Fairfax County: Kognito’s Professional Development Simulations in Action
How can a school district prepare hundreds of educators to support students who are demonstrating symptoms of psychological distress, dealing with incidents of bullying, or may be at-risk for suicidal ideation? What solutions can be leveraged to help foster a safer and more supportive school climate? And is it possible to undergo such an expansive training initiative while adequately accounting for teachers’ busy schedules and the high cost of in-person training?
These were the questions that Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), the tenth largest K-12 school district in the country, was faced with in 2013.
With more than 27,000 employees and 190,000 students across 198 schools, the district was in dire need of a professional
development solution that provided their teachers and staff with practical skills to connect students with support – and, in turn, possibly prevent tragedies within the community.
To meet these needs, FCPS decided to implement Kognito’s interactive role-play simulations – and our suite of online professional development simulations proved to be precisely what the district needed.
In the case study below, we explore how FCPS was able to successfully leverage Kognito to equip more than 20,000 educators with the knowledge and skills to support at-risk students within their community, ultimately leading to a 30-40% increase in the number of students whom educators spoke with and referred to mental health services.
Fairfax County Teachers Talk with Virtual Students to Learn How to Save Real Lives
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