School district teams with Sandy Hook mom to teach empathy
By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press
Feb 21, 2017 8:41 AM CST
In this Feb. 14, 2017 photo, fourth-graders Jazyre Guzman, left, and Zariah Thomas, right, create tin foil hearts as part of the Love Wins Friendship Day at Chamberlain Elementary school in New Britain, Conn. The program is designed to deal with the problem of social isolation and teach students about...   (Associated Press)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut school district has teamed with the mother of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim to help teach elementary school children about empathy.

Nelba Marquez-Greene, who also is a licensed family therapist, and Craig Muzzy, a teacher at New Britain's Chamberlain Elementary School, developed the Love Wins program, which is now being used in four city schools.

The social and emotional learning campaign involves extension activities such as last week's Friendship Day, where students made cards and bracelets for each other.

It also has a clinical component involving therapists who help educators identify students who may need extra help with social skills.

Marquez-Greene says the project is designed in part to deal with the social isolation that can lead to school violence.

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