From Sandy Hook Promise and others, Turlock students learn to thwart violence, help peers
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was in 2012, so most children who attend Turlock schools might know little or nothing about the tragic event in Newtown, Connecticut. But after a recent youth leadership training, many will likely associate the name “Sandy Hook” with the idea of using their voices to improve the lives of others.
“I don’t think (younger students) comprehend the the history of Sandy Hook,” 16-year-old Turlock High School sophomore Drew Pollinger said. He barely had begun school himself when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people — 20 of them children — that Dec. 14 day.
He knows the youth leadership workshop he attended — hosted by Turlock Unified School District in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise — will be useful after he graduates. “The more education I get will give me the opportunity to help foundations (like Sandy Hook Promise) improve and hopefully make it so less lives are lost,” he said. Pollinger is planning to study psychology in college.
Another participant, 17-year-old Pitman junior Aric Singh, said, “I’m learning everyone is somehow alike. It’s our jobs to spread this positivity to other schools.”
About 100 students from elementary, junior and high school were chosen to participate in Turlock Unified’s first Cal-STOP SAVE Promise training workshop at Pitman High on March 9. Cal-STOP (Student, Teachers and Officers Preventing) is a state Department of Education violence prevention and mental health training program for students and staff. And SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) is the youth leadership initiative of Sandy Hook Promise.
The school district’s partnership with these organizations was years in the making, TUSD spokeswoman Marie Russell said. Now, nearly every school in the district has started clubs where students can engage with inclusivity and connectivity campaigns.
SAVE was founded in the 1980s and has partnered with Sandy Hook Promise to introduce schoolchildren across the country to National Violence Prevention Week, “Say Something” and “Start with Hello” campaigns.
“Say Something” asks students to:
- Learn how to recognize warning signs and threats to themselves and peers.
- Act immediately and take it seriously.
- Say something to a trusted adult.
During the March 9 leadership training, students did activities that helped them name trusted adults in their lives inside and outside of school. The workshop specified that older siblings can also count as “trusted adults”.
“Start with Hello” is also a three-step process. Students learn to:
- See someone alone.
- Reach out to help.
- Say hello.
The activities in the workshop focused on teaching students at all grade levels how to get their own peers to engage with community by introducing student leaders to various social and emotional skills.
The students “have more power than we do,” said Tanya White, Associated Student Body and SAVE Promise club adviser at Pitman. “They see things before adults. The big picture is these students want to make a difference, so they’re here learning how to do that.”
TUSD Superintendent Dana Trevethan and Assistant Superintendent Heidi Lawler stopped by the workshop to get an idea of the student and faculty engagement level. They said they were glad to see so much energy from the children and adults at the workshop.
Lawler said the event was the first time Turlock Unified has held a workshop involving so many different age groups.
Looking Forward
The engagement across grades will continue beyond the workshop at Pitman High. Student leadership clubs from high schools have begun visiting elementary schools within the district.
The district is celebrating “Start with Hello” week, March 13-17, during which all students will engage with the Cal-STOP, SAVE and Sandy Hook Promise messages.
All of the students chosen to attend have shown leadership qualities and are okay with speaking up, White said.
Julien Elementary sixth-grader Mia Taylor, 11, said she had to present a speech to her school’s Promise Club on why she should attend the workshop. She was one of five founding members, and the club now has 30 students.
Taylor’s classmate Emily Bice, 12, told The Bee the founding members were asked to bring a friend to the club, and that’s how it grew so quickly.
Julien Elementary’s Promise Club meets regularly during lunchtime and plans to make a “Take what you need” sign to hang in the hallway for students. The sign will have notes with positive messages for students to take if they need a boost of confidence, said Alejandra Ramirez, Taylor and Bice’s counselor.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 10:35 AM.
