Updated: 7:18 PM PST February 3, 2021
SAN DIEGO Local prosecutors, police and school officials Wednesday announced the creation of an app aimed at aiding students who have recently experienced trauma that may be affecting their behavior and performance at school. The Handle with Care app allows police to inform schools if a student has recently experienced a traumatic event such as domestic violence in the home, the arrest of a family member or a violent crime, which may lead the child to act out or perform poorly at school.
Specifics of the incidents are not provided to schools or school districts and the notification does not become part of the child s permanent record, according to a statement from the San Diego County District Attorney s Office, which said the trauma and stress experienced outside of school can lead to the child getting into trouble rather than receiving support. The app was first rolled out through a pilot program in which the Chula Vista
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan, police and schools have banned together to launch a new app that supports students dealing with trauma.
DA Summer Stephan joined KUSI’s Lauren Phinney on Good Morning San Diego to explain what the “Handle With Care” app can do for struggling students.
The full press release from the DA’s office is below:
Children Exposed to Trauma to be ‘Handled with Care’ by School
DA, Police and Schools Unite to Launch New App
When children encounter police because they were a witness to violence or a traumatic event, they can sometimes show up to school the next few days feeling upset, setting off a cycle of poor school performance or acting out, whether in school in person or virtually. Unless a teacher knows the student experienced recent trauma, the child could end up in trouble instead of receiving support. The District Attorney’s Office, the San Diego County Office of Education, local law enforcement and local
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Coronado’s middle school and high school reopened for in-person instruction this week while San Diego County remains in the most restrictive coronavirus status.
The California Teachers Association accused the Coronado Unified School District of opening the two schools unlawfully. State rules “explicitly prohibit” schools from opening during the purple tier, the union said in a cease-and-desist letter last week.
San Diego County has been in the purple tier for about three months.
County and district officials deny the district is breaking the rules.
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State rules say that elementary schools cannot reopen until their county’s daily COVID-19 case rate falls below 25 cases per 100,000 residents. Middle and high schools must wait longer, until the county’s case rate falls below 7 per 100,000 which is also the threshold for leaving the purple tier.
Friday's clinic will provide resources for those seeking to expunge their record, reclassify prior convictions or secure early termination of probation
“This is like a 650 square mile remote rural district, and a lot of families in this school district had to buy technology boosters for their phones, we had to make sure kids could get online for virtual learning,” Pierce said.
“We are kind of all in this boat that s rocking at the same time, and reaching out for one another, but trying to find an anchor to hold on to,” said Bonnie Hayman, a counselor for 30 years. She works at the La Mesa Arts Academy in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.
“That’s where I see our role is to try to provide some stabilization in these times, knowing that there is so little we can promise and guarantee. It’s the sands are just shifting every day, Hayman said.