- November 1, 2024
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Could a suite of free anti-violence programs and threat-reporting programs developed in response to the Sandy Hook school shooting help the Flagler County School District prevent school shootings and other school violence?
"We hear so many times, 'Well I thought that he was kidding,' or 'Oh, he would never do that.' We’re trying to get students to be an ‘up-stander,’ to take it seriously, because we just don’t know and we don’t want to take any chances."
— BLAIR FREEDMAN, Sandy Hook Promise representative
A representative of the national nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise — an anti- gun-violence group led by several people whose loved ones died in the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut — addressed the School Board at its workshop Sept. 18.
Blair Freedman, a Sandy Hook Promise region manager, told the board that Sandy Hook Promise has four programs that can be implemented in schools:
(View the text associated with Freedman's HERE.)
"We hear so many times, 'Well I thought that he was kidding,' or 'Oh, he would never do that,'" Freedman said. "We’re trying to get students to be an ‘up-stander,’ to take it seriously, because we just don’t know and we don’t want to take any chances."
The Say Something program also comes with an optional anonymous reporting system app. The tips are vetted through a Sandy Hook Promise crisis response system and then routed back to law enforcement and/or district officials. Freedman said that about 4-10% of students trained on the app use it to file a report.
If the district opted to implement a Sandy Hook Promise program, Freedman said, the nonprofit would require a memorandum of understanding with there school district, and would seek to embed the student centered programs into existing student clubs.
"We don’t want to be a one-and-done deal for any of our programs," she said. "We’re going to bring our programs, but we’re going to make sure they’re sustainable by really putting the ownership on the students. ... The only way we’re going to make that cultural shift is by having that sustainability plan."
School Board members asked some clarifying questions after Freedman's presentation, but didn't get into the fine details of the different programs and how they could be implemented locally. That would follow in later discussions, if the board decides its interested in bringing one or more of the Sandy Hook Promise programs to Flagler.
Freedman said that the Start with Hello and Say Something programs can be implemented quickly, and that the Safety Assessment and Intervention program has a waitlist that extends until the beginning of 2019. If the district wanted to use the anonymous reporting app associated with the Say Something program, it would be ready for use 10-14 weeks after the district made its commitment.
"I’m excited about the possibility of looking at something like this," School Board member Colleen Conklin said during the workshop. "I’m looking forward to the conversation. ... The idea that there are those kinds of resources that are at no cost to districts is pretty powerful. … I guess I would just like to voice my support completely at looking at the suite of programs for Flagler."
