AGENDA | PRESENTER BIOS | PARTICIPANTS | EXHIBITORS
| WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS |
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Main Conference
Recipe for Success: Safe Schools Through Stronger Relationships
Part 1 - What You See if Not Always What You Get
Lieutenant Wayland Cubit, Director of Security, Oklahoma City Public Schools
What you see is not always what you get. There is more to each of us, and every situation than meets the eye. Our colleagues and the students we serve deserve our best. Intellectually we know this to be true, but achieving the desired outcome is not always easy. Our own belief systems, news headlines, stereotypes, and a multitude of other factors impact our daily thought process. Lieutenant Cubit will discuss strategies for building positive school and community relationships, and how these developments can enhance school safety. The session also focuses on how to create trusting, authentic connections with others and how this impacts safety in schools.
Part 2 - The Science of Us: Understanding and Improving Relationships
Jim Harris, Ed.D., MSW, Opportunities Consulting Services, LLC
What makes us who we are and successful individuals is a combination of state, story, and strategy. Our own mental and physical status is instrumental in our ability to understand and solve problems with others. With his usual humor and anecdotes, Dr. Harris will discuss the importance of analyzing and challenging our belief systems and the questions we ask ourselves.
Workshop Sessions
Crisis Management and Critical Incident Overview of New Curriculum
Carlton Gerald, CPP, Assistant Director, Security and Emergency Operations, Alexandria City Public Schools
DCJS is pleased to announce an updated Model Crisis Management Plan and resources. This model plan comes with templates for both the division and school level plans. Additional resources include five training modules that address the before, during and after phases of crisis planning along with considerations for individuals with special needs and a module explaining the supporting documents. Lastly, nine age-specific Critical Incident Response (CIR) modules have been developed to help prepare students, parents, and staff on how to respond in a crisis. This workshop will provide an overview of the model plans as well as the accompanying resources.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Cultural Intelligence: The Key to Stronger Relationships and a Safer School Climate
Lieutenant Wayland Cubit, Director of Security, Oklahoma City Public Schools
Would students in your school report that another student had a gun at school? They likely would if they had a strong relationship with at least one caring adult at the school. What better way to encourage connection and break down barriers to communication than by understanding each other better? In today’s interconnected world, with diverse student bodies, cultural intelligence (CQ) has become a crucial aspect of promoting positive relationships between staff and students. Through real-life stories and experiences, this session is designed to equip participants with essential tools and strategies to enhance their ability to create a positive school climate and safe environment. The session will also explore ways to foster a sense of belonging among students from various backgrounds. Participants will leave inspired to create authentic positive relationships with students - and understand that together, we can build an additional layer of safety for students to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
D.A.R.E. Updates
Rob Hefner, Virginia D.A.R.E. Coordinator
This session of D.A.R.E. updates will include Virginia D.A.R.E. Association business and updates in training available from D.A.R.E. America including new elementary vaping and social media lessons.
Intended Audience: All D.A.R.E. officers are invited to attend.
D.A.R.E. Mentor Inservice
Rob Hefner, Virginia D.A.R.E. Coordinator
This D.A.R.E. Mentor in-service will include a review of the new 10-day guide, an updated current training model with the most advanced training options, and best practices for integrating the new training modules.
Intended Audience: Only current D.A.R.E. mentors are invited to attend.
Digital Dopamine: Exploring the Impact of Technology on the Mental Health of Young People
Jim Harris, Ed.D., MSW, Opportunities Consulting Services, LLC
The impact of technology on the social/emotional development of young people is one of the most discussed topics in the helping professions today. In this session Dr. Harris explores how some forms of technology can negatively impact the social/emotional development of young people. Dr. Harris will pay specific attention to concepts such as the developmental time thief, validation craving, and the hijacking of the dopamine system.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Enlisting Stakeholder Support in Behavioral Threat Management
Bryan Carr, Threat Assessment Consultant
Jim Russo, Ed.D., Threat Assessment Consultant
Warning Signs Handout | Participants Handout - Action Steps
Effective Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management requires that all school community stakeholders take an active role in school safety. These key stakeholder groups include the Threat Assessment Team, administrators, teachers, students, parents, the greater school community … as well as school support personnel, including bus drivers, office support staff, custodians, and food services personnel. So how does a school enlist the support of these key members of the school community?
