The first of several workshops hosted by Santa Barbara Unified School District took place Wednesday evening at La Colina Junior High as the district’s newly assembled Task Force on School Climate & Safety brought concerned parents together with experts on school safety.
Over the next six to eight months, according to Superintendent Cary Matsuoka, the workshops will focus on five realms: school safety; public safety and law enforcement; mental health and wellness; technology and social media; and anti-bias education. “There is no one answer to school safety,” he said. “We need to look at all five [realms].”
After the district cycles through the workshops, Matsuoka explained, it will present its findings and potential policy recommendations to the Board of Education in December. However, he added, “If we see something we think we should implement next month or next week, we’ll do that.”
