IPS Task Force Creates Ways to Improve School Environment

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis Public Schools task force is looking at ways to make kids feel safe and also better check on their mental health.

This comes after two teenagers were killed in a mass shooting in downtown Indianapolis the morning of July 5. A 15 and 16-year-old died. Five others — a 16-year-old, a 17-year-old, two 19-year-olds and a 21-year-old — were injured and treated at the hospital.

There have been multiple shootings in and around Indianapolis in the month of July. Some have involved kids as young as 10 years old and police officers getting shot too.

The task force met for the first time on Wednesday. In a partnership with business consulting firm Intrinz Inc., they’re creating surveys for students in Grades 3-12 that ask questions about the quality and accessibility of mental health services and trauma response at school.

Staff members, parents and guardians will also be surveyed.

School Board Commissioner Hope Star is on the IPS Mental Health and School Culture Task Force. She said the goal of the task force is to create a safe environment for students both inside and outside the school.

“My concern around trauma and what that does to our children and us is not just about the building,” Star told WISH-TV. “I know we’re coming into the building, living in communities where our families are losing children.”

Star added that trauma can happen anytime and to anyone and IPS wants to be as prepared as they can to assist students who may be affected.

“It’s a difficult time right now for us to all figure out how to care for each other, care for the least of these in our community,” she said.

The task force has scheduled meetings once a month from now until the end of the year.

IPS Task Force Creates Ways to Improve School Environment for Students  was originally published on wibc.com