Frequently Asked Questions for the Safe and
Healthy Schools Certification Program
Who are the program creators? How long does it take to complete the program? Does a certification expire? Find the answers to these frequently asked questions and more below.
Program Creators
At its core, Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools is driven by the belief that all students deserve to go to school in safe and healthy environments where they can learn and thrive.
The center is focused on taking on the complex, urgent issue of school safety with comprehensive, evidence-based solutions focused on student well-being, safety and learning success.
Founded and led by the university’s School of Education, the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools has brought together top faculty from across the university-from education, public health, engineering, arts and sciences, nursing and medicine—to apply expertise around evidence-based practices, programs, tools and policies integral to safe and healthy school environments.
Often pressing issues such as suicide, trauma, depression, bullying, and gun violence are approached as separate issues. CSHS aims at moving towards a more holistic consideration about how we, as a nation, can make schools safer.
The Safe and Healthy Schools Certification Program was designed and developed by the Johns Hopkins School of Education’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools and is powered by Klassroom.
Upon completion of the program, individual learners will receive a certificate of completion and digital badge from the Johns Hopkins School of Education. Schools that complete the program will receive the same individual credentials of program completion in addition to a Safe and Healthy Schools digital badge and membership in the Safe and Healthy Schools community of leaders.
Klassroom delivers the online learning and coordinates all aspects of the program including general queries, enrollment and collection of course fees, technical support, and coordination of certificates.
Program Enrollment
No. Both teachers and school leaders can enroll at any time with no prerequisites required.To see all program options and to enroll, visit our pricing page.
For both individual and school enrollment, purchase can be completed here. To see all program options and to enroll, visit our pricing page.
Individual teacher enrollment is $249 USD, school leadership enrollment is $1,245 USD. School certification is also available for both educator and school leadership enrollment, pricing is based on learner enrollment.
To see all program options and to enroll, visit our pricing page.
The Safe and Healthy Schools Certification Program meets the allowable uses for professional development for teachers in federal guidelines for Activities to Support Safe and Healthy Students—which means you can use Title IV-A funding to pay for your school to get certified.
Contact us to learn more about school certification.
Completing the Program
At the end of each course, there is a cumulative multiple-choice assessment (pass mark 70%). Learners will also be required to submit a variety of written assignments. These will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.
No, books and physical materials are not required for the Safe and Healthy Schools program. All materials needed to complete the program will be available online through the learning platform.
Teacher and leader certification is straightforward. A teacher or leader who completes the learning will receive a certificate of completion and a digital badge.
In order to earn Safe and Healthy Schools certification, 70 percent of teachers and one school leader must complete their respective Safe and Healthy Schools certification courses.
Both certifications are valid for three years, at which point all staff and leaders must renew their certification by completing the Safe and Healthy Schools refresher course.
Program Details
Absolutely! The course can be taken from anywhere in the world. Although the course content does focus on the US landscape, most if not all concepts are applicable internationally.
No, there are no in-class components to the course. The program is a 100 percent online and self-paced learning path.
The coursework is approximately 10 hours of learning for teachers and 50 hours for leaders.
Yes. Teachers will earn one CEU for completing the 10 hours of coursework and leaders will earn five CEUs for completing 50 hours of coursework.
This course was designed by educators, for educators and was peer-reviewed by experts at the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools and the Johns Hopkins University School of Education.
Many courses and programs that promote similar learning outcomes take a fairly siloed approach to each aspect of school safety instead of a holistic approach that utilizes expertise from multiple areas. The Center for Safe and Healthy Schools brings together top Johns Hopkins faculty from education, public health, engineering, arts and sciences, nursing and medicine in order to create evidence-based practices, programs, tools and policies integral to safe and healthy school environments.
This program enables teachers, leaders, and communities to ensure everyone in their school feels safe, secure, and are able to respond effectively to situations such as addressing mental health challenges, violence and bullying at school using evidence-based best practices.
Certification for Schools
Schools that complete the learning and earn a credential will become a part of the Safe and Healthy Schools community. There is no additional cost for membership, beyond the price of the learning. The school credential model requires 70 percent of school staff to complete 10 hours (one CEU) and one leadership member to complete 50 hours (five CEUs) of the Safe and Healthy Schools program.
This helps to ensure the learning is having an impact on the school culture through a collaborative, comprehensive approach to applying the lessons in the context of classrooms and schools.
Safe and Healthy Schools certification ensures that at least 70 percent of school staff have completed training with the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools.
This is a public-facing credential to show that the school has adopted a systematic training model to support the goal of creating environments where school leaders, teachers, and staff effectively teach and care for students and advocate for what they need to feel and be safe.
Contact us to learn more about school certification.
Every three years. The Safe and Healthy Schools refresher course would need to be completed by at least 70 percent of staff and a minimum of one school leader, in order to retain the school certification.
Contact us to learn more about school certification.
Get Started
Take the first step to getting Safe and Healthy Schools certified today!