Project EVERS

Ending Violence and its Effects in Rural Schools

Project EVERS was developed to meet the needs of students living in rural areas in northwest Kansas that have been affected by trauma or violence in their homes and communities.

The five-year project serves 12 counties over 12,000 square miles through the Northwest Kansas Education Service Center (NKESC) headquartered in Oakley.

Project EVERS School Districts

HOW EVERS CAN HELP

The goal of the EVERS project is to help train and equip school staff to recognize and offer quality resources and referrals to address the fallout from any form of violence that may be affecting their students. EVERS works toward this goal by providing quality training, effective resources, and deliberate collaboration with important community partners. The long-term impact of EVERS is even greater: it will ensure improved opportunities for students and families alike to build life-long strengths-based skills and resiliency to reduce the impact of trauma, break the cycle of violence, and prepare students for life-long, violent-free academic and workforce success.

Community

expand partnerships to build relationships and engagement among educators, students and parents

Families

Develop and support peer participation among:
- educators
- parents, guardians or caregivers
- student & youth peers, and
- collaboration among community service systems
establish pathways for student / families to receive mental health services and supports
- expand partnerships to build relationships and engagement among educators, students and parents

Faculty and Staff

create a safe school climate
Leadership development opportunities for teachers and educators to address and develop knowledge and program expertise
Trained mentors
High quality, sustained professional development programs that support strengths-based programs and services

Dan Thornton

Executive Director

Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center

Dan is the Executive Director of the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center located in Oakley, Kansas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major emphasis in the Social Sciences and Business Education as well as a Master of Education Degree with an emphasis in Public School Administration. Dan served 13 years in Oklahoma as a teacher, building principal, and superintendent. After moving to Kansas, he served as a superintendent for seven years, and has been the Executive Director of the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center for more than 25 years.

Mick Thornton

Trauma Specialist, Project EVERS

Mick has spent his career in service of rural communities. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Wichita State University and a Master of Divinity from Denver Seminary, Mick invested 12 years as the senior pastor of a church while also serving the community as a volunteer police chaplain and in other roles as well. Returning to his Western Kansas roots as a Trauma Specialist for Project EVERS aligns perfectly with his passion to serve the most vulnerable and often unseen members of rural communities and to equip compassionate and caring educators and community members with the tools to do the same.

Contact Us

703 W 2nd St, Oakley, KS 67748, USA

projectevers@nkesc.org

(785) 672-3125