CPI and Verbal De-escalation
Charleston County School District (CCSD) uses Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) to equip participants with the skill set to identify a potential crisis, respond effectively to de-escalate situations, and prevent behaviors that could prove to be dangerous to the person in crisis or to others. CPI training is designed to help prevent injury. CCSD recommends that each school in the district have a minimum of 5 staff persons (administration, student concern specialist, focus facilitators, special education teachers, teacher assistant, etc.) trained in CPI to assist with managing crises. Depending on the size of the school, this number might need to be higher - school admin should evaluate need and plan for training accordingly.
It is also recommended that all school staff receive training in Verbal De-escalation so that everyone in the building has the verbal skills to mitigate a crisis before physical interventions need to be used. Ultimately, the desired goal when using CPI skills is to maximize safety and minimize any and all harm for all those in our care within CCSD. Trainings are held monthly and are in Frontline.
If any physical restraint is used, the following Google form should be completed. The form can be found in Data Central under the Behavior Support tab. Parents should be notified. An example parent notification letter is linked into the form (English and Spanish).
How to become CPI certified? The initial training is a 2-day course, and staff must be present for the entirety of the course in order to receive credit (sign up in Frontline).
*Training sessions are offered monthly. If the session is full, please join the waitlist.