Dear Parents/Guardians:
SCHOOL SAFETY -- THREAT ASSESSMENT
We
are extremely privileged to have had the top, national expert in the
field of school threat assessment, Dr. Dewey Cornell, directly train our
school safety teams in the process of evaluating the seriousness of
potential safety threats and the taking of appropriate actions. Dr.
Cornell is a forensic psychologist who worked on threat assessment with
the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. He is
currently a professor at the University of Virginia. His decades-long
study of school shootings has informed his development of a process for
schools.
This process shows demonstrable results that improve school culture. Students,
staff and parents can have confidence that the assessment team will
take information it is provided and focus on facts. Transient threats
(making a threat is not the same as posing a threat) and
serious threats, as well as very serious threats, are handled in a
prescribed manner so that we neither overreact nor underreact. Having
confidence in the process, and in our fidelity to using the process,
will make students and others more comfortable in bringing their
concerns forward. Research shows that this culture reduces bullying,
suspensions and all school violence.
Students in grades
6-12 will be seeing the student version of a video describing our Threat
Assessment process this Thursday in QRP or Resource Period. You can view that video in preview mode at https://schoolthreatassessment.com/course -- use the code vs3fcf. If you do not want your child in grade 6-12 to participate, please notify the school office by the end of the day tomorrow.)
We also ask that ALL parents actively participate in the parent version of this program within the next two weeks.
The parent program takes about 25 minutes. This program will ask for
your responses to guage the videos effectiveness, but it is completely
anonymous. Every parent uses the same code.
To participate in the parent version of the video, please go to the following website log in page and use the code: pyq3ea
https://schoolthreatassessment.com/course
YOUR PARTICIPATION MATTERS!
We
hope you will be able to have an informed discussion with your children
about how important it is to come forward if they are aware of ANY
threat made. We want to take the responsibility about making a decision
OFF the shoulders of students, staff and parents and let our trained
School Safety - Threat Assessment teams follow this fair and effective
process.
This is truly a One Rocket Nation journey, and I thank you for your involvement!