Jeremy Richman introduced himself to the Board of Education during its meeting on Tuesday, May 19, before he explained an interest in a collaboration between The Avielle Foundation and the school district.

Dr Richman then said that as the parents of Avielle Richman, one of the victims at Sandy Hook School on 12/14, he and his wife, Jennifer Hensel, began the foundation to stop violent events and to answer why such events occur.

“Playing to our strengths as scientists, we established The Avielle Foundation,” Dr Richman said, “geared to prevent violence through research, research of the brain, and community education and engagement. Specifically, we wanted to bridge the biochemical sciences and the behavioral sciences to understand violence, aggression, and compassion.”

Speaking about the foundation’s Spark Project, which Dr Richman said is designed to teach and model social and emotional learning leadership principles “on a Newtown communitywide scale,” he explained the project’s leadership team comprises local physicians, lawyers, scientists, parents, teachers, and other local leaders.

“We hope to have the Newtown Board of Education as part of our collaboration team as well,” Dr Richman said.

Dr Richman also spoke about how the Spark project would work with the school district’s Second Step program, which was developed by the Committee for Children. The Avielle Foundation, Dr Richman said, is collaborating with the Committee for Children, a software development group called Personalized Learning Games, and the 3C Institute, which creates evidence-based programs and web-based applications to promote health and well-being, according to the company’s website, to create a software-based skill-building game.

The game, Dr Richman continued, is being worked on to “make it evidence based [so] that we can integrate into the [schools], [and] seamlessly dovetail it into the [kindergarten through eighth grade] environment.

“If you can raise a child that has patience and perseverance that is able to set goals and achieve them … and that they have the perception that they were children like that, they will be successful,” said Dr Richman, “and success can be defined by health, wealth, or happiness.”

Social and emotional learning skills, Dr Richman said while citing a number of scientific articles, are a “critical need.”

Dr Richman said the game will assess students for social and emotional skills throughout the year. He also said part of the Spark Project mission is to branch the efforts of the project out into the community.

After highlighting a mentoring program and plans to have trainers come into the community, Dr Richman explained the idea is to have students embraced by the whole community environment. Mentoring opportunities, he said, will also be provided for high school students.

Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, explained that the program presented by Dr Richman would be brought back to the school board after being looked into by the board’s Curriculum & Instruction Committee, for a potential implementation in the district next school year.

School board members asked a range of questions, including how the high school mentoring aspect of the program would be implemented with students who did not grow up through the program, and for further information about how The Avielle Foundation plans to evaluate students.

A number of board members, including BOE Vice Chair Laura Roche, also offered their thanks to Dr Richman for his presentation. Ms Roche also offered her hope that the school board can work with the project, adding that she would “love to see your vision come true.”