The introduction script
Teachers read it. They do not paraphrase it.
This is not distrust of teachers. The script contains legally significant statements about privacy and voluntariness, and a paraphrase drifts. Thirty teachers paraphrasing produces thirty different understandings of what students were told.
✓ Take Action. Put the script in every teacher's hand on paper, not in an email thread. A teacher hunting for an email at 9:14 will improvise.
The sequence in the room
- Teacher reads the script. Two minutes.
- Students take out devices. Everyone. See the device rule in Module 3.5.
- Students open the link. Posted wherever the school decided: Google Classroom, a slide, a QR code on the board.
- Students complete in five to ten minutes. Some finish in three. Some take fifteen.
- On submission, students land on a neutral resource page. Not a thank-you screen. A page with 988 and the crisis lines on it.
- Students who finish early do something quiet. Decide what in advance, because thirty teenagers finishing at different times with nothing to do is how a room gets loud during the part where somebody is answering question five.
Timeframes: anchor them to dates
The instruments ask about "the past week" and "the past three months." Those are abstract, and some students will answer them inaccurately in good faith.
✓ Take Action. The proctor says the actual dates aloud and writes them on the board. "Past week means since Monday the 19th." This matters for every C-SSRS item and for the three-month follow-up question, and it matters most for autistic students and students with intellectual disability. See Modules 8.12 and 8.13.
Questions students ask, and what to say
"Do I have to do this?"
"No. If you would rather not, there is a different short survey instead, and everybody is on a device either way."
"Who sees this?"
"The school counsellors and the SAFER team. Not your teachers, not your classmates."
"What happens if I say yes to something?"
"Most people hear nothing more. Some students get asked to come talk with a counsellor, and that conversation is private."
"Why do you need my name?"
"So we can follow up with you. That is the only thing it is used for."
"Is this going on my record?"
"No. Oregon law is specific about this: screening results do not go in your education record."
"What does this question mean?"
Answer it. Rephrase in plainer words and check they followed. A student who does not understand an item has not been screened on it. See Module 8.3.
Critical Reflection. A student who asks a lot of questions before starting is not being difficult. They are doing exactly what you would want a person to do before answering questions about their safety. Answer fully and do not rush them.
