With growing national concerns about school safety, a groundbreaking initiative at the University of Florida is helping state school officials enhance safety measures by leveraging data.

The UF Education Policy Research Center partnered with nonprofit Safe Schools for Alex to launch the School Safety Data Microcredential training program, marking a significant step forward in data-driven school safety practices. 

A microcredential is a certification that recognizes the completion of a specific skill or competency, often through short, focused courses.

Key personnel from the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools and representatives from 18 different Florida school districts gathered in-person at UF last month before the start of the school year to participate in the continuing education opportunity. Since then, many others have registered for the online version of the training. The online microcredential is open to anyone wishing to participate.

Leadership and support personnel, including principals, school safety specialists, and behavioral resource teachers attended the inaugural session, with a team of UF faculty facilitating the training along with Max Schachter, founder and executive director of Safe Schools for Alex. 

“My son, Alex, was murdered in the Parkland school shooting,” Schachter candidly explained to the group. “After that happened, I made it my life’s mission to do everything I can to prevent what happened in Parkland from ever happening in another community – not only in Florida but around the country.” 

F. Chris Curran, Ph.D., director of the Education Policy Research Center, spoke about the center’s partnership with Safe Schools for Alex in creating the School Safety Dashboard, a tool that served as the foundation for the microcredential. The current version of the dashboard was unveiled in April and is designed to aggregate school safety data into a comprehensive, easily accessible format for parents and educators. 

Both the dashboard and the microcredential are intended to serve as conversation starters, identifying potential areas of strengths and weaknesses surrounding school safety for a given school.

“The UF School Safety Data Microcredential, developed in partnership with Safe Schools for Alex, helps participants expand their conception of school safety, learn to leverage data to ask questions about school safety practices, and empower them to engage in data-driven improvement cycles to make schools safer,” Curran said.

The training consists of five modules centered around school safety and teaches participants how to use and interpret the dashboard data. Participants are then encouraged to make data-based decisions to improve their school safety systems, policies, and processes. 

“Today was a culmination of a three-year partnership with the University of Florida in developing the most extensive school safety dashboard in the nation, and the training event was a huge success,” Schachter said. “We must prioritize safety and security above all else – because if the students and staff don’t make it home safely to their families every day, then nothing else matters."

Those interested in learning more can register for and complete the online microcredential here for free.