In a world where violence and trauma can ripple through a community, affecting even its youngest members, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) has taken on a critical role that extends far beyond the classroom.
The district established a comprehensive, multifaceted crisis response team designed not only to respond to emergencies but also to proactively address the underlying issues that impact its students.
The mission is clear: address any barrier to learning, whether it’s an immediate crisis or the compounding effects of ongoing trauma.
“People often don’t realize that many kids are simply surviving each day,” said Aarron Sparrow, an associate with the JCPS Re-engagement and Transition Team. “From the moment they leave home to the moment they return safely, they’re in survival mode.”
JCPS has a Crisis Response Team, which is a highly trained unit ready to deploy at a moment’s notice to handle a wide range of traumatic events. This isn’t just a reaction to school-related incidents; it’s a response to community events that affect students, from the death of a classmate to a neighborhood tragedy.
“We have 23 team leaders and 125 trained responders, including school counselors, mental health practitioners, school psychologists, social workers and others. All are fully trained to support our students,” said Dr. Alicia Averette, assistant superintendent of student support services at JCPS.
Every member of the team is trained in the nationally recognized PREPaRE crisis response model, which emphasizes immediate, trauma-informed and culturally competent support. This isn’t just about responding to violence; the teams mobilize for a range of traumatic events, including deaths, natural disasters and accidents that affect school communities.
“We’re there to provide that support wherever it is needed, and that’s why we have so many people trained, because that way we can deploy to as many schools as needed,” Averette said.
When an incident occurs, the activation process begins quickly. A school principal assesses the need and contacts their direct supervisor, who in turn initiates the deployment of the crisis team through an on-call system. From there, team leads coordinate with school staff to establish response locations, conduct staff briefings and provide direct support to students and families. They also provide vital support to teachers and staff who are often experiencing their own secondary trauma. Therapy dogs from the WAGS program are often brought in as a comforting, nonverbal form of trauma support.
Once on site, responders meet with students to offer counseling and, if needed, refer them for more intensive, long-term support. The team also communicates with families, providing resources on how to discuss grief with their children. Last year alone, the team was sent to a school about once a week in response to a death impacting students or staff.
Beyond Reaction: The Proactive Work of Violence Prevention
While the Crisis Response Team handles the immediate aftermath of a crisis, the JCPS Violence Prevention Team focuses on proactive, boots-on-the-ground work to mitigate future incidents and support students who have been exposed to trauma.
“One of the most important aspects of our work, and one that often gets overlooked, is the proactive effort we put in to prevent incidents before they happen,” said Dr. Matt Anderson, assistant superintendent of climate and culture at JCPS. “Through trauma-informed care training, we help staff understand how to support students, how brain development affects learning, and how community events can impact students’ ability to focus. We also train them to recognize early signs of distress so we can connect students with resources like mental health practitioners or counselors before things escalate.”
This team, which includes case managers with backgrounds in therapy, works collaboratively with the JCPS Police Department and external partners, including the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and the city’s Office of Violence Prevention. This interagency collaboration allows for a more nuanced and coordinated approach to violence prevention.
The work is highly individualized and nonpunitive in nature. Team members build long-term relationships with students, often working with them for years, whether they’ve been directly involved in violence or simply witnessed it. They address the unseen struggles that can manifest as behavioral problems in the classroom.
“I’m going to go to four or five schools a day to go and talk to multiple kids for any reason,” Sparrow said. “Then, after school is out, we may go to a community meeting or go to a home visit. If our kids are involved in sports we may go to a game to support them because you never know when they’re ready to talk.”
The goal is to meet students where they are, providing support that helps them process their experiences and stay focused on their education.
This proactive work also includes community-wide initiatives. Through the Project Prevent grant, JCPS provides targeted resources for elementary students and families most impacted by community violence. Through workshops, family events and therapeutic activities, the program helps families learn strategies to manage trauma and de-escalate conflict at home.
The true measure of success lies in the team’s follow-through.
“There’s nothing better than talking to a parent who feels supported, knowing that someone from JCPS reached out and truly cares about the safety of their child, grandchild, niece or nephew,” said Mancell Elam, executive administrator of climate and culture for JCPS. “It’s especially rewarding when, despite all the obstacles, barriers and difficult circumstances a family may be facing, we hear back from students who have stayed the course after their time at JCPS.”
Students placed on case management are supported until graduation or transition, and the team’s caseload, which currently stands at about 250 students, is carefully monitored and adjusted as needs evolve. Many students continue to receive check-ins, resources, and academic support for months, even years, after an initial incident.
Addressing the Community-Wide Roots of Violence
“I don’t think people understand how much trauma affects the brain. Violence is everybody’s problem,” Sparrow said. “And a lot of times, if you have the privilege to remove yourself, you don’t really have to think about it. I didn’t know how much sirens affected me, gunshots affected me, until I was grown.”
The people behind these initiatives are keenly aware of a widespread narrative that places blame on the school system for societal problems. They emphasize that while violence involving school-age children is tragic, it often originates in the community. Their job is not to fix the community’s issues but to serve as a vital support system for students and staff who are living with the consequences.
“School-age kids doing violent things doesn’t mean that all the violence is happening in schools. So a line of demarcation needs to be set when we start talking about school-age kids doing violent things,” Dr. John Marshall, chief equity officer of JCPS, said. “It is always tragic, but the exacerbation and the root causes a lot of times are societal, situational, and forever changing, but sometimes trickle into the school buildings.”
By proactively addressing the many barriers to learning, whether it’s housing insecurity, food instability, or the deep trauma of community violence, JCPS is working to ensure that every student has the support they need to learn and thrive.
“This is an epidemic, and it’s a serious problem,” Marshall said. “But the reality is that most of our students, despite what they may or may not be exposed to, are not getting into trouble, and not engaging in violence at school, and are graduating on time. We have to remember that and avoid painting all students as ‘bad’ kids.”
Data-Driven Interventions and Ongoing Support
JCPS utilizes data-driven tools, including the Suicide Prevention Screener for students in grades 2-12 and the BESS test (Behavioral and Emotional Screening System) for students in grades 6-12. These screeners assess risk levels, allowing schools to intervene early. Results are shared with families, with an opt-out available for parents who prefer not to participate.
"We’re able to place those students in tiers, so we get them supports faster, with the multiple resources that we have already in place in schools,” Shauna Paul, a JCPS school counselor, said.
The district also partners with Care Solace, an online platform that helps students, staff and families access mental health care more efficiently.
These supports are not onetime interventions. They are long-term commitments, rooted in relationships, driven by data, and built on the belief that every student deserves the opportunity to succeed.
The district also offers a tipline, allowing students, staff and community members a way to report concerns or threats confidentially, helping to prevent potential crises before they occur.
For more information on how JCPS is building a safer community, please see our new handout to share, Building A Safer Community: Proactive and Reactive Safety Measures.