Thread by @RobFulk

Clear reason I APPLAUD @JCPSSuper and the @JCPSKY Board of Education decision to significantly increase mental health practitioners in our schools: We had several students working at Olive Garden this weekend witness a man get killed senselessly.

Our kids need this!
#WeAreJCPS

I am thankful our leadership sees this issue as a real issue for our community. I WISH I could say this kind of stuff is isolated. It’s not. Unfortunately we have more and more our students have to deal with across the district. I applaud more resources.

In my years as a principal I have only seen this increase. A child can not learn if they don’t feel safe and we are in a position where the school is often the best place to get frontline care and help. It’s not a question of should we... but of how much can we?

We’ve had 4 mental health professionals at Moore for the last 2 years. There numbers are staggering. Kids are seeing things and living things they should not have to. We must be in a position to help them and provide education on coping and understanding.

If we want to truly educate our students then access to these professionals is CRITICAL. We’re all tired of of the growth in trauma Kong our youth. We must actively and aggressively work to stem the tide.

I am THANKFUL our board and leadership sees this and takes bold steps.

Outside of being a professional impacted by this- I’m a taxpayer. Take my money for more to address this. We can’t have the city we want if we leave youth trauma unchecked. We can’t hv the future we want with broken hearted kids.

This is ALL of our crisis. East to West.

As people of @louisvillekygov we must recognize this and outside of just @JCPSKY continue to take BOLD steps to address it across zip codes. @dporterJCPS and our Board took a hard step forward. Who’s next? Who else will step up to help address this critical issue?

A few more thoughts.

Off the top of my head this year alone I can think of several students who have had family members or their peers die violently.

Not a couple. Not a handful. Several. This isn’t isolated to my school. My colleagues lament the same. We see it daily.

Not only is it the big ticket stuff: violent crime, gun violence, sexual assault, but it’s all the other trauma as well.
⭐️ food insecurity
⭐️ housing insecurity
⭐️ anxiety
⭐️ pressures of being a kid in 2019

How can we expect a kid to flourish and thrive with this?

How can we get to the reading/math/ career readiness if we don’t answer the basic emotional needs of our students as they enter the building?

Maslow said it best:

The impact beyond just how they do in school is PROFOUND.

Read up on ACES.
Adverse
Childhood
Experiences

We’re talking early death for our kids!
More at risk!
More profound needs later on in life!

I’m not a psychologist or social worker. But I work with kids and I see the impact of ACEs every day. Educate yourself on them. Educate yourself as a citizen of our city and advocate that we wrap our arms around this issue and SOLVE IT.

cdc.gov/violencepreven…

We want a better school/city/world this is where it’s at. Make no mistake. Not easy work.

For a lot of folks it means tossing that old tired saw “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” to the dumpster.

It isn’t that simple.

samhsa.gov/capt/practicin…

I’ll own I came up with that mentality. That hard work gets you where you want to be. There is truth in that, but let’s amend it:

hard work and careful support along the way get you where you want to be.

We must equip our kids with these skills. They’re facing tough things.

To close my thoughts out I’ll say it one more time so we are clear

This is a whole city issue
Not a pocket
Not a direction
Whole city.

Our kids are seeing and living things that they shouldn’t have to be a part of.

We can support this and change the narrative.

We must.