Students feel safest in classrooms and least safe in areas just outside the school, with safety tracking the level of adult supervision¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2011 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2016: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? CPS students report feeling safest in classrooms where a teacher is present, less safe in hallways and bathrooms with some supervision, and least safe in the area just outside the school with little adult supervision. → Matthew P. Steinberg 2011

Evidence¶

Matthew P. Steinberg 2011¶

Matthew P. Steinberg, Elaine Allensworth, David W. Johnson. (2011). Student and Teacher Safety in Chicago Public Schools: The Roles of Community Context and School Social Organization. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago Urban Education Institute. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/student-and-teacher-safety-chicago-public-schools-roles-community-context-and-school

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Survey of CPS students in grades 6-12 (spring 2009) across 310 elementary and 62 high schools asked about safety in four locations. The report finds a gradient matching adult supervision levels: "students feel least safe in areas outside of the school" and most safe in classrooms.

"student safety appears related to the level of adult supervision, as students feel least safe in areas outside of the school, more safe in common areas such as hallways and bathrooms where there may be some supervision, and most safe in their classrooms where there is a teacher present"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Safety — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Quality of staff-student and staff-parent relationships most strongly defines safe schools, with disadvantaged high-relationship schools feeling safer than advantaged low-relationship schools — related
• Schools where students report feeling more safe, supported, and challenged show stronger academic and social-emotional growth, and student reports predict future school improvement — related
• Students in 21st CCLC programs reported feeling safer after school — related
• Schools with high suspension rates are less safe than schools with lower suspension rates serving similar students — related
• Student-reported safety and classroom behavior are more positive in top-quartile schools, and students feel less safe outside school than inside — related
• Neighborhood crime rates differ dramatically between elementary schools students rate as safest and least safe — related
• Chicago students feel safest in classrooms and least safe outside around school, where about two-thirds feel uneasy — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Only about half of students in the two studied districts reported feeling safer in school when police are present, and many preferred confiding in a non-security adult — related
• 21st CCLC afterschool programs changed after-school supervision, with parents less likely to care for their child and other adults more likely — related
• Most students, even in bottom quartile schools, report feeling mostly safe at school — related