Letter
from Bob Chase, President, National Education Association
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Dear Friend,
Over the years,
I have witnessed some extraordinary events that have brought severe
trauma to many of our members, the students they teach, and the
communities they serve. It was on board Air Force II that I met
Rear Admiral Brian Flynn, when we accompanied Vice President Al
Gore and his wife Tipper to a memorial service for the students
and teacher whose lives were lost in the tragedy at Columbine High
School in April, 1999.
Admiral Flynn
is an Assistant Surgeon General and psychologist at the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA)’s Center
for Mental Health Services, part of the US Department of Health
and Human Services. Through our meeting on Air Force II, the collaboration
between SAMHSA and NEA began for an initiative to address the mental
health needs of school personnel in relation to violence in our
nation’s schools and communities.
When Brian and
I met, I already was sadly familiar with the trauma that students
and school personnel had experienced as a result of violence. In
our introductions to each other, Brian explained to me that his
office at SAMHSA had begun collaborating with the US Departments
of Education and Justice to help schools and communities to work
together to prevent violence. Following direction from the White
House Conference on School Safety and the US Congress, his office
would be assisting local schools and communities in the application
of research-based practices and programs to prevent violence.
Brian also told
me that his wife is a school counselor in a Washington, DC, suburban
school district. Immediately following the tragedy at Columbine,
her experience and those of her colleagues, in part, informed him
of the importance of addressing the violence-related stress of school
personnel.
This guide –
Violence in Communities and Schools: A Stress Reduction Resource
Guide for Teachers and Other School Staff – is a product of
the resulting collaboration between NEA and SAMHSA.
The National
Education Association is enormously grateful for SAMHSA’s support
and for the generosity of so many who have shared their knowledge
and experience-based wisdom on how we can work together to prevent
violence, including how we can address the violence-related stress
that affects those who educate our nation’s children.
With deep gratitude,
Bob Chase
President
National Education Association
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