10…9…8!! It’s a New Year for Safe and Sound Schools

As we count down to the close of 2020 (with GREAT enthusiasm!), and look forward to 2021, we THANK YOU–our community of educators, public safety and mental health professionals, security and safety leaders, administrators, parents, students, and support staff–for staying the course through one of the most challenging years we have all faced.

Our schools and our students are safer because of your efforts, partnership, and collective dedication to Safe and Sound Schools.

With your support in 2020, we hosted roundtables, web chats, webinars, and a virtual National Summit! We launched our podcast, developed new tools and resources, and kept our national community connected.

And we couldn’t have done it without you.

As we look to the New Year with hope and excitement, we are eager to introduce NEW team members, deliver NEW programs, online tools and resources, and share NEW opportunities to connect and uplift our national school safety community! Our staff and team of national experts and trainers are already preparing another year of on-line presentations, trainings, and best practice resources to support the safety of every school and every child in the year ahead.

As the New Year sparks hope in each of us, we know there will be much work and many challenges ahead. Together, we will face them once again. Together we will ensure a nation of Safe and Sound Schools!

Here’s to a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Team Safe and Sound

Special thanks to the following organizations who collaborated with us and supported our mission through this unprecedented year in school safety:

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In the News: Students Want More Opportunities to Connect With Teachers During the Pandemic

As we celebrate this unusual holiday season and prepare to welcome a new year, we are finding new, creative ways to virtually connect with our families, friends, and school communities.  The following survey shows that students are asking for more ways to connect with their teachers- and school leaders are listening.

Middle and high school students say that they’re not doing as well in school as they were before the pandemic, and that they want more opportunities for connection with their teachers, according to new research from the National Education Association and the National PTA.

The survey, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research in October, asked 800 public school students ages 13-18 about the academic, emotional, and economic effects of COVID-19 for themselves and their families. Researchers also conducted focus groups with the teenagers.

Read this full article in EdWeek: Students Want More Opportunities to Connect With Teachers During the Pandemic

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In the News: A Hidden Crisis

The pandemic has put a strain on all of our school communities.  Public health measures have transformed the educational experience to protect our kids from the virus.  But amid virtual classes and isolation from peers, concerns are growing over a crisis that’s not so obvious- our students’ mental health.  

If you or a loved one need help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1(800)273-8255. For more information on suicide prevention, please visit Safe and Sound Schools’ resource library.

The sounds in her home can become unbearable some days. Heather Wendling will sometimes hear the footsteps of her sons walking in the dining room and think it’s her daughter. She will hear the front door creak when her husband comes home after work and wonder whether it’s her daughter. She will hear the phone ring and know it’s not her daughter, but perhaps another friend or volleyball parent calling to offer condolences or help.

When it all becomes too much, Wendling will sometimes head out to the backyard and sit on the swing set her daughter, London Bruns, used to play on as a little girl. “You can feel her energy there,” Wendling said, and when she is rocking back and forth, she wrestles with the questions of how London could have taken her own life at her home in Ridgefield, Wash., in the early morning hours of Sept. 21. She was 13 years old.

Read the full article: Washington Post: A Hidden Crisis

Additional Resources:

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In the News: No Vaccine, No School?

Over the weekend, the CDC director and FDA gave final approval for emergency use authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccine in the US.  As questions surrounding efficacy and distribution arise, some school and public health officials say vaccination requirements may be on the way.

Note: The recent authorization is for people 16 and older. 

…pediatricians and school and public health officials are bracing themselves for and bristling against the onslaught of questioners asking the one thing they don’t want to talk about. At least not yet, anyway.

Will children be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to return to school?

“You hear the questions about whether vaccines should be mandatory or not,” says Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers. “That’s not the question to be asking right now.”

“The questions to be asking right now are, ‘Is it effective? Is it going to be free? Is it widely accessible?'” she says. “What we’re not doing right now – regardless of what I personally think – we’re not weighing in on whether a vaccine should be mandatory or not right now because that’s not an appropriate question right now.”

