School Outreach
CCSJ’s outreach team, led by CYC, partnered with schools to provide additional safety support. This was especially needed as returning to classrooms after COVID-19 school closures meant that students were adjusting to new social environments. The difficult transition led to heightened tensions and an increase in physical fights.
The outreach team regularly visits six schools across the city to provide safety support and resources. They serve as warm and familiar faces for both students and staff. Furthermore, because the outreach team does not have punitive authority, students may feel more comfortable opening up to outreach team members. The relationships that they build with students allow them to intervene during conflicts and talk students through socioemotional difficulties. The goals of the program are to provide additional trusted adults in the school environment, increase student and staff sense of safety, de-escalate and peacefully resolve conflicts, and connect students with resources to help them and their families thrive.
Main Program Components
Regular school visits
The outreach team visits schools either during lunch or afterschool release periods twice a week at each partner school. At lunch time, team members set up games to play with students, join students on the basketball court, and sit with students at lunch areas. After school, team members are stationed at popular transit stops and other afterschool gathering places. Schools also invite the outreach team to give presentations on safety or accompany classes on field trips. School staff have appreciated the presence of the outreach team as an extra set of hands to help keep students safe.
It is important to have additional adults around during less structured socializing times, such as lunch and afterschool release periods. While these times are opportunities for joy, identity formation, and community-building, they also carry the risk of harm because students are still developing socioemotional skills. For example, one school partner explained that students have not fully internalized the value of sportsmanship, leading to tension when someone loses a basketball game. The outreach team is stationed on the basketball court and is therefore able to step in during these moments and guide students through heightened emotions peacefully.
On-call to intervene in and prevent violence
Schools are able to call on the outreach team for urgent issues outside of their regular visits. For example, when a serious fight was brewing at one school, a staff member brought in the outreach team to hold a roundtable with the students involved. The school staff member said these efforts deescalated the situation and prevented violence. In another instance, a school heard about another potential fight and had the outreach team monitor the school grounds with walkie-talkies. Having school staff call on the outreach team requires a level of comfort and trust that is built through the professionalism and competence that the team demonstrates during their visits.
Resource referrals
The outreach team serves as a connection point to community resources for school staff. When school staff notice that a student or family is experiencing difficulties, such as economic hardship, they can refer students to the outreach team. Since the outreach team are regularly on school sites, the referral is a warmer handoff than would be otherwise. The outreach team also has bilingual capacity in multiple Asian languages, allowing them to more seamlessly communicate with Asian immigrant families.
Keys to Success
Violence prevention experience and competence
The leaders of the outreach team have decades of experience in violence prevention and intervention. They have trained their teams to interact with students and staff and de-escalate situations with professionalism. They have also displayed coordinated and organized operations during periods of heightened tensions. Over time, demonstrated competence during crises deepens trust with students and staff, allowing them to reach out to the outreach team for assistance more often.
Relationship-building with students
Regular visits and consistent interactions allow staff to build relationships with students over time. For example, some students have entered into friendly game competitions with outreach team staff that span multiple weeks, which school partners say have helped students come out of their shells. The outreach team is especially skilled at engaging quiet students, creating a safe environment for self expression, and helping them blossom. Staff at multiple schools report that students will ask whether the outreach team is coming on a particular day and look forward to their visits. The outreach team becomes another trusted and caring adult presence that students can turn to during difficulties, creating a sense of psychological safety and potentially preventing physical safety risks as well.
Leveraging neighborhood presence and community name
CCSJ’s outreach team is housed within CYC, which also operates community centers and youth programming both in and out of schools. Because of its longstanding presence in the community, CYC has name recognition with students and families, which makes it easier for schools to connect students and families with CYC. Wearing clothing with CYC’s logo also helps the outreach team connect with students. Finally, CYC’s neighborhood presence allows the team to hear about conflicts that occur in the community that might impact the school environment.
Hiring from the community
CCSJ’s outreach staff have strong ties to the communities and schools that they serve. Several staff members, for example, grew up attending SFUSD schools, including one of the schools in the outreach program. Teacher and administrator familiarity with their former student bolstered the sense of trust with the outreach team. Furthermore, familiarity of neighborhoods and cultural contexts allows outreach staff to more organically connect with students.
Inclusive and willing to talk to everyone
Although CCSJ formed in response to violence against Asians and Asian Americans, the CCSJ outreach team is willing to serve any student, regardless of race or ethnicity. School partners have remarked positively on the outreach team’s willingness to talk to everyone, which contributes to an inclusive environment. For example, the outreach team might approach a student, regardless of race or ethnicity, to spark a conversation because they are sitting alone.
Frequent check-ins with school staff
The outreach team leaders prioritize frequent check-ins with their main school staff contacts, whether during their visits or by calling outside of their visits. Frequent, short check-ins allow the outreach team to build rapport with staff, learn about emerging situations at school, and stay top-of-mind. For example, one school staff said that frequent conversations allowed for more student resource referrals because they remind them that the outreach team was available to help. Given the busy and chaotic nature of school days, it is important to make it easy for school staff to access resources for students.
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