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Bullying is one of the most widely discussed topics in developing school safety and security. The safety of our EMS students is a top priority.  EMS ISD incorporates Lion's Quest character education or Positive Action programming K-12 in order to support our students' social emotional growth, in learning about themeselves, others, and how to value and treat one another.  In recent years, cyberbullying has increased among students. Effective September 1, 2017, Texas legislature enacted David's Law to address bullying and cyberbullying of public school students, encourage mental health programs in public schools, and increase the criminal penalty for bullying or cyberbully.  EMS ISD educates students on reporting cyberbullying and keeping themselves and others safe online.

Is it Bullying? - Texas State Safety Center Checklist

EMS SMORE:  Bullying Prevention

Report bullying through any of the following anonymous on-line sites:  Friends for Life, Let's Talk and Safe2Speak Up!

EMS ISD utilizes the School Climate surveys in order to target areas of concern.  School Counselors, Intervention Counselors, and Social Workers work alongside the Administrative team on the campuses in order to set-up and provide information for parents.  Some schools provide Love & Logic, Parent University, and various other family systems and mental health presentations. Other parent programming includes transition information from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school as well as College and Career Readiness information that includes FAFSA support, college access, and College Night. For more information about what parent programming your school offers, visit with your school counselor or parent liaison.    

EMS ISD Counseling is in partnership with you and your child throughout their academic and social-emotional school experiences.  We are committed to providing you with guiding information and support.  Please be aware that occasionally the Internet hosts viral “challenges” that are harmful and require that we be open and available to our children so they can talk to us when they come across threatening information on the internet.  Sites like Youtube will take content down if it is reported, so we encourage parents to always report questionable content.

As always, feel free to contact your child’s school should you have any concerns or questions.

Additional resources for internet safety:

EMS SMORE:  Social Media/Apps

Common Sense Media - YouTube Safety

Netsmartz - Internet Safety

Cyberbullying English

Cyberbullying Spanish

US Department of Education - Cybersecurity

Internet Safety Resources English

Internet Safety Resources Spanish

TEA - Internet Safety

These links provide helpful information for maintaining mental health.

EMS SMORE:  Mental Health

EMS SMORE:  Childhood Anxiety Disorders

EMS SMORE:  Understanding Grief

EMS SMORE:  Being the Best You/ Self-Care

Staying Mentally Healthy - Mental Health American

Mental Health America of Greater Tarrant County

Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County 

The National Child Identification Program is a community service initiative dedicated to providing parents and guardians with a tool they can use to help protect their children. An ID Kit allows parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian. If ever needed, this ID Kit will give authorities vital information to assist their efforts to locate a missing child.

The EMS ISD Counseling Department will be creating podcasts addressing various topics to include:  social and emotional support, mental health, prevention and intervention, college and career readiness, and more. All episodes are available here on the Anchor website.

The EMS ISD Comprehensive Guidance plan includes prevention practices and lessons K-12.

Lessons regarding emotions, sadness, and depression are presented to students in K-12th grades. Students identify emotions and discuss the difference between sadness and depression, how to cope with different emotions, and who can help.

EMS SMORE:  Self-Injury

Suicide prevention and mental health support lessons at the middle school and high school levels will be delivered through the Signs of Suicide program. SOS utilizes ACT, Acknowledge, Care, and Tell, when teaching students and adults about recognizing signs, symptoms, and warning signs of depression and suicide and what to do.

EMS SMORE:  Suicide Prevention

Substance prevention is covered through lessons about healthy choices K-5 and various presentations through Recovery Resource and Just Say Yes.  Additionally, at the middle and high school prevention curriculum such as Catch my Breath, Know the Dangers, and The Real Cost of Vaping and tobacco will be available for use in 6-12 grades.

Our SOAR Coalition partnership offers us opportunities to collaborate with our community on health and prevention campaigns. Find the latest SOAR newsletters here:  OCT  NOV  DEC/JAN  MAR  APRIL  JULY

Substance Use and Addiction English

Substance Use and Addiction Spanish 

EMS SMORE:  What's the Truth?

EMS SMORE:  Is My Teen Using Drugs?

EMS SMORE:  Not My Kid

Dating Violence prevention, personal safety, and cyber safety lessons are presented through the Women’s Center and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

EMS SMORE:  Dating Violence and Awareness

Bullying and Isolation Prevention lessons are shared regarding what to do if you or someone you know is being bullied.  Additionally, activities through Renaissance and Sandy Hook Promise, Start with Hello promote inclusion, empathy, and compassion by including others.

