Over the past two months, students and staff have participated in mandatory violence prevention, social inclusion and suicide prevention training during alternate bell schedules.
While the message of these trainings was important, the execution was ineffective, resulting in poor reception from the school community.
The Ohio House Bill 123, also known as the Safety and Violence Education Students (SAVE Students) Act, was passed in 2021 to provide a comprehensive framework to protect students’ mental health.
“The aim of these requirements is to improve the process of responding to students in crisis — before they commit an act of violence — by ensuring proper training and standardizing response processes,” Navigate 360, an organization focused on mental health and wellness, said in their overview of the bill.
We feel that their aim is in line with what is best for students, but the “proper training,” is not currently being administered. Since this “Start with Hello” initiative was led by the district and enforced by law, the faculty and staff of WHHS had no jurisdiction over what was taught or how it was delivered.
Ohio was the first state to pass the SAVE Act, “setting the national standard for protecting youth,” as claimed by the Sandy Hook Promise Organization, the organization behind these training videos.
If the training we’ve received is the national standard, then the bar must be raised.
Student safety is described as a primary concern on the CPS website: “Students simply cannot learn if they do not feel safe, and Cincinnati Public Schools considers the fight against bullying to be among our top priorities and one of our community’s greatest concerns.”
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce offered 11 sources to choose from for these trainings. The district chose the free option, which many students felt was outdated and laughable. This cheap, low-quality resource should not have been an option.
If CPS claims that social inclusion and student safety are meaningful to them, why are they not putting money towards choosing better training materials, instead of following the minimum that is mandated by law?
The district’s frugal spending on this training discredits the genuineness of their statement regarding their commitment to the safety and well-being of students.
An alternative training material offered by the Ohio Department of Education was “Character Strong,” a newer program focusing on education for grades 6-12. This program would have been a better fit for our school; however, it came at a monetary cost.
The district allocates money toward things that it feels are important to the community, and by not paying for up-to-date and relatable materials, their actions are not consistent with their stated values.
Additionally, these requirements provide a “one size fits all” solution to a wide range of problems students are facing. 12-year-olds and 18-year-olds are facing vastly different challenges, so it does not make sense to use the same examples and teaching models in hopes of resonating with both groups.
Each year, the state requires students to take standardized tests. Seventh graders take different End of Course exams than 11th graders. These tests are taken seriously and are made to fit the education level of the students taking them.
These videos on mental health, which are just as crucial to a child’s development, should be catered to them in the same way.
Teaching students in different developmental stages about topics such as violence prevention, social inclusion, and suicide prevention is not an easy feat, but the district is treating it as such with this universal teaching method.
After years of preparation for the bill to reach classrooms, the district should have made a greater effort to create an applicable experience for students.
Overall, while the “Start with Hello” training needs significant work, the message behind it is important.
If at least one student’s life is saved, then the training has done its job – but better materials will make a greater impact.
