Violence struck another American high school last week. On Wednesday April 9, a student in Murrysville, PA roamed the halls of his school stabbing fellow students.
On that same day, community leaders in Marshalltown, IA gathered in the Marshalltown High School gym as students presented what they had learned from new violence prevention trainings. Marshalltown is part of the Safe Schools, Healthy Students Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Justice.
Marshalltown is also a Not In Our Town community and for the past two years has been implementing a Not In Our Town campaign to address bullying and intolerance, community-wide.
The anti-violence training at Marshalltown High School was provided by Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP). Thirty-seven students and staff members participated in the day-long sessions, learning ways to intervene in violence, including talking to the victim, talking to the perpetrator, going to trusted adults, diverting or delaying actions. After the training, students said they felt more comfortable knowing how to intervene during a conflict or bullying situation.