Element One Goals:
Safe School Environment

Committees for Elements One and Two share many common goals and concerns. They combined into one group in the first year of the Carlton County SS/HS initiative.

Element work
• Reviewed MN student survey data about our student population.
• Implementing drug/alcohol/violence prevention curriculum and training for 3-8th grade teachers.
• Truancy officer chairs this committee and has just rewritten the the truancy policy for Cloquet and perhaps the entire county .
• Investigating a juvenile Drug Court process for Carlton County.

Results
• Security cameras are installed in the Cloquet Middle School, Moose Lake and Carlton are in the process of installing security equipment
• School Resource Officers are on staff in Cloquet and the Ojibwe Schools
• Fond du Lac has a new chemical dependency counselor on staff
• Elementary students are showing an increased awareness of the problems of chemical use.
• The truancy officer has raised rates of attendance. The other Carlton County Schools have a truancy officer supported by the Carlton County Collaborative based on the success of the Cloquet School District.
• Progress is being made in providing support services for older students who may be at risk of dropping out or engaging in risk taking behaviors.

Summary
These changes bode well for improved educational outcomes: The SSHS programs across the country find that when schools embrace evidence–based programs to make students feel safer, both attendance and achievement improve.