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On the 20th Anniversary of the Columbine Massacre, School Violence, Aggression, Bullying and Stress Continue to be a Problem in US Schools.

Some of us recall exactly where we were 20 years ago, when we first heard of the Columbine High School shooting. It the first incident of a mass shooting in a school, and it unfolded on security cameras for the world to see. At the time, violence of this sort in a school was unthinkable! The entire nation stopped and held our breath.

Since then, more than 215,000 students have experienced gun violence in school. A generation has now gone from kindergarten to 12th grade familiar with "shooter drills," drug-sniffing dogs, heavily armed law enforcement and random locker searches as much a part of their school experience as reading, writing and arithmetic.

SKY Schools was founded nine years after Columbine as a response to increased stress, frustration and violence in schools. Since then, high-stakes testing and pressure to achieve not only academically but in athletics and extracurricular activities, coupled with decreased funding and reduced benefits to teachers have intensified stress for students, educators and administrators across the nation. As a result, many schools have seen an increase in stress-related issues.

Over the past fifteen years, suicide among American youth aged 10-17 has increased by 70%.

You can make a difference!

Stress is a threat to our lives. While accidents remain the leading cause of death for young people 15-19 years of age, suicide, homicide and drug and alcohol use together account for 49% of mortality among teens. All of these are preventable! All are related to stress, impulsivity, and trauma--which are effectively targeted by the SKY Schools program.

THE SOLUTION:

offers a solution for a growing epidemic of stress-related disorders that is devastating for children and families. Stress leads to impulsive behavior in teens, causing impaired decision-making.

SKY Schools provides bio-psychosocial stress-management and emotion regulation tools that are fun and easy to adapt for day-to-day use. Our curriculum is built upon a foundation of compassion and support. Based in what we call "human values," which are those characteristics we all see as fundamentally positive (honesty, caring, kindness, happiness), are tangibly taught through fun games with profound experiential processes and discussion.

THE IMPACT:

"This is the first time I've felt peace. The first time I've truly felt like myself." -- SKY Program 7th grader at Dodd Middle School, NY

To date, students' self-reporting in post-program surveys has shown consistently compelling outcomes. In a post-course assessment of 18 SKY schools nationwide, 76-85% of the 7,333 students surveyed showed significant improvement in six focus areas: mood and feelings, calm state of mind, focus and concentration, anger and frustration, ability to sleep, stress and worry.

In 2017, Eastside High School in Newark, NJ, saw a 90% reduction in disciplinary actions, including bullying, with their at-risk youth students after learning SKY Schools.

Since 2008, SKY Schools has provided life-changing skills to more than 90,000 young people in the US, in 22 states, in over 200 schools across the country, through uniquely bridging Social Emotional Learning, Restorative Practices & Mindfulness.

This spring, we mark the 20th Anniversary of the Columbine School Shooting. Let's make this the year that stress and resulting violence in schools became a thing of the past.

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