Many times, these valued members of our school community are the first and/or last adults to interact with students during the day, often form trusted relationships with vulnerable members of our school community and interact with students outside of the classroom in ways that may reveal needs and concerns others might not notice. While not typically on school threat assessment teams, these student support personnel play an important role in recognizing and reporting concerning and aberrant behaviors to the team.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Getting the Climate Survey to Work for You– Data Driven Decision Making
Kim Halterman, Superintendent, Alleghany Highlands Public Schools
Every spring, schools and divisions work hard to get staff and students to participate in the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions. This endeavor provides a wealth of data, but what do you do with it once you get it? Hear from one Virginia school division that has used their data to drive real change. Explore how they determined their area of need, created a plan, and took action.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Internet Safety: Resources for Teaching Our Youth
Andy A. Komasinski, Outreach Manager, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
With a constant rise in social media related incidents in our schools, parents and educators are asking what they can do to educate our youth on how to stay safe while interacting in the virtual world. This session will cover interactive and age-appropriate resources available to the public that can aid in educating our youth on the importance of internet safety.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Legal Issues in Schools: Where’s the Line Between Enforcing the Student Code of Conduct and Enforcing the Law? (Part 1 - Basic)
Elliott Casey, Attorney, Justice 3D
Mandi Smith, Attorney, Timberlake and Smith
What does Virginia law say about the use of force? Where is the line between what school leaders and school security should be doing to enforce school rules - and what School Resources must do to uphold the law? Is bullying a crime? This session will provide insight into these topics using cases from the Federal Courts regarding use of force in school, cases involving juveniles, and cases involving active threats to public safety. The presentation will focus on new statutes but will also examine the debate regarding qualified immunity, with respect to law enforcement decisions to use force and situations where law enforcement may face violence at a school. Presenters will provide a strategic approach and provision of guidelines, coupled with key elements of Federal and Virginia law, all with the goal of enhancing the ability of school and police personnel to better respond to legal issues within the school environment and beyond.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Legal Issues in Schools: Where’s the Line Between Enforcing the Student Code of Conduct and Enforcing the Law? (Part 2 - Applied)
Elliott Casey, Attorney, Justice 3D
Mandi Smith, Attorney, Timberlake and Smith
Continuing the conversation from session 8A (but not a prerequisite), Elliott and Mandi will dive deeper into Virginia law regarding school safety and provision of insight into how to maximize the strengths of specific roles while adhering to legal mandates and staying in our respective lanes. Presenters will provide a strategic approach and provision of guidelines, coupled with key elements of Federal and Virginia law, all with the goal of enhancing the ability of school and police personnel to better respond to legal issues within the school environment and beyond.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
School Resource Officers (SRO) and School Security Officers (SSO): Healing Partners in Student Relationships
Monique Williams, Ed.S, MDW Consulting, LLC
With the growing concern about school violence in countries across the world, the issue of whether and how to engage law enforcement in schools has been raised to a new level of discussion. School Resource and School Security Officers are tasked with figuring out the most effective way of developing positive relationships with students and collaboration with educators (and mental health professionals) to proactively address school safety issues and divert students from the juvenile justice system. This session will explore the realities students face by way of experiencing trauma in and out of school settings and strategies that SROs and SSOs can use to effectively mitigate the impact. This session will focus on collaborative and best practices to help officers develop “resources” for building relationships with students.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Technology and School Safety: Exploring the Powers and Risks of Artificial Intelligence
Colton Easton, Project and Training Manager, Safer Schools Together
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made remarkable progress in recent years, with advancements in machine learning, natural language processing, voice cloning, and a variety of additional services. These innovations have enabled AI to impact various industries, including school communities. The future of AI holds vast potential; however, it is important to understand that there are risks associated with the utilization of such services. To better understand the power of AI, it is crucial that Safety/Threat Assessment teams stay up to date with evolving AI technology. Following this session, attendees will better understand what AI services are currently available to today’s youth, how they are being utilized, and what risks may be associated with their use.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Active Shooter Incident Management (ASIM)
Adam Keene, Active Attack Program Coordinator, Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services
This course provides a model framework to improve incident management during active shooter event response, improving time for threat neutralization, provide medical intervention, and increase survivability of victims. This is an integrated response course for a cross-discipline audience. The framework utilizes the Active Shooter Incident Management Checklist, a validated and recognized National Standard for active shooter event response, integrating best practices guided by principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC), and Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT). Organizational building blocks for an integrated response including Contact Team, Rescue Task Force, Tactical, Perimeter, Triage, Transport, Intelligence, and Reunification will be discussed.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Bullying: Prevention and Effective Policies for the Whole School Community
Kaylee Powell, School Counseling & Threat Assessment Coordinator, West Point City Public Schools
Bullying is by no means a new problem, but the methods and impact on the school environment have changed over the years. While we still experience what some would call "traditional" bullying and relational aggression in schools, an increase of cyberbullying that happens mainly outside of school brings these issues into the school. In this session we will discuss the difference between bullying and conflict and how to help young people understand the difference. We will talk about early prevention as well as effective intervention methods and the importance of postvention for both the target and the student engaged in the bullying. Real-world scenarios and policy development will be discussed.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Crisis Management Plan Implementation: A Case Study
Jeremy Ward, Director/Coordinator of Transportation & Emergency Manager, Buchanan County Public Schools
