Centering Student Voices: Evidence-Based Solutions for Community Violence Prevention

Live Webinar

August 10, 2026 at 1:00 - 2:00 PM EST

Zoom link: TBA

Description

The Michigan School Safety Initiative (MSSI) invites all school and district staff to a webinar on centering student voices through evidence-based community violence prevention and intervention strategies. This session will focus on how schools can meaningfully engage students as partners in building safer, more supportive school communities.

The webinar will highlight Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES), an evidence-based program grounded in empowerment theory that helps schools create meaningful roles for youth in violence prevention and positive school climate efforts. YES is one promising example of a student-centered, CVI-aligned approach, among other programs and initiatives that can support school safety and student well-being.

Participants will leave with practical strategies and best practices for youth engagement, along with concrete ideas to build student leadership, strengthen collaboration, and develop community-connected prevention work. This webinar is designed for school and district staff looking for actionable, evidence-based approaches to center student voice in safety and prevention efforts.

Audience

Michigan schools

Learning Objectives

• By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to explain empowerment theory and how it applies in practice.

• By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to propose meaningful roles for youth in community violence prevention initiatives.

• By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to identify practices for engaging youth in violence prevention.

Presenters

Marc Zimmerman, PhD (Co-Director of the Michigan School Safety Initiative, University of Michigan)

Kate Taelman, MPH (YES Program Coordinator at the Prevention Research Collaborative, University of Michigan)

Cozette Calvert (ELA (English Language Arts) Teacher, Grandport Academy)

Miles Haney, Facilitator (Training Coordinator, Michigan School Safety Initiative)

Continuing Education Credit

This webinar is offered for an MSSI certificate of completion.

Project Team

Brent Allen Miller, MA, PMP (Training Manager, National Center for School Safety)
Cindi Thronson, MPH (Project Manager, Michigan School Safety Initiative)
Cassandra Johnson, MAT (School Safety Outreach Specialist, Michigan School Safety Initiative)
Carolyn Seiger, MA (Instructional Designer, National Center for School Safety)

Sponsor

The Michigan School Safety Initiative is housed at the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and funded by the State of Michigan through the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (PA 166 of 2022 & HB 5783).

Contact Us

Visit our list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on our website.

Contact us at schoolsafety@umich.edu with questions.