Connections Program

How it works

• Every group connected to school safety—teachers, administrators, community members, and law enforcement—receive specialized trainings and workshops.

• Teachers trained in ethical discourse help students communicate, empathize, and connect more deeply with one another.

• Surveys and focus groups by area-specific experts track quantitative and qualitative progress on key measures related to physical and emotional safety, belonging, character, and several other factors related to student and teacher well-being.

• Participating school districts form a network of learning and support to continue benefitting from the Connections program into the future.

Over the course of three years, a team of diverse experts from the University of Mississippi will periodically visit schools and provide professional development trainings and workshops as part of a coordinated effort to boost school safety and climate.

Training in behavioral threat assessment and emergency preparedness plans increase the physical safety of schools. Workshops from the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO) and the National Center for School-University Partnerships (NCSUP) address student conflict resolution and absenteeism. Co-curricular programs like the National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) reinforce student belonging and academic engagement. Workshops for the community and law-enforcement from the Center for Urban Family Health and Wholeness (CUFHW) and the Center for Evidence-Based Policing and Reform (CEBPR) examine the broader context, attitudes, and practices in which the schools are situated.

Together these and other interventions unify and bring to practice a wide range of expertise for the benefit of Mississippi’s schools.