April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

The challenges of keeping kids safe in the 21st century are far greater and under more change than ever before in history. Now, child predators have new ways to find victims thanks to the internet, cell phone and GPS technologies. Today, children can use these same technologies and numerous web sites in new ways to bully each other. This easily accessible technology can help elevate a small disagreement among friends or classmates into public embarrassment on a previously unheard of level and in an extreme, to suicide.

At Professional Learning Board we are working to increase the knowledge of educators to the 21st century challenges of child safety with courses on:

• Recognizing & Preventing Child Abuse
• Bullying – The Golden Rule Solution
• Internet Safety – Protecting Children in an Online World
• Technology for Education Leaders

These, and efforts by others, may be paying off as reports of child abuse are down. According to a 2009 report by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, less than one percent of children are abused.

These topics are difficult subjects and yet we as educators are on the front line and can play an important role in keeping children safe. I invite you to enroll in one of the online courses above, one of PLB’s Child Abuse Prevention packages and to tell your friends, fellow teachers, co-workers and administrators about these online courses.

Professional Learning Board also offers special school and district level pricing so everyone, teachers, staff, administrators, volunteers and parents can benefit from this information. Contact us if your school or district is interested.

This week’s questions for you:

• What is your school doing to ensure that everyone on staff, as well as all volunteers, are being trained to keep children safe in their learning environments?