93-10-19 New Series Will Help Teachers Deal With Youth Violence

NEW SERIES WILL HELP TEACHERS DEAL WITH YOUTH VIOLENCE

       CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 19 -- A new project to help teachers cope
with violence in the schools begins this month in Virginia.
    Covering such topics as youth aggression, violence across cultures and
symptoms of dysfunctional families, a series of courses will be offered to
educators across the state.  The first course starts Friday, Oct. 22, at the
University of Virginia's Hampton Roads Center.
    Titled the "Youth Violence Project," the series represents newly
established partnerships tying U.Va. with other higher education
institutions, with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and from
several state agencies, such as the Department of Criminal Justice Services
and the Virginia Crime Prevention Center.
     "We know of no other project in the nation that provides this depth of
training for educators facing the threat of violence," said Dyanne Bostain,
director of the Hampton Roads Center. 
 She said the series brings together nationally recognized faculty from
numerous disciplines who will give teachers both a theoretical understanding
of the factors contributing to youth violence and practical strategies for
reducing aggressive behavior.  
         She has made presentations about the project to Virginia's
secretaries of education and public safety, the Governor's Commission on
Violent Crime and the Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems,
among others.
      The first course, representing a partnership between U.Va. and
Christopher Newport University, will focus on the psychology of youth
aggression and violence.  Two U.Va. clinical psychologists, Dewey G. Cornell
and Peter L. Sheras, will describe current theories on violent behavior in
youth, and help teachers deal with aggressive behavior by focusing on such
things as anger management, suicide prevention and conflict resolution.      
 
    The second course, "The Language of Violence Across Cultures: 
Understanding Ethnic Lifestyles and Behavioral Diversity," will begin Feb. 4
at the Hampton Roads Center.  That course will identify factors that create
conflict and violence and examine how the potential for such violence can be
addressed in schools.
       Other courses being planned for spring 1994 will cover the impact of
HIV on youths and schools, school law as it relates to criminal and civil
acts of violence, the role of the state legislature in preventing youth
violence and designing safe school environments.
     Because the topic is of interest to parents and school board members as
well as educators, Bostain plans to offer the courses statewide and to
develop a series of televised programs and video presentations.  
  For course information, call the Hampton Roads Center at (804) 552-1800.
                               ###
                                                 October 18, 1993
        FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Bostain at (804) 552-1800 or contact
faculty listed on separate enclosed sheet.
 
Karen Castle, Office Services Specialist, University News Office
P.O. Box 9018, Booker House, Charlottesville, VA  22906
(804) 924-7116, kac@virginia.edu

[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Tue, 19 Oct 93 09:57:36 EDT]