The caveats of “right now,” “yet” and “at this moment” do a lot of heavy lifting in conversations about immunization requirements, and that’s because the answer is complicated and not as straightforward as parents would probably like. Not only does it depend on where families live, as different states have different vaccination requirements for schools, but it also depends on drug companies enrolling more children in their trials in order to amass enough data to show – as most pediatricians and public health experts fully expect – that it’s efficacious and safe in children.

Read this full article in US News: No Vaccine, No School?

Additional Resources about the Pfizer vaccine:

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Sandy Hook: Remembering Today for a Safer Tomorrow

Eight years ago, today, our lives were changed forever.  We readied our children for school without realizing these would be our last precious minutes together.

Yet here they are with us, safe and sound.

They live on in our hearts, our actions, and our mission.

They live on in the community we’ve created in their honor, the work accomplished in their names, and our collective determination to ensure that every school and every child is safe and sound.

As we remember today, we look to tomorrow with hope-filled hearts. We are inspired by our children, strengthened in our resolve, and grateful for each of you.

We invite you to remember today and work with us to build a safer tomorrow.

Please join us.

Michele Gay and Alissa Parker are the Co-Founder of Safe and Sound Schools

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Celebrate Joey

One of my Sandy Hook neighbors coined the phrase with her daughter on what would have been our daughter Josephine’s 8th birthday. Her daughter’s little fingers etched the proclamation in the fresh snowfall sparkling on the windshield.

And so we do, year after year. Today is the day we celebrate Joey’s 15th birthday. We invite friends, neighbors, and supporters to join us in remembering the light of our little girl, still shining brightly in all that we do in her name. Acts of kindness, smiles for strangers, support of families with Autism, ensuring safe and sound schools, protecting children and youth.

Many of us share in purple celebration today, for the little girl who loved all things “pur-pur” (as she would say it). This year, when so many are in need of support and a reason to celebrate, we invite you to join us.

Whether you don your purple, light a candle, pray for peace, or share an (air) hug, you celebrate the life and legacy of a little girl who changed lives. Without words. Without fame or fortune. With outstretched arms, an open heart, and a smile that to this day warms our souls, heals our hearts, and fuels our mission.

Today we celebrate Joey. Together we continue her work in this world.

Share your celebration with us on social media by using the hashtag #CelebrateJoey.

Michele Gay, Mother of Josephine Gay, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Safe and Sound Schools

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Moving Forward: A Special Message from Safe and Sound Co-founder, Alissa Parker

Over seven years ago – shortly after Emilie’s death – I had a sleepless night that would forever change my life. That evening, Michele Gay and I had been discussing the tragedy at Sandy Hook and how we desperately wanted other school communities to learn from our experience. That one idea – after years of countless hours and hard work –became what is now Safe and Sound Schools. From the beginning Michele and I both felt like we were called to do this work and knew there would be many uncertainties about where that road would take us. Now looking back at what we have been able to accomplish, I am so incredibly proud of our work both as an organization and as individuals. This journey has not only changed me professionally – but also spiritually, helping me along my personal journey through grief and into healing.

As I stand here today a different person, a stronger person, I feel a familiar pull. That pull that once called me to school safety is now pulling me in an entirely new direction. At first, I strongly resisted that feeling. Safe and Sound Schools has become my second family and I LOVE the work we do! How could I ever step away?

But the pull continued. Over time, through a lot of reflection, and many long talks, I have been able to open my heart and my eyes to see a new journey ahead. As I move forward on this new path, I will step away from an active role within Safe and Sound Schools. Change is always hard—especially on this scale! And if I am being honest, I am both nervous and excited about this new direction. I will be spending more time with my family and continuing to work on my own personal healing.

