County Safe Schools Initiative

 

safe schools

The Contra Costa County Office of Education is excited and proud to announce its partnership with Sandy Hook Promise (SHP). CCCOE's 2018-19 school safety initiative will feature the Sandy Hook Promise 'Know the Signs' programs as we introduce these no-cost programs to middle and high schools throughout Contra Costa County. Like Sandy Hook Promise, CCCOE is committed to preventing gun violence on school campuses, by encouraging and supporting solutions that create safer, healthier homes, schools and communities!

shp


CCCOE will house a full-time coordinator (funded by Sandy Hook Promise) and a team of fully certified trainers who will implement the SHP Know the Signs programs in every high school and middle school in Contra Costa County.  These programs include:

Signs of Suicide: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American teenagers and many adolescents suffer in silence. Those who reach out for help tend to confide in their friends and peers, who are often unequipped to intervene. By teaching middle and high school students to recognize the warning signs of depression and suicide, we are building their capacity for empathy, social responsibility, and social activism, leading to safer schools and communities, and providing them with vital knowledge they can use for the rest of their lives. 

Suicide is preventable; everyone has a role in saving lives. Youths have a tremendous amount of influence in each other's lives, and we can leverage that power by teaching students the warning signs of depression and suicide. In doing so, youths are empowered to ACT, building safer schools and communities.


Threat Assessment & Intervention: Sandy Hook Promise believes all gun violence is preventable and as we focus on identifying, intervening and helping individuals who display at-risk behaviors (versus a gun-only focus), we will likely decrease the number of acts nationally.

Threat Assessment & Intervention involves: 
(a) identifying threats, signs and signals to commit a violent act; 
(b) determining the seriousness of the threat, sign or signal;
(c) developing intervention plans that protect potential victims that address the underlying problem or conflict that initiated the behavior.

It is designed for schools and community-based organizations.  This program helps create safer, healthier homes, schools and communities by accessing help for individuals who may pose an imminent/longer term threat to themselves or others.

Over the last 25 years, research has revealed that in 7 out of 10 acts of gun violence, a friend(s)
were told that an act of violence would be committed or may take place. In one study, it was reported that in 4 out of 5 school shootings, the attackers had told people of their plans ahead of time.


Say Something is an education and awareness program that provides tools and practices to:

  • Recognize the signs & signals of a potential threat, especially in social media
  • Teach and instill in participants how to take action
  • Drive awareness and reinforce the need to Say Something

Start with Hello: Social isolation is the feeling of being left out, lonely and treated like you are invisible. At every school and in every community, there are children who feel like they have no friends and quietly suffer through each day – especially at lunchtime and other moments where friends gather together.

Start with Hello asks students, educators, and other adults who interact with children to take a simple, yet incredibly powerful, action at lunch – making sure that no one eats alone.


Contacts

Terry Koehne
Chief Communications Officer
Contra Costa County Office of Education

Jillian Sequeira
East Bay School Outreach Coordinator
Sandy Hook Promise

Ilana Israel Samuels
California Regional Manager
Sandy Hook Promise

    CCCOE & Sandy Hook Promise In the News

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