BPS Career Vocational Technical Education Safety Planning

Safety Plan

Each of Boston Public Schools's CVTE programs maintains student and staff health and safety through a program-specific safety plan and through the school-wide safety plan. The school safety plan incorporates the general safety provisions common to all high schools as well as industry-specific staff and student training, certifications, safety checklists and safety follow-up.

Components of the school-wide safety plan include:

School-wide safety team to look at policies and practices
General classroom safety
School nurse procedures and student health
Fire safety
Emergency preparedness
Safety training for all students (embedded in curriculum)
Safety training for staff
Online safety checklist - http://skillslibrary.com - completed each marking period
Follow-up process: job orders, equipment maintenance, signs, and procedures

Components of the CVTE program-level safety plan include:

[1.] CVTE program curriculum. Safety is an intrinsic part of the curriculum for this program. All skills are taught in accordance with the CVTE program frameworks, industry standards and OSHA/NIOSH regulations. Students are taught to understand how things work and how to follow industry guidelines. See the program curriculum for more details.
[2.] Daily safety checks. As students are learning to use tools and equipment, in accordance with industry guidelines, students and instructor make daily checks of tools, equipment and materials.
[3.] Student engagement in weekly safety checklists. Students work in teams, under the supervision of the instructor, to complete a weekly safety checklist for the program, including the entire work area, tools, equipment and materials. This checklist, attached, is based on the NIOSH safety checklists for the program.
[4.] Completion of quarterly school-wide safety checklist. Each marking period, every program at MPTVHS completes an online safety checklist covering both general safety and program-specific safety issues. Copies of the completed checklist are sent to the building administrators and CVTE directors. Items flagged on the safety checklist are followed up through requisitions for repairs or needs signs or materials and through safety training as needed. Actions taken are recorded in the safety checklist screens.
[5.] Participation on school-wide safety team. The instructor from this program will be a member of the school-wide safety team. The safety team is responsible for examining school-wide safety issues, including staff training, student training, school policies and other issues and for supporting each program in implementing program-specific safety policies.
[6.] Safety and cooperative education placements. All co-op placements follow safety guidelines for chapter 74 cooperative education and include safety training and safety reviews. Students earn OSHA certification before working in co-op placements.
[7.] OSHA Certification for students.