EMS SMORE:  Bullying Prevention

Small Group Counseling Support is provided for students that require additional interventions for behavior and emotional growth. Why Try? and Teen Life are used 6-12^th grades.

EMS SMORE:  Self-Esteem

EMS ISD’s resource list includes community resources and informational websites. For additional support, please visit with your school counselor.

Mental Health and Prevention Websites:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Website English | Spanish
• National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) of Tarrant County

Here are additional resources:

• EMS ISD Social Emotional Resource Guide
• Texas Education Agency COVID-19 Mental Health Resources
• Mental Health America
• MHMR Tarrant Co.
• Child Mind Institute for Families
• Child Mind Institute for Families (Spanish)
• TEA COVID-19 Mental Health Resources
• Mental Health Hotlines and Resources

Learn more information regarding these topics through the Smore newsletter links below:

• Back to School
• Community Resources
• Social Media/Apps
• Vaping and eCigs
• Maintaining Mental Health during COVID
• Mental Health
• Virtual Calming Options
• Understanding Grief
• Self-Injury
• Suicide Prevention
• Bullying Prevention
• Dating Violence and Awareness
• Self-Esteem
• Military Families Resources 

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescence. EMS ISD is committed to being a competent school community in suicide prevention. As a district, we train our staff to identify students who may be at risk for suicide, refer students to counselors, and work with parents to provide support for students.

Cook's Children's JOY Campaign (Suicide Prevention Communication Initiative)

The Signs of Suicide program. SOS utilizes ACT, Acknowledge, Care, and Tell, when teaching students and adults about recognizing signs, symptoms, and warning signs of depression and suicide and what to do.  Parent Info. English  Spanish

Taking Care of Self During Uncertain Times - Mental Health Reminders

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Suicide prevention and support, including an option to chat online with a trained volunteer.

Hope Line: Suicide prevention and crisis support, including an option to chat online with a trained volunteer.

 EMS SMORE:  Suicide Prevention

Teen Dating Violence Prevention

During the month of February, secondary schools will provide age appropriate information to students regarding teen dating violence.

Almost one-third of teen relationships involve abuse. Help students learn to avoid—or break free from—unhealthy entanglements. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, dating violence is controlling, abusive and aggressive behavior in a romantic relationship. It can happen in straight or gay relationships. It can include verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, or a combination of them. You may want to share with students the following examples of dating violence: 

 Controlling behavior includes:

• Not letting them hang out with their friends
• Calling or texting frequently to find out where they are, whom they’re with and what they’re doing
• Telling them what to wear
• Having to be with them all the time

Verbal and emotional abuse includes:

• Name-calling
• Jealousy
• Belittling them (cutting them down)
• Threatening to hurt them, someone in their family or themselves if they don't do what they want

Physical abuse includes:

• Shoving
• Punching
• Slapping
• Pinching
• Hitting
• Kicking
• Hair-pulling
• Strangling

Sexual abuse includes:

• Unwanted touching and kissing
• Forcing them to have sex
• Not letting them use birth control
• Forcing them to do other sexual things

Anyone can be a victim of dating violence. Both boys and girls are victims, but boys and girls abuse their partners in different ways. Girls are more likely to yell, threaten to hurt themselves and pinch, slap, scratch or kick. Boys injure girls more, are more likely to punch their partner and are more likely to force them to participate in unwanted sexual activity. Some teen victims experience violence occasionally. Others are abused more often, sometimes daily.

If you or someone you know is involved in an unhealthy dating relationship, your school counselor can help by providing counseling and resources.

Resources 

• Ayudar a los niños a afrontar el duelo
• Grieving and loss for all ages
• Trauma: Consejos y datos breves
• Cómo sobrellevar un duelo: Consejos y datos breves

• Talking to your child about a Suicide death
• Consejos para ayudar a los niños después de un evento traumático

The CASEL 5 addresses five broad, interrelated areas of competence and examples for each: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. The CASEL 5 can be taught and applied at various developmental stages from childhood to adulthood and across diverse cultural contexts to articulate what students should know and be able to do for academic success, school and civic engagement, health and wellness, and fulfilling careers.

CASEL Framework

CASEL Framework - Español

The EMS ISD Counseling Department has created an SEL Communications Toolkit, which include the 10 Words Counseling Video Series. Visit the SEL Communications Toolkit to view the videos.