PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Students who witness trauma may act out at school — or drop out, and their school may never realize why. Through a $1 million federal grant, the Philadelphia School District and Police Department are launching a new program that alerts schools when a student witnesses violence and is affected by trauma in their neighborhoods.
The program, called Handle with Care, will train 300 police officers to notify a student’s school in such instances, and about 100 school staffers will be trained to respond.
“I want all of you to imagine the level of violence that our kids are exposed to on a daily basis,” Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said on Monday at the Philadelphia Military Academy in North Philadelphia. “A fourth-grader or third-grader or fifth-grader who sees some level of violence — because they see a shooting on the street, or they’re exposed to some type of domestic violence in their home or something traumatic — and be able to let the school know.
“We know that many of our kids who are exposed to trauma will drop out of school, will go into delinquency, and do other things.”
The program will start as a pilot initiative this summer at 15 schools located in the 22nd Police District of North Philadelphia. Bethel said that 4.3-square-mile area saw 300 shootings and 70 murders in 2021.
Military Academy student Nadia Porter sees value in the program.
“A lot of kids often aren’t seen as trauma victims. They’re just seen as problem-starters,” she said. “If we try to get down to the root of the problem, we can better understand them and better accommodate their needs.”
Bethel said he would eventually like to see the program all across the city.