School Threat in New York State

June 23, 2014 by

 

School Threat

 

There was a threat of violence made against Marbletown Elementary School in the Rondout Valley School District.  The school received a letter threatening violence of an unspecified nature.  it is being investigated by the State Police, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Postal Service.

Analysis

Schools will often get threats that go unfulfilled.  However, schools cannot fall into the trap of assuming there is no merit to the threat, without performing a thorough threat assessment, along with law enforcement.  It can be a time-consuming process, but it is one that requires full participation, and documentation.

It is best if this process is spelled out in advance, with roles for each participating agency written out.  The school should practice this regularly, if actual threats do not materialize.  It would not be prudent, in the face of an actual threat, to waste time wondering what should be done, and how.

The U.S. Department of Education has an excellent tool for threat assessment.  Schools should consider using this tool for evaluating school threats.  It contains the process for immediate assessments, followed by a more thorough assessment of the individual making the threat.  it stresses the use of a multi-disciplinary tea,.

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Bristol School Safety Subject of Parent Email

June 9, 2014 by

Bristol School Safety

In light of recent threats on various campuses, the city’s superintendent sent an email top his stakeholders, outlining the various measures the district was taking to maintain Bristol school safety.

These measures included increased police surveillance, video camera surveillance, established evacuation and lockdown procedures, locked entrances at all schools, safety officials and services in each building, assemblies and meetings to discuss safety and security, mandatory sign-in and out procedures for students, and the mandated use of staff ID badges and student passes.

Bristol Schools received 8 threats in an 10 day period. An arrest was made of three students, a 13-year old and two 10-year olds for one of the more recent threats.

Analysis

It appears that the superintendent is taking the correct steps in addressing the situation, including communicating with his stakeholders on the nature of the problem, and the steps the schools are taking to address the issue.  It also seems that there is good coordination between the schools and first responders.

When the issue has been resolved, it would do the schools well to examine their climates and cultures.  There may be nothing wrong with the climates in their schools, but something has led to this rash of threats.  Whether it is a student feeling a sense of injustice, or trying to get out of classes at the end of the year, the school should try to identify the causes and address them, or they may find themselves facing this situation again.

Anytime there is a school safety issue in a school, take immediate steps to remedy the symptoms, but don’t forget to analyze the issue and identify the root cause.  This often requires taking an honest look at yourself, and so people often avoid this step.  Don’t.  The safety of children is no place for bruised egos.

 

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Staying Alive during an Active Shooter Incident

June 7, 2014 by

 

Staying Alive Concepts Exemplified by SPU Student

Friday,  a shooter, who was not a student at Seattle Pacific University, used a shotgun to shoot and kill one and wound three students.  While he was reloading, Jon Meis, a student at SPU, used pepper spray to subdue the shooter, then tackled him.  This act exemplified several concepts taught in the new book, Staying Alive: How to Act Fast and Survive Deadly Encounters.

In Staying Alive, one of the first concepts the reader learns is situational awareness.  Situational awareness is the ability to quickly assess and act on a situation.  Given the high stress, life-and-death situation that was developing right in front of him, Jon Meis knew that the shooter was reloading. Another concept is the Window of Time, the critical first few seconds in which decisive action can make the difference between life and death.  Being able to recognize the shooter was reloading, then deciding to act showed that Mr. Meis had great situational awareness.

That brings up another concept from Staying Alive, base of knowledge.  In Jon’s past, he had developed a base of knowledge that gave him the information he needed to act as he did.  From the article, the Facebook Pages he liked included Remington Arms, Kel-Tec, and the NRA, indicating he may have had prior experience with weapons.  His actions certainly bear this out.

Another concept from Staying Alive that Meis exemplified was preparedness.  The human brain and body react in specific, somewhat predictable ways under life and death stress.  Training can overcome some of the low-level effects of crisis stress.  It would not be surprising to find such preparedness in Meis’ past.

Jon Meis, acted bravely to help end a tragic incident. The lessons he teaches us by his actions are those we have tried to put forth in Staying Alive.   It is our hope that by reading Staying Alive, more people will be in a position to positively affect such incidents should they find themselves in danger.

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