Is This Webinar Live or Recorded?
The webinar was held on August 10, 2026. A recording is available for on-demand viewing through the Access On-Demand button.
About this Webinar
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 focuses on how schools can meaningfully engage students as partners in building safer, more supportive school communities.
The webinar highlights 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 for building student leadership, strengthening collaboration, and developing community-connected prevention work. This webinar helps school and district staff use actionable, evidence-based approaches to center student voice in safety and prevention efforts.
Learning Objectives
- Explain empowerment theory and how it applies in practice
- Propose meaningful roles for youth in community violence prevention
- Identify practices for engaging youth in violence prevention
Who Should Attend
- All school and district staff
Speakers
- Marc Zimmerman, PhD (Co-Director, Michigan School Safety Initiative)
- Kate Taelman, MPH (YES Program Manager, University of Michigan)
- Cozette Calvert (English Language Arts Teacher, Grandport Academy)
Project Team
- Miles Haney (Training Coordinator, Michigan School Safety Initiative)
- Cassandra Johnson, MAT (School Safety Outreach Specialist, Michigan School Safety Initiative)
- Cindi Thronson, MPH (Project Manager, Michigan School Safety Initiative)
- Brent Allen Miller, MA, PMP (Training Manager, National Center for School Safety)
- Carolyn Seiger, MA (Instructional Designer, National Center for School Safety)
This webinar is offered for an MSSI certificate of completion.
Michigan School Safety Initiative (2026). Centering Student Voices: Evidence-Based Solutions for Community Violence Prevention. National Center for School Safety, University of Michigan.