School Violence, Safety, and Well-Being:
A Comprehensive Approach
To watch the full 2-hour C-SPAN coverage, click here
Other noteworthy media outlets in attendance included: CNN, NBC, NPR , & The Mainichi Newspapers
Every time we as a nation find ourselves witnessing and attempting to comprehend school shootings, pundits and politicians offer unilateral strategies with the promise such tragedies will never occur again. But they do. What is different following the Parkland rampage is that students from around the country are rallying and advocating for change, in a manner more articulate and compassionate than their years suggest. We believe prevention science can help create the change that is needed.
On March 23, 2018, one day before the student-led “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C, the NPSC convened a congressional briefing on school violence (see toolkit produced by the Melissa Institute providing action steps following the March). We did not limit our Briefing to school shootings, but rather brought together top thinkers and practitioners who recognize that our common goal is to achieve student safety and well-being in addition to the absence of violence. The experts discussed topics pertinent to school violence, ranging from early prevention efforts to reforms in laws and policies surrounding guns.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Lauren Hogg gave a first-hand account of the mass shooting that killed 17 people. Julie Pollack, step-mother of Meadow Pollack who was one of the 17 murdered at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, conveyed to us what that has meant to her as a Mother and as an Emergency Physician. Their perspectives, experiences and pleas are vital to our efforts to identify effective solutions to school violence that also promote general safety and well-being.
Below you will find video presentations for each speaker, PowerPoint presentations, and additional resources. Don't forget to join our violence prevention mailing list to stay up to date!
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR HOST
Representative Bobby Scott, Ranking Member on the Committee on Education and the Workforce
Lauren Hogg, Freshman and Activist
Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, FL.
University of Southern California
Briefing Presentation: Promotion of Healthy School Cultures
University of Virginia
Briefing Presentation: Evidence-Based School Threat Assessment
Johns Hopkins University
Briefing Presentation: Sensible Gun Legislation
Dr. Julie Phillips Pollack, Step-Mother & Emergency Physician, Parkland FL.
American Institutes for Research
Briefing Presentation: Identify and Effectively Respond to Early Warning Signs
University of Southern California
Briefing Presentation: Best Practices for Recovery and Loss
Additional Resources
Prevention, Early Intervention & School Climate
Mapping and monitoring bullying and violence: Building a safe school climate (discount code ASFLYQ6)
Ron Astor and Rami Benbenishty
(Oxford University Press; Publication Link)
Welcoming practices: Creating schools that support students and families in transition (discount code ASFLYQ6)
Ron Avi Astor, Linda Jacobson, Stephanie L. Wrabel, Rami Benbenishty, and Diana Pineda
(Oxford University Press; Publication Link)
Comprehensive Websites
www.schoolclimate.org: provides a number of free resources that help school communities address issues of school climate, specifically around safety and prevention (especially in the publications section)
National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention: https://healthysafechildren.org/
National Center on Safe and Supportive School Environments: Safe and Supportive Schools Grants
Creating a Safe and Respectful Environment in Our Nation's Classrooms: Includes two modules trainers can use to address bullying in classrooms. Specifically, it is designed to assist teachers in cultivating meaningful relationships with students while creating a positive climate in the classroom.
-
School Climate Improvement Resource Package. This resource package is designed to help schools and districts improve school climate. It includes a variety of resources that meet a range of needs among stakeholders interested in improving school climate. Get This Product.
-
ED School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS).This surveying tool allows States, local districts, and schools to collect and act on reliable, nationally-validated school climate data in real-time. The EDSCLS builds on federal initiatives and research, which recommended that the Department work on the issue of school climate. The surveying tool is free of charge and can be downloaded on the NCSSLE website. Get This Tool.
The Virginia Youth Violence Project is a research group composed of faculty and graduate students in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. They conduct research on youth violence prevention and school safety, and provide training and consultation on topics such as threat assessment, bullying prevention, and forensic psychology.
-
See also: Call for Action to Prevent Gun Violence in the United States of America - A growing coalition of national educational organizations sign onto eight-point violence prevention plan
Opinion Editorials
Here's How To Prevent The Next School Shooting, Experts Say
(NPR Link)
7 ways to help prevent school shootings
(CNN Link; Ron Avi Astor)
Gun Legislation
A Science-Based Analysis of H.R.38 §926D and S.B. 446 (115th Congress, 1st Session): Title I — Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (NPSC Publication Link)
Dealing with Loss & Recovery
After a Loved One Dies Booklet
For more information about this briefing including additional literature, contact:
Dr. Michael B. Greene, Chair, Violence Prevention Working Group, National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives; mbgchef@gmail.com