Welcome

The Virginia Center for School Safety (VCSS) of the Department of Criminal Justice Services reflects Virginia’s commitment to providing safe and productive learning environments for all students and staff in our schools today. The VCSS is a resource and training center for information and research about national and statewide school safety efforts and initiatives.

The path towards academic excellence should be free from the fear of crime and violence. Through the VCSS, schools and communities have access to proactive trainings, topical resources, public-private partnerships, data collection and evaluation, and an annual school safety conference. Thank you for your interest in the Virginia Center for School Safety. We hope that this site serves you well in your school safety efforts. If our staff can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Virginia Tech Statement

The Virginia Center for School Safety serves as a resource for citizens of the Commonwealth and often collaborates with other agencies to provide valuable information, services and trainings. In the wake of recent events, we would like to advise you that the Division of Injury and Violence Prevention of the Virginia Department of Health has posted a web page on responding to and preventing school violence. This site includes links to useful state and national resources.

Because children and adolescents may respond to what they see and hear about the tragedy, the Department of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University has created guides for educators and parents listing suggestions on how to handle different situations and responses. The Crisis Management Institute also has guidelines available to assist in helping college students deal with this large-scale tragedy. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, in collaboration with the Emergency Response and Crisis Management Technical Assistance Center has a number of resources that you may find beneficial at their web site.

The staff of the Virginia Center for School Safety are greatly saddened by this tragedy and wish to extend our deepest sympathy and prayers to the victims, their families and the students, staff and faculty of Virginia Tech.