The Massachusetts Teachers Association’s (MTA) Division of Training and Professional Learning and Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III teamed up to offer a Safe School Summit, a day of continuing education on February 11, 2017 at Bristol Community College. Topics included creating trauma-sensitive classrooms, fostering resilience, building a suicide-safer school district and more. The program was designed for teachers, education support professionals, principals, school adjustment counselors, school resource and law enforcement officers, school nurses, superintendents, deans and community partners. Safe School Summits bring together educators, elected officials, law enforcement and judicial personnel, social and health services providers, parents and community members to discuss and develop strategies that ensure safe, healthy school climates conducive to learning and teaching. In partnership with Massachusetts district attorneys, the summits provide opportunities for collaboration as well as give educators the skills, tools and information to improve school environments. Click here for the Herald News article. For more information, contact Meg Secatore, Director of Training and Professional Learning at 800-392-6175, Ext. 8155 (Row two, right, photo by Jack Foley of the Herald News)

(Top row) Chaplain Clementina (Tina) Chéry, founder, President, and CEO of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, gave the keynote presentation on "Pathways to Peace: Responding to Grief and Trauma in the Classroom at the conference in the Jackson Auditorium where participants registered with MTA Director of Training and Professional Learning Meg Secatore, right. (Row two) Nanci Ginty Butler, LICSW, talks about Fostering Resilience in Ourselves and Our Students in an afternoon workshop while Brandy Brooks presents on "Building a Suicide Safer School District." (Row three) Participants, including Annemarie Matulis of the Bristol County Regional Coalition for Suicide Prevention, move to the Commonwealth Center for lunch. (Bottom row) Participants look over the lunch offerings before Partners School Wellness Coordinator Marcia Picard joins other participants.