A new school year is underway, with all its bright potential for learning. And while most students welcome the chance to again immerse themselves in the business of learning and growing, we, as parents, educators, and legislators, cannot help but reflect upon the memories of sudden, violent death that have visited several American schools. I consider school violence to be one of the most critical problems facing our nation.
School violence can happen again, and it can happen anywhere.
That is why I recently hosted a statewide forum with West Virginia University to further enhance our collective knowledge of the efforts underway throughout the state to prevent youth violence. Moreover, it is my hope that this symposium will spark an open, active discussion across the state about what more needs to be done to better protect our teachers and children from classroom violence. At the symposium, several ideas were presented by panelists and participants alike. Parents, teachers, and students also proposed reducing class size as a way to make young people feel that they are receiving more personal attention from teachers, and, therefore, are more a part of the school community. The idea of engaging students in their school and community was the single concept that resonated with most symposium participants.