We can and must shift away from this approach to school, which is a ‘one-size-fits-all’ mindset.
The following article is written by Mark Vondracek, National Coalition for Safe Schools (NCSS) Board President
…and a quick change in conversation topic for the vast majority of people. And two words that one would normally never think about when talking about the mission of NCSS, which is to try and find ways of preventing the most catastrophic acts that can ever happen in a school, which are school shootings. Our approach is to promote prevention of violent acts, and that starts with student whole health – not just physical, but an equal emphasis on mental, emotional, and social health. The best way to do this is through consistent, long-term, all-hands-on-deck teaching and use of social-emotional skills (SEL), which have been around for some 30 years, but not on a widespread basis in schools.