The Santa Barbara Unified School District’s Task Force for School Climate and Safety presents a School Safety Community Forum on Tuesday, April 30 from 7 – 8:30 pm at the Goelta Valley Junior High School. Childcare will be provided. One of the presenters will be Dr. Shane Jimerson from UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School. The event will be an opportunity to learn how SBUnified manages technology devices on campus and from a local youth wellness expert. Attendees may participate in breakout sessions on topics including: when does a device become unhealthy hate/bullying/cyberbullying; Parenting in the digital age (strategies); tools for managing devices at home; and platforms and pitfalls (social media and gaming).
This forum is part of a series of community forums organized by Santa Barbara Unified School District’s Task Force for School Climate and Safety. The Task Force is represented by Santa Barbara Unified School District staff and community partners, such as: Dr. Jimerson, Santa Barbara Parents for High School Safety, YouthWell Coalition, Youth Wellness Connection, AHA!, Just Communities, Anti-Defamation League of Santa Barbara/TriCounties, Santa Barbara Police Department and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Efforts to comprehensively improve school climate, safety and learning are critical to provide an environment that supports the education of all children and youth. The Task Force writes, “We need diverse voices of students, teachers, parents and the community to help us evaluate best practices for creating safe and successful schools and to promote positive practices and policies as well as implement innovative changes for our community and Santa Barbara Unified School District.”
The forum is free to attend, however, but the Task Force kindly requests that you RSVP online if you plan to attend.
Shane Jimerson is a professor in the Departmnet of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology. As a distinguished leader and advocate, with over 250 publications, Dr. Jimerson is currently the president of Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, editor of the School Psychology Quarterly (APA) journal, the lead-editor of The Handbook of School Violence and School Safety: International Research and Practice 2nd Edition (2012, Routledge), co-editor of Best Practices in School Crisis Prevention and Intervention 2nd Edition (2012, National Association of School Psychologists), lead-editor of The Handbook of Bullying in Schools: An International Perspective (2009, Routledge), The Handbook of International School Psychology (2007, SAGE Publishing), the lead editor of The Handbook of Response to Intervention: The Science and Practice of Assessment and Intervention (2007, Springer Science), and co-author of Promoting Positive Peer Relationships: Bullying Prevention Program. Having received numerous awards for his scholarship, including from the Society for the Study of School Psychology, the National Association of School Psychologists, the American Educational Research Association, California School Psychologists, and the Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, his leadership, advocacy, and scholarship continue to highlight the importance of early experiences on subsequent development and emphasize the importance of research informing professional practice to promote the social and cognitive competence of children.