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Violence is anything that hurts a person physically or emotionally.  School violence refers to any act of violence that occurs within a school community.  Both “threats of violence” and physical “acts of violence” create an unsettling and unsafe environment for everyone in a school community.  Why does it happen?  How can school violence be prevented?  This program explores answers to those questions and seeks to help students understand the important role they play in preventing school violence.  

Through live-action, true-to-life scenarios viewers will learn to identify potential problem behaviors and warning signs that can typically lead to violence.  Viewers will recognize that an important way they can prevent school violence has to do with simply being aware of the people around you and being able to spot something that isn’t quite right before it escalates. Students will come to understand the difference between a direct and indirect threat and how context of the threat determines how threats should be handled. In addition, students will learn to identify behaviors that may be warning signs to potential violent actions and that whenever they feel threatened or unsafe that they have an obligation to report the incident to a trusted adult within the school community.

Learning Objectives:
   • Students play an important role in helping to prevent school violence
   • Violence is any behavior that hurts a person physically or emotionally
   • Awareness of both “threats” of violence and “acts” of violence
   • Identify behaviors that may be warning signs to potential violence
   • Understand the difference between direct and indirect threats
   • Realize the importance of feeling “connected” to someone in the school community
   • Report behaviors or incidents that make you feel threatening or unsafe