Do you know how your school will react when a crisis occurs? Will your Crisis Management Plan (CMP) provide enough guidance? This session will explore how one school division in Virginia reacted and implemented its CMP after a natural disaster struck their community. See how our new Model Crisis Management plan can be implemented while examining the actions they took, and lessons they learned.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Understanding Fentanyl in our Schools
Fiona Brown, LPC
Our drug landscape is continually changing and tragic overdoses among our students in Virginia are on the rise. To help our youth, we must arm ourselves with the most current information we can gather and learn about actions we can take to keep youth from self-medicating or recreating with dangerous drugs, emerging addiction, and accidental or intentional overdose. This session will provide drug information and practical steps schools and parents can take for primary prevention and early intervention to keep our school communities safer.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Helping Youth Build Healthy Relationships In Real Life (IRL) and Online
Keith Cartwright, Adverse Childhood Experiences Coordinator, Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Relationships are vital to social and emotional development, unfortunately, too often our youth enter into friendships and romantic relationships that are harmful to their social and emotional well-being. Keith will bring his vast knowledge and experience to help us understand the signs of toxic relationships and how to help our youth do the same. He will discuss the factors that lead to these types of relationships and how to avoid them.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Know. Talk. Ask: A Hopeful Approach to Suicide Prevention
Lori Wood, Senior Director, Region Ten Community Services Board, Charlottesville
There has been a dramatic rise in suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents and young adults. In this session, participants will learn how to recognize the risk factors and warning signs of suicide as well as how to help build protective factors and how to help those at risk recognize these factors in their own lives. Participants will learn how to talk with youth at risk, and gain an understanding of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. There will be discussion of practical strategies to use with at-risk youth as well as ideas to use for strategic planning around suicide prevention in the community and school setting.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Legal: Virginia Rules
Mark Fero, Director of Crime Reduction Initiatives, Virginia Office of the Attorney General
Virginia Rules' focus is on the criminal justice system, with particular emphasis on how Virginia laws apply to youth under 18. Virginia Rules will educate young Virginians about the law and help them develop skills needed to make sound decisions, to avoid breaking laws, and to become active citizens of their schools and communities. These SOL-correlated lessons are designed for middle and high school students. Virginia Rules offers a comprehensive website with law-related resources and tools geared for students, parents, and instructors. From the website, instructors can access and download lessons with student worksheets, student topical handouts, and supplemental materials. This training is intended for teachers, school administrators, school resource officers (SROs), and school security officers (SSOs) serving middle and high school age youth.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Leveraging Relationships Between Schools and Law Enforcement through S-LEP
Von Hill, Trainer, Executive Strategies, LLC
Embark on a transformative journey with our workshop ‘Leveraging Relationships: School and Law Enforcement Partnerships.’ This engaging session delves into the vital nexus between education and safety, equipping attendees with actionable tactics to fortify their collaboration between schools and law enforcement agencies. Discover efficacious approaches to bolstering school security, fostering student engagement, and nurturing a culture of safety and support within your educational settings. Join Captain Von Hill for an inspiring session to harness the power of these symbiotic partnerships and propel your institution toward excellence.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Making Schools Work for Everyone
Matt Woods, Ed.D., District Administrator, Consultant and Speaker
Handout
This breakout session will have participants examine the ways in which discipline, policies, and systems interact in relation to students. Participants will gain a greater understanding of how all aspects of the school system contribute to the overall school climate and student well-being and how to make all the pieces work together effectively for all students. This session will provide opportunities to reflect on current practices while incorporating strategies for improvement.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Optimizing an SRO’s Support on the School’s Threat Assessment Team
Jason Cornwell, 1st Lieutenant, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office
Brad Stang, K-12 Threat Assessment Program Coordinator, Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services Center for School and Campus Safety
School Resource Officers (SROs) are valuable, necessary, and required members of a school’s threat assessment team. Is their capability fully applied? This session will offer actual threat assessment case examples and will include topics on how to choose and train an SRO, building school-law enforcement partnership, how to best support an SRO, and how to utilize SROs during threat assessments. These topics will be developed through the lens of working on a threat assessment team and will allow time for a tabletop group exercise.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Utilizing Trauma-Informed Practices for De-Escalation
Jeffrey Aaron, Ph.D. Juvenile Justice and Behavioral Health Program Manager, Virginia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services
Kim B. Simon, CPS, INCI, Law Enforcement Training & Leadership Consulting
Professionals working in the K-12 school environment regularly encounter escalated students. In many cases, students’ histories of traumatic or stressful life events will influence their responses. In such cases, TI practices support safe and supportive resolution, but even for students with no such history, TI responses are likely to be helpful given adolescents’ developmentally-linked reactivity and problems with emotion regulation. Through discussion and scenarios, presenters will help attendees understand the trauma response and identify practical approaches to de-escalation.
Intended Audience: All conference participants are invited to attend.
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Main Conference
On Any Given Day: Leadership Lessons from Columbine and Beyond
Frank DeAngelis, Principal (retired), Columbine High School, Colorado
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst…a spark that creates extraordinary results.” (anon) The tragedy at Columbine redefined the nation. Frank DeAngelis tells his story from the events through the aftermath. This presentation reveals the leadership lessons he learned in the focus of an international firestorm. Frank’s honest, straight-forward account provides invaluable insights into managing the after-crisis with students, staff members, community members and never-ending media attention. A positive attitude and a passion for his job, allowed him to work at Columbine from 1979 to 2014. He shares how he was able to build a community that worked together for his kids: the students at Columbine High School. The takeaways from this presentation should be required for every leader in the nation.