This week's safe schools snippets

Thompson school board hears tale of bullying

Loveland couple Carey and Wayne Scott told the Thompson School District Board of Education on Wednesday about a bullying incident at Namaqua Elementary School involving one of their two children attending the school.

They said they pulled from school their 9-year-old son, who they said was bullied by another student and is experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder with depression. Read more in the Loveland Reporter-Herald.

11-year-old boy arrested over drawing is cleared

ARVADA – New developments in the case of an 11-year-old Arvada boy arrested and handcuffed over stick figures he drew at school. Watch the FOX31 report.

New law bans sex offenders from working in schools

DENVER – As school winds down in Colorado a measure designed to protect students was signed into law on Friday. Watch CBS4.

Creating a chain of kindness between schools

LITTLETON – It’s nearly impossible to measure the potential of a small act of kindness – unless you got the chance to see the paper chain that spread out between Shaffer and Mortensen Elementary Schools in Littleton. Together, more than 1,000 students joined a celebration of their year-long effort to spread kindness and compassion on Friday. The Friends of Rachel Club is a part of Rachel’s Challenge, which was started by the family of Rachel Scott. Rachel died in the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999. Watch this 9NEWS report.

Kids who bully twice as likely to have sleep problems

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Children who are bullies or have conduct problems at school are more likely to be sleepy during the day according to University of Michigan Medical School researchers. Read more from the University of Michigan.

Psychiatrist: Video games influencing youth – not for the better

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Video-game play is shaping the mental, social and emotional development of youth in overwhelmingly negative ways, leading to declines in school performance, sleep disorders, increased aggression, depression and a host of other problems.

That’s the message child and adolescent psychiatrist Paul Weigle will deliver this morning to an audience mainly of school and mental health professionals who work with children and teens, though parents, too, are urged to take heed. His talk is titled, “Playing with Violence: The Mental Health Effects of Video Game Play.” Read more in The New London Day.

Former Longmont teacher will go to prison

A former Longmont High School teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with one of his young teenage students will receive a prison sentence under a deal he made with prosecutors. Read more in the Denver Post.

 

About our First Person series:

First Person is where Chalkbeat features personal essays by educators, students, parents, and others trying to improve public education. Read our submission guidelines here.