Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Navigate360 Advances Whole-Child Student Wellness and Safety Suite with Latest Acquisition in Continuing Effort to End School Shootings, Teen Suicide and Bullying

RICHFIELD, OHIO (PRWEB) — Navigate360, the nation’s leader in K–12 student wellness and physical safety solutions, has acquired  PBIS Rewards, a SaaS platform that simplifies the implementation and management of the evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional and mental health. The acquisition expands Navigate360’s leading whole-child safety suite, giving district leaders the tools, expertise and confidence they need to create safe school environments for 50 million U.S. students and strengthen the academic performance of our youth.

PBIS, which stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, provides a framework for schools and educators to create a safe learning environment where students feel valued and connected through tiered support. With the addition of PBIS Rewards, Navigate360 is setting the new standard for whole-child safety through modern, holistic solutions that address school climate and culture, full-cycle emergency management, early detection, assessment and violence prevention—issues that all desperately require action in today’s schools.…Read More

Cybersecurity to Be Taught to K-8 students across North America for Free

London, ON – Cyber Legends, the fun, free game that empowers kids to learn online safety through play, today announced the launch of the Cyber Legends Gaming platform and its availability to schools across North America. There is currently no standardized cyber safety curriculum being taught in primary, elementary or intermediate schools. Cyber Legends intends to change that with engaging, curriculum-aligned lessons, masked as a fun video game. The game teaches kids about passwords, identity theft, scams, phishing, cyber bullying, sexting, social media issues and much more.

Cyber Legends has reached out to teachers, schools, school boards, cybersecurity experts, and online safety professionals to collect data over the past 2 years to learn about their challenges.  The company has gathered all the complexities of internet safety and distilled them into engaging, well-tested, curriculum-aligned, and beautifully structured lesson plans (created by teachers) for grades K–8. Cyber Legends also comes with tons of free resources to help teachers, parents, and children.

As critical as it is that children learn about cyber safety early on, teachers often lack the resources to help their students. They aren’t cybersecurity specialists and the vast majority have never received any cybersecurity training themselves. This provides a simple way to give each child the basics on how to stay safe online.  This has become more critical as students use laptops, mobile devices, and home computers routinely.…Read More

4 tips to build a strong classroom culture this year

The past two years have been immensely difficult for our nation’s students and teachers. In the wake of the isolation and trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health and behavioral challenges are on the rise as students continue to process unprecedented amounts of stress, anxiety, and grief. The decline in child and adolescent mental health has been so great that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association have declared it a national emergency.

These mental health issues have translated into increased disengagement, conflict, and bullying — and as a result, disciplinary action — in school classrooms and hallways across the country. 

As a Dean of Culture at a public school in Queens, New York, until recently, I saw these challenges first-hand. I also know that traditional discipline methods fail to address the root cause of behavioral issues. Many forms of disciplinary action are doing more harm than good. This is especially true when research shows that Black students are disciplined far more than White students for the same offenses, perpetuating and sustaining cycles of inequity in our schools. …Read More

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One district’s push to help students feel like they belong

Bullying is prevalent in high schools and can lead to a lack of a sense of belonging. According to a new study, 51 percent of high school students say they have witnessed bullying at their school. When it comes to reporting, just under half (49 percent) say they would be comfortable talking to a teacher about bullying they witnessed, while just 34 percent would be comfortable if they were the ones being bullied.  

Iowa City Community School District, which serves over 14,000 students in grades K-12, uses Qualtrics to make it easier for students to communicate their concerns about bullying, sexual assault or harassment, discrimination and school safety to administrators. Students can scan QR codes on posters prominently displayed in bathrooms, cafeterias and hallways to report what they have witnessed or experienced, anonymously or not. Students can even upload videos, pictures or screenshots to help identify the problem.  

The “Say Something” campaign has resulted in more than 300 reports, triggering automatic emails to principals and select administrators, who have then taken quick action to protect students in cases of bullying, sexual harassment, hazing and more.  …Read More

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South Carolina Department of Education Partners with Vector Solutions to Help Districts Address Student Safety and Mental Health Issues such as Bullying and Anxiety

Tampa, FL – July 14, 2022 – The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) has partnered with Vector Solutions to provide all school districts in the state with free access to Vector’s library of Student Safety & Wellness Courses. The partnership includes courses with short, engaging web-based video lessons covering essential safety and emotional wellness topics. It is funded through $50,000 in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds and an additional $30,000 included as part of a U.S. Department of Education grant.