With Michele leading the way, I am confident that our mission and our organization are in great hands. She has done an incredible job over the years as our Executive Director and will continue to do amazing work. For over eight years she has been my partner, my confidant, my friend, and above all else, my sister. Our daughters brought us together and that connection has bonded us forever. I love her and our Safe and Sound family dearly.

Safe and Sound was our gift to Emilie and Joey and I am proud of the legacy we have created to honor both of their lives. And though I will step away from my role on the team, I will never be far! You will still see me cheering from the sidelines, occasionally popping in, and watching this important work continue to change school communities across the nation.

Alissa Parker is the Co-Founder of Safe and Sound Schools, a school safety advocate, and author of An Unseen Angel: A Mother’s Story of Faith, Hope, and Healing After Sandy Hook.

Listen to the latest episode of The Sound Off, Moving Forward: Alissa Parker’s Next Chapter.

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In The News: CA’s Latest Stay-at-home Order

New coronavirus measures emerge as states across the country experience a surge in cases.  In California, two of five designated regions dropped below hospital ICU capacity, resulting in new stay-at-home orders as of Sunday at 11:59pm PST.  All schools and day camps may remain open if they adhere to reopening protocols, but schools with three positive COVID-19 cases or more over 14 days must close for two weeks. 

A new stay-at-home order will be imposed on Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley Sunday night, as the coronavirus crisis spirals out of control with a speed that has exceeded health officials’ most dire projections.

Some 33 million Californians will be subject to the new order, representing 84% of the state’s population. The state mandated the restrictions in the Southland and Central Valley as capacity at hospitals’ intensive care units hit dangerously low levels. Five Bay Area counties will also begin lockdown restrictions in the coming days despite not yet reaching the threshold at which such action is mandated by the state.

The rules are less sweeping than California’s pioneering stay-at-home order in the spring, which is credited with slowing the first COVID-19 wave. But the new order will change daily life for many, especially in suburban Southern California counties like Orange and Ventura, which so far have enjoyed more open economies than hard-hit Los Angeles County.

Read this full article in the LA Times: 33 million Californians face COVID-19 stay-at-home order that will restrict movements and business

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December School Safety Leadership Roundtable

Thank you to the national leaders who joined our December School Safety Leadership Roundtable to share insights on the most pressing issues regarding school safety:

  • Jim Accomando, Past President of National Parent Teacher Association
  • Elizabeth Brown, Principal & Member of National Association of Secondary School Principals
  • Mo Canady, National Association of School Resource Officers
  • Sharon Newport, Executive Director of Door Security & Safety Foundation
  • Melissa Randol, Executive Director of Missouri School Boards Association & Member of National School Boards Association
  • Melissa Reeves, Past President of National Association of School Psychologists
  • Paul Timm, Physical Security Professional at Facility Engineering Associates

This month, we’ll be sharing some of the panel’s key insights on our social handles.

Make sure to follow Safe and Sound Schools: 

 

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In The News: Educators Rely on Grief Training Through the Pandemic

Teachers are utilizing grief training to help students bearing tremendous amounts of grief and trauma.

During a standard history lesson this year, a student in Alexandra Hinkson-Dutrevil’s fourth grade class spontaneously burst into tears and revealed that his young cousin, who lived with him, was on a ventilator after having contracted Covid-19.

The student then revealed to the class on Zoom that he and the rest of his family had to leave the home they shared with the cousin in Frederiksted on the U.S. Virgin Islands to quarantine and that he wasn’t sure he would ever return to his home or see his cousin again.

Under normal circumstances, Hinkson-Dutrevil would have taken the child aside or referred him to another staff member so she could continue her instruction. Instead, she let the student finish, abandoned her lesson and began a discussion allowing other students to discuss their emotions about the pandemic.

It was a strategy she learned in a grief training program for teachers that she took a few weeks previously.

Read this full article on NBC News: How grief training is helping educators manage pandemic-related trauma in schools

 

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