Project rEVOLUTION

In this time where school violence is a nationwide issue on the minds of parents, faculty, staff, and students everywhere, it is imperative for schools to take the initiative to ensure their buildings are safe. Research recommends that the most critical factor in preventing school violence is ensuring that the learning environment for all students, especially for marginalized and at-risk children, is safe and supportive with effective interventions and a positive, caring school climate. Project rEVOLUTION is a project that seeks to bridge the gap between critical needs and available resources and ensure that prevention initiatives are taking place to help all students with an extra focus on our marginalized and at-risk children. The project includes a set of strategies to accomplish this work and address the issues described in the previous section: early childhood interventions for children and parents to address problems and prevent them where possible, data collection and analysis to identify at-risk students and provide early interventions, intentional service to identified students at risk as a preventative measure, timely restorative disciplinary actions as needed, and guidance to connect graduating students to career paths to help them break the cycles of generational poverty that often drive violence in our region. The school social workers will provide evidence-based interventions and support by mental health professionals through the Police-Mental Health Collaboration co-responder model to prevent violence before it begins. By empowering our students with the skills they need to identify potential threats of school violence and ensuring that our social workers and SROs have the help they need to reach all of our children, we can create a safer school environment where everyone can grow to their fullest potential.