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In response to the massacre of 21 innocent people, including 19 students and 2 teachers, in Uvalde, Texas (5/24/22) – and to more than two dozen additional school shootings in 2022 that preceded the Uvalde tragedy – U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona assured all that "the Department of Education is offering every available federal resource...to help the families, educators, staff, and greater Robb Elementary School community recover from this trauma and loss." The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments stands with the rest of Secretary Cardona’s team to fulfill that assurance and to promote a focus on prevention, recovery, and resilience through a comprehensive, evidence-based public health approach.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Topic-Specific Resources to Support Your Emergency Management Planning

State and local education agencies work with their community partners to plan and prepare for, manage, and respond to emergencies that they may face. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools [REMS] Technical Assistance Center offers these resources from the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agency partners to supplement a six-step planning process to help manage before, during, and after such emergencies.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Scholars Issue Call for Evidence-Based Action to Prevent School Violence Source: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs A nationwide coalition of scholars who have conducted decades of research into school safety has issued an eight-point plan for immediate government action to reduce gun violence. “A focus on simply preparing for shootings is insufficient,” they said. “Prevention entails more than security measures, and begins long before a gunman comes to school.” Talking to Children About Terrorist Attacks and School and Community Shootings in the News Source: National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement The National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement has developed guidelines for talking to children after such a tragic event.

School Shootings and Student Mental Health: Role of the School Counselor in Mitigating Violence

Source: American Counseling Association

This resource provides an overview of the pervasiveness of gun violence in school settings within the United States. The manuscript provides background information, a review of existing literature specifically addressing the need for more attention on student mental health, and stipulates interventions that school counselors can use to potentially mitigate gun-related school violence.

We Grieve for the Families and Community of Uvalde   Source: The National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families The National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families, in mourning the devastating loss of innocent lives, provides both Spanish and English language versions of a selected set of research and resources for parents, caregivers, educators and allies, from national organizations including the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, the American Psychological Association, and the Child Mind Institute. Response and Resiliency  Source: National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments This webpage includes a combination of seminal resources released after previous disasters, including mass shootings in Columbine and Newtown, as well as more recent tragedies. The resources are sorted into three categories - prevention, recovery, and resilience - and were developed by a variety of national and local organizations.

NEED MORE INFORMATION

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments | https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov The contents of the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments' Bringing Into Focus were assembled under a contract from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools to the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Contract Number 91990021A0020. The contents of this product do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education, nor do they imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education. ‌ ‌ ‌