As a charter school, you always want to look out for the health and safety of your teachers. And since the health and safety of all your employees is one of our top concerns, we wanted to share some information specifically on protecting educators. Over the next three weeks, we will share posts covering teachers from violence, bloodborne pathogens, and indoor air quality.

Violence

Teachers often work with students whose behavior puts them, other students, and staff at risk of harm. Teachers are responsible for the safety of children under their supervision. That responsibility extends to protecting or reducing the severity of potential student injuries, including those from fighting or assaults. Physical intervention is not required if it would create a physical danger to you. However, common sense and reasonableness require the use of steps such as:

• They call for assistance, send someone for help, or call 911 if the altercation is out of control.
• They are dispersing the crowd. By removing the audience, the motivation to fight may be reduced.
• It is removing or pushing aside items from the area. This will reduce the risk of further injury due to falls. It will also keep students from using these objects as weapons.
• You can protect yourself and minimize the risk of assault through your local association by:
  • Ensuring that the child or children assigned to you have been appropriately classified
  • Seeking in-service training on topics such as:
    • Intervening safely in student fights and conflicts.
    • Reducing staff victimization.
    • Handling angry parents.
    • Weapons awareness.
    • I am joining or helping to form an association health and safety committee to work on these issues.
    • We ensure that any school safety plan puts the entire responsibility on the district for protecting employees and involves administration and law enforcement.