SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER GRADUATE CERTIFICATE

Courses and Credit Requirements

Students will fulfill this four course, 16-credit certificate with graduate level courses in Criminology & Criminal Justice, and elective options from Social Work, Education, School Counseling, and Higher Education. Specifically, the curriculum will include:

TWO Required Courses:

• CRM 6050: Law Enforcement in Schools (4 credits) Note: This course is currently being reviewed by the Graduate Curriculum Committee.
  • Course Description: This course explores the presence of law enforcement in American K-12 schools through a focus on School Resource Officers (SROs). Students will survey the history, structure, training, and function of law enforcement in schools. Challenges for and criticisms of SROs will be critically analyzed, including such topics as youth mental health, trauma, and disability; conflict resolution, de-escalation, and use of force; net widening and the school-to-prison pipeline; and teaching and mentorship of youth. Best practices for SRO interactions with school personnel, students, families, and communities will be reviewed with particular attention given to the stages of adolescent development.

• CRM 6230: Juvenile Justice and Legal Rights of Children (4 credits)
  • Course Description: This course is designed to allow students to examine relevant legal and social policy issues concerning children who are involved in the justice system, as well as their families, caregivers, human service workers, teachers, and advocates. Students will explore current child-centered practices for communities and the legal system that have proven to be effective strategies for ensuring the welfare of children and their families. Through the reading of personal narratives and essays, as well as a review of relevant academic materials and applicable laws, students will arrive at an understanding as to how race, ethnicity, class, and gender affect treatment and service delivery by the social service and justice systems. The course is designed for students interested in working in juvenile justice settings or students interested in working with youth populations that may experience contact with the justice systems. Students may have the opportunity to observe the juvenile justice system first hand by attending a juvenile court session, visit a correctional facility for adjudicated delinquents, and hear directly from those who work with at-risk youth and families.

Choose ONE from the following courses to fulfill the diversity requirement:

• CRM 6220: Race, Ethnicity, and Social Control (4 credits)
  • Course Description: This course examines the historical and contemporary connections between race, ethnicity, and social control (both formal and informal). The politics and culture surrounding race and ethnicity are fundamental to the criminal justice system in the United States and elsewhere. The course will explore how racial inequality is connected to the legislative process, patterns of punishment, and public attitudes toward crime control. In the age of mass incarceration, three-strikes laws, and mandatory minimum sentencing, students will consider the ways that understandings of crime and criminal justice not only respond to inequality, but also help perpetuate inequality. The course will also explore the ways in which issues of class, race, gender, and sexuality inform the perspective(s) of the criminal justice, social, legal, or medical services practitioner in their delivery of services. The standpoint and worldview of the recipient(s) of the myriad police imprint, in most situations the subaltern: the underclass, the working poor, ethnic others, immigrant adults, and children, asylum seekers, people of color, women, and non-heterosexuals, will be examined and deconstructed. Students will be brought to an understanding as to the position of cultural ideology, (that of the practitioner and the client class), in affecting the spectrum of the criminal justice, social service, medical and legal service delivery apparatus.

• CME 6140: Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice in Community (4 credits)
  • Course Description: This course uses a social justice framework to explore issues of power and privilege with respect to diverse populations within PK-12 education. Historical and contemporary oppression based on race, gender, ability, and other differences are explored. Self-reflection is used to examine students’ own biases and prejudices. This course offers aspiring community activists the opportunity to explore and initiative social change for underserved populations within the PK-12 school system.

• MSW 5001: Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice (4 credits)
  • Course Description: This course introduces to students how social workers conceptualize the social constructions of social identities and engage in culturally humble practice in a variety of settings. Students are introduced to an integrated practice framework that promotes human rights and justice and identifies the root causes of global social issues. They will explore theories that address human need, social, economic, and environmental justice, intersectionality, diversity, and oppression and discrimination. Using a broad and inclusive definition of culture, students learn how to recognize the extent to which a culture’s structure and values, including social, economic, political, and cultural exclusions, may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create privilege and power. Utilizing a strengths-based perspective, this course examines the resilience of populations-at-risk, particularly people of color, persons with disabilities, and people who identify as LGBTQ. Students learn to engage in advocacy to advance human rights social, economic, and environmental justice.

 Choose ONE elective course from the following:

• HDE 5011: Mental Health First Aid (Youth) (2 credits)
  • Course Description: Participants in this two credit graduate course will complete the National Mental Health First Aid certification program for Youth and explore applications of MHFA to different mental health crisis situations. The course focuses on recognizing signs and symptoms of an emerging or existing mental health issue, developing resiliency factors in young people and noting risk factors. Note: This course has sensitive content and involves interactive units around mental health wellness and crisis. Note: this 2-credit course must be taken with SCC 5040: Human Developments and Addictions (2 credits).

AND

• SCC 5040: Human Development and Addictions (Childhood Adolescence) (2 credits)
  • Course Description: This course reviews the aspects of addiction in light of the developmental aspects of pre-adolescent through young adulthood. Students will develop an understanding of addictions ranging from alcohol and drugs to gambling and video gaming. How addiction impacts learning, family and participation in society will be explored as part of field based research.

OR

• CME 6400: Today’s Youth: Power, Position and Promise (4 Credits)
  • Course Description: This course utilizes a strength-based approach to youth development to support young people’s cognitive, social, and emotional needs in order to find their voices in society. The course will focus on the theoretical fundamentals and strategies related to positive youth development but will also be highly experiential in nature, where students will be immersed in youth development and programming through a mentoring partnership with Lawrence2College.

• CME 6410: Mentoring Urban Youth: Becoming an Inclusive Leader & Impacting Social Change (Pre-K-12) (4 Credits)
  • Course Description: This course focuses on the theory and practice of mentoring and supporting youth. It will explore the intersections of mentoring, leadership, and social change. The theory and practice of mentoring will be explored in conjunction with the social change model of leadership. Students will learn about themselves and their leadership style while considering the broader context of leadership for social change. Questions explored will include: can mentoring cross gender/age/race/class, how important is it for mentors and mentees to have a similar worldview and values, and what is the connection between mentoring and leadership. In addition, this course will be highly experiential in nature with a practical mentoring component.

• CME 6420: School, Family, and Community Partnerships (Pre-K-12) (4 Credits)
  • Course Description: This course considers the roles of schools in communities and explores methods and models for schools to engage families and communities to maximize student learning and development. Included in this course are issues such as schools as community centers, parent involvement, and interagency collaboration.

• EDU 5921: Conflict Analysis and Resolution: Theory and Practice (4 Credits)
  • Course Description: How do we understand conflict and creatively and constructively transform it? This course provides an introduction to understanding conflict and methods of conflict resolution as well as an opportunity to develop a repertoire of relevant conflict resolution skills. The course will survey the various theories that seek to explain the nature and root causes of conflict and examine existing methods of conflict resolution and transformation, paying particular attention to how our understanding of conflict shapes our efforts to respond to it. The primary focus of the course will be on conflict and its transformation at the interpersonal and intergroup levels.

• MSW 5020: Contemporary Issues in Social Work (4 credits)
  • Course Description: In this course students study current policies and services relevant to practice with children, adolescents, and families. Applies social justice framework to understanding policy context and organization of services responses to child and family inequalities, especially for historically oppressed and marginalized populations. Emphasis on securing services and resources for families in Massachusetts.