In this month's newsletter
- From the Executive Director
- SRMP Training
- Taking Action
- Threat Assessment Training
- Calendar of Events
- Follow Us
- Tell Us About It
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday. The Christmas season is a happy time, but recent events have shown us the need for preparation and vigilance.
I recently participated in Taking Action: A Community Conversation, a panel discussion on how local leaders are working to prevent mass shootings. The event was held in response to the Oct. 13 tragedy in Raleigh. I received some good insight from other experts, and I appreciated the community input at the end.
On Dec. 1, I will be a panelist for The Hunt Institute’s Homeroom with Education Leaders, which will address violence in the country’s schools. I look forward to getting more insight from experts and community members. Please register at the link in the Calendar of Events below.
I pray to never have a need for such events. But it’s the Center for Safer Schools’ responsibility to provide school personnel with as many resources as we are able, and with that we are offering more threat assessment training during the first quarter of 2023. Stay tuned for links for registration.
Also, we ask that safety directors join the CFSS’ new groups on Microsoft Teams: CFSS School Safety Directors and CFSS School Safety Advisory Council. Communication among all of us will be much more efficient, and that’s where we’ll send important announcements, including information on trainings, fundings and legislative updates.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and thanks again for what you do for the children of North Carolina.
— Karen W. Fairley
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 Rich Clifton with N.C. Emergency Management makes his presentation during School Risk Management Plan training Nov. 9 in Columbus County. (Photo by Karen Everett)
SRMP Training
The Center for Safer Schools in conjunction with N.C. Emergency Management on Nov. 9 conducted School Risk Management Plan training for principals in Columbus and Bladen counties. The CFSS was represented by Assistant Director of School Safety and Programs Karen Everett.
School safety requires efficient and coordinated information and activities among school staff, first responders, law enforcement and emergency managers. An SRMP documents pertinent data and processes a school will use to prevent, mitigate, respond and recover from hazards and threats.
For more information on School Risk Management Plans, contact Karen Everett (984-236-2243, Karen.Everett@dpi.nc.gov).
 Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen W. Fairley (left) on Nov. 15 speaks during Taking Action: A Community Conversation on Tuesday at the N.C. Museum of History. At right are panelists Dr. Jeffrey Swanson, an expert in gun violence at Duke University School of Medicine, and State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, and moderator Lars Dolder, editor of N.C. Insider. (Photo by Charles Kinnin)
Taking Action
Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen W. Fairley on Nov. 15 participated in Taking Action: A Community Conversation, a panel discussion at the N.C. Museum of History on how local leaders are working to prevent mass shootings.
The suspect in the Oct. 13 mass shooting in Raleigh that killed five and injured two is a teen student. Fairley told the dozens attending the forum that training and “good communication” are important for schools to help identify students who need assistance.
Fairley identified bullying as an issue in schools and touted the CFSS’ Say Something Anonymous Reporting System as an important resource.
“We have a daunting task to do,” she said. “Everyone in school is a loved one for somebody.”
The Center for Safer Schools will offer free, virtual School Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training during the first quarter of 2023. The sessions will be hosted by the CFSS in partnership with the BeTA Unit of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and will be conducted by SIGMA.
Behavioral threat assessment is a best practice for helping to identify potential active shooter incidents, stalking and other targeted violence in K-12 schools and school districts. An effective, functioning behavioral assessment team is a critical component of keeping schools safe and preventing violence. Behavioral threat assessment and management provides a proactive, evidence-based approach for identifying individuals who might pose a threat and for providing intervention before a violent incident occurs.
BTAM training provides fundamental information about school violence and how prevention is possible. The sessions cover how to build and operate a school threat assessment team at the school or district level.
BTAM training provides detailed instructions on specific procedures to use when addressing threatening behavior in school, including how to screen cases, gather information, analyze the information, make an assessment and implement an intervention plan when needed. The sessions include multiple group exercises in which participants can practice using these procedures.
For more information on School Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training, contact SAC Brent Culbertson (bculbertson@ncsbi.gov, 828-782-0324).
Dec. 1: Hunt Institute webinar on school violence featuring Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen W. Fairley: http://ow.ly/Yj9850Lrf7i
Threat Assessment Training (tentative dates): Jan. 11, 18 and 25; Feb. 8, 15 and 22; March 8, 15, 22 and 29
The Center for Safer Schools welcomes newsletter submissions about school safety events from school districts and charter schools across North Carolina. Please email your information and photos to Charles.Kinnin@dpi.nc.gov.
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