“Anxiety, depression, trauma, bullying, and other behavioral health challenges can have a negative impact on school climate and student success. The SCDE is providing this on-demand virtual resource as a way to help students better understand and respond to such challenges,” said Dr. Sabrina Moore, director of the Office for Student Intervention Services for SCDE. “We believe this resource will be a valuable tool for schools as they continue working to address the mental and behavioral needs of students.”

Vector Solutions is the leading provider of training and software solutions to help schools make their operations and communities safer, smarter, and better. The courses help schools promote discussion and awareness around these critical challenges that many young people face. The courses, which are available in modules for students in grades 6-8 and grades 9-12, include:…Read More

Salt Lake City School District Partners with Vector Solutions to Manage its Staff Training

Tampa, FL – February 3, 2022 – The Salt Lake City School District in Utah has adopted Vector Training (formerly SafeSchools), an award-winning online training management system  and Vector Solutions’ online video training courses to help the district manage staff training and compliance for its 4,000 employees. The switch to Vector Training helps the district address federal, state and local compliance training requirements, along with district-specific policies.

Vector’s Safety & Compliance course library includes expert-authored online courses such as Bullying Recognition and Response, Active Shooter, Accident Investigation, Athletic Liability, Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Prevention, and more. Vector Training helps districts simplify training management and comply with important state and federal training mandates, including OSHA, Title IX, Mandatory Reporting, Youth Suicide Prevention, Bullying and FERPA.

The Salt Lake City School District selected Vector Training after an extensive vetting process. Among its requirements were:…Read More

Why unstructured free play is a key remedy to bullying

October was National Bullying Prevention Month, and in my decade of teaching in high-poverty public elementary schools, I’ve seen strategy after strategy and initiative after initiative implemented to decrease bullying.

While every case is unique, having a general understanding of why a student chooses to bully can be helpful.

Kids usually bully for one of the following reasons: they are frustrated with life’s circumstances and don’t have the emotional tools to cope, they don’t have many friends and are lonely, they have issues with emotional regulation, or they feel powerless to control their life for any number of reasons.…Read More

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5 ways bullying changed during the pandemic

Throughout my career as a school counselor, I’ve worked with students in a variety of educational settings. This includes alternative and charter schools, traditional brick-and-mortar settings, and online school.

Even though they’re all different, I’ve witnessed similar bullying behavior and trends in each of them.

Here are five ways bullying has changed during the pandemic–and one way it’s stayed the same:…Read More

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Rise Vision Creates Free Posters for Encouraging Safety and Reducing Bullying for Students

(September 29, 2021) –– Anti-bullying is focused on promoting safety, addressing behaviors, defining rules and expectations, and rewarding positive behavior through communication. All teachers, staff, and administrators must be on board to prevent bullying from occurring. Rise Vision has released 10 free anti-bullying posters for schools that feature positive messages and motivational quotes to promote healthy student learning. The posters can be printed, shared on digital signage, websites, and on social media. 

The posters are available for download as both JPEG and high-resolution PDFs, in landscape and portrait-oriented formats.

“Bullying impacts students online and in schools around the world. October is Anti-Bullying Month and so to help schools spread the message we’ve created this set of posters. The 10 posters share messages that promote kindness, discourage bullying, and raise awareness. We hope schools find them valuable and that they help reduce bullying.” Shea Darlison, Head of Revenue.…Read More

Are schools really safe?

When we think about school safety our first instinct is physical safety. Sadly, it’s a real concern with the all-too-regular gun shootings and bullying that occurs. However, there’s a far more common and pervasive issue occurring: emotional safety.

Since the industrial revolution, school has been primarily taught in an authoritarian style where kids are judged constantly and relentlessly from academics to behaviors. In addition, teachers and peers use shame and degradation to show their “higher” value or status, which causes additional emotional trauma.

We might think it’ll “toughen kids up,” but given the levels of [emotional] stress kids experience every day, it’s doing far more harm than good. Not to mention, emotional stress changes brain chemistry–especially when you experience this type of regular cortisol release. Kids aren’t spontaneously “going crazy” and “mentally ill” with depression and anxiety; they’re simply trying to survive in their environment.…Read More

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