GREENFIELD — A group of local education and law enforcement leaders learned about ways to combat hate in schools during a regional training seminar last week.
The Grand Rising Workgroup of the Communities That Care Coalition of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, in collaboration with Greenfield Community College, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office and the Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society, hosted “Addressing Hate in Schools and Communities” on Wednesday morning at GCC.
Around 15 participants worked with staff from Northeastern University to learn, discuss and reflect on ways to combat issues of intrapersonal violence, discrimination and toxic speech to improve school environments for students and staff.
Some of the participants represented Mohawk Trail Regional School, Frontier Regional School, Greenfield’s public schools and Pioneer Valley Regional School. Montague School Resource Officers Dan Miner and Michael Sevene were also in attendance, along with representatives from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and other local organizations.
Nicolette Aduama, senior associate director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, and consultant Baron Dyer guided the group through interactive training. The training featured a discussion of what successful leadership looks like, examining the bystander effect in school settings and finding shared interests between group members, with programming designed to raise awareness, challenge thinking, open dialogue and inspire leadership.
“The group has been amazing,” Aduama said of the participants’ engagement. “Very engaged, thoughtful, reflective and supportive of each other.”
For this training, Aduama said she consulted the Grand Rising Workgroup to better understand the needs of schools in Franklin County and the issues they face.
“I’ve been meeting frequently with the Grand Rising group. Through that, you start to understand more what the community needs are and their goals,” she explained, “and so we put our goals together, and hopefully that will support the vision for the training.”
In the first exercise, participants, in small cohorts, shared what they think makes good leadership, with descriptions like empowering others, role modeling, listening and collective vision. FRCOG Community Health Program Manager Rachel Stoler said her cohort identified that good leadership is the idea that just because someone is a leader doesn’t mean they are always correct.
One portion of the training had participants share true statements about themselves, and participants would get up and agree with statements made to keep the chain going. The question raised at the end of the exercise was how the activity related to the subject matter of combating hate in schools. Participants noted it’s harder to dislike someone when there is common ground established.
Another exercise saw Aduama and her staff simulating a school fight, and both law enforcement and educators stood up to participate, demonstrating how they see students and people act as bystanders. The exercise showed how the bystander effect can be dangerous for everyone involved, and how being the one to stand up can make a difference.
Greenfield High School Principal Michael Browning said this training is something he can bring back to his district to explore ways to make improvements.
“We need to continue to reflect on how we’re managing this in our classrooms and our buildings, and how we’re continuing to move the work,” he said.
“This is where the disruption in hate starts, and this is really important,” Three County Continuum of Care Program Director Shaundell Diaz said about the value of the training.
Diaz said in the past, she’s seen training participants connect to continue the conversation around combating hate in schools, especially between people who may normally not cross paths in this context.
“It feels like bringing people that might not collaborate in any other realm together, so that a collaboration is built and continues to grow,” she said.
Diaz shared that come the spring, she hopes to see this training opportunity return with more participation from other Franklin County education, law enforcement and community leaders to start “making those connections.”