
The program’s goals are to reduce and prevent bullying problems among school children and to improve peer relations at school. The program has been found to reduce bullying among students, improve the social climate of classrooms, and reduce related antisocial behaviors such as vandalism and truancy. OBPP has been implemented in thousands of schools in the United States and more than a dozen countries worldwide.
The OBPP Training and Implementation Package includes:
- Two days of Coordinating Committee training.
- Two additional days of supportive or related training.
- 18 to 20 hours of technical assistance and consultation through the process of implementation.
This package is approximately $8,000 and is dependent upon location and travel requirements.
Contact Leah Galkowski for more information and to schedule a training.
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) Coach Courses
OBPP offers courses for schools and community youth organizations (CYO) to implement the program.
OBPP School Coach Course
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) School Coach Course prepares professionals to train and support a school in implementing OBPP. OBPP school coaches provide training and ongoing coaching for the school’s Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee, the leadership team that spearheads the bullying prevention efforts within each school. Coaches only work within their school or district. The two-step training process includes instruction followed by consultation with an OBPP Mentor. At least one coach must be trained per school to implement OBPP.
Get details for OBPP School Coach Course.
OBPP Community Youth Organization (CYO) Coach Course
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) Community Youth Organization (CYO) Coach Course provides youth-serving organizations with practical strategies to prevent bullying, reduce incidents of bullying, and enrich peer relationships in out-of-school settings. The CYO Coach Course prepares youth program leaders to train and support a community youth organization with implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.