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.

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

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

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

10 essential reads for burned-out teachers

Teachers were stressed even before the COVID-19 pandemic upended schools and sent teachers and students home to learn virtually, but the pandemic certainly added to growing teacher burnout.

The truth is that teachers manage much more than instruction. Teachers offer support and encouragement and are an integral part of students’ lives. In some cases, they’ve privy to information students don’t want to share with their parents or caregivers, putting teachers in the important position of stepping in to keep students safe from abuse, bullying, or self-harm.

It’s no wonder, then, that with all teachers juggle, their burnout rate is high. Here are some essential reads to help manage and conquer teacher burnout–and put educators in a fresh frame of mind as they close the door on the 2020-2021 school year and take the summer to refresh, refocus, and de-stress.…Read More

Lightspeed Systems® Launches Lightspeed Alert™ Solution for Threat Detection of Suicide, Bullying, and School Violence

Austin, Texas, April 15, 2021- Lightspeed Systems®, the leading K-12 online safety and effectiveness solutions provider, announces the launch of Lightspeed Alert™, a threat detection solution for self-harm, bullying, and school violence, helping to provide schools and districts with early warning detection to prevent incidents and promote student safety.

Statistics regarding student mental and physical safety are startling. A recent survey found 93% of parents are concerned about their child’s mental health due to extended campus closures and isolation, and another study from the U.S. Secret Service found 75% of school shooters demonstrated concerning online activity before the incident took place. With these concerns, it’s critical for schools and districts to have the type of early warning threat detection that Lightspeed Alert can provide. 

Lightspeed Alert leverages smart AI to actively scan and alert on concerning student behavior anywhere students engage online. Real-time alerts and safety dashboards equip district and school staff with the visibility and tools to respond to threats and manage cases. For an extra layer of protection, Lightspeed Alert provides 24/7/365 human review by highly trained safety specialists who conduct a threat assessment of flagged behavior and escalate imminent threats via a live phone call to school district personnel or law enforcement.  …Read More

Why student safety tools are essential during a pandemic

Interventions into student safety, prompted by technology used to help school leaders prevent students from harming themselves or others, increased dramatically after COVID-19 landed in the U.S. and caused schools to close physical classrooms.

In its annual Student Safety Report, Gaggle, which uses artificial intelligence and trained safety experts in a student safety solution designed to prevent student suicide, bullying, inappropriate behaviors, school violence, and other harmful situations

According to the report, which analyzes incidents detected using Gaggle’s solution, during the 2019–20 school year, school and district educators were able to save the lives of 927 students.…Read More

Keeping COVID innovations even after the pandemic passes

Hoover City Schools in suburban Birmingham, AL, was already one-to-one when the pandemic struck in March. And while its transition to remote learning in the spring was relatively painless, teachers and students continue to adjust to the new realities of hybrid school days.

In this conversation with eSchool News, Bryan Phillips, CTO of Hoover City Schools, describes some of the positives he notices with this forced migration and divines which practices should probably remain once we get back to whatever normal is.

Related content: How automation keeps bullying in check–even remotely…Read More