Le Lézard
Subjects: NPT, CHI, PSF

Learning Forward demands safe learning spaces for all educators and students


DALLAS, April 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Learning Forward believes that schools should be safe spaces for learning for all. Guns and violence have no place in schools. Taking steps to protect children and educators is one of our nation's highest priorities. Learning Forward calls on policymakers and community members to support and work with educators and students, whose lives are too often at risk, to create meaningful policies and conditions to protect all learners.

Learning Forward (PRNewsfoto/Learning Forward)

We demand safety for learners through the following:

Widely accessible and high-quality support for educators. Federal and state policymakers must create policies and invest the resources that school systems require to create conditions and programs necessary for safe learning environments where teaching and learning thrive. With an increased focus on the social-emotional aspects of teaching and learning, educators need more support to better serve the full range of needs students bring to schools.

At the same time, school systems and school leaders need resources and policies to establish a culture and climate in schools where educators and students alike learn in trusting environments free from discrimination, violence, and bullying. Ongoing professional learning and resources are essential to creating safe climates for learning.

Widely accessible mental health services. While school counselors, social workers, and other educators are often the first adults to recognize students' needs for mental health or emotional support, they are not solely responsible for attending to the mental health needs of a community. Policymakers must respond to the societal need for resources that offer everyone access to high-quality mental health care. 

Regulations that will have a real impact on the presence of guns in schools. Every effort should be made to pass common sense legislation to keep guns out of schools. Arming educators is not the means to protect students or support educators and should not be included in these legislative measures.

Learning Forward believes that stakeholders at every level have a responsibility to ensure that educators and students have safe environments for teaching and learning.

Learning Forward is a nonprofit, international membership association of learning educators committed to one vision in K?12 education: Excellent teaching and learning every day. To realize that vision, Learning Forward pursues its mission to build the capacity of leaders to establish and sustain highly effective professional learning. Information about membership, services, and products is available from www.learningforward.org.

SOURCE Learning Forward



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