WAKEFIELD — Executive Director Marge Daniels of the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) announces the details of an upcoming conference, Liability and Fidelity in School Threat Assessment.
Forensic Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project, Dr. Dewey Cornell, will present his Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines at the Nov. 19 conference.
WHEN:
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024
Registration: 8:15-8:45 a.m.
Conference: 8:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, 565 Maple St., Danvers, MA 01923, or via Zoom
WHAT:
A hybrid conference — Liability and Fidelity in School Threat Assessment — will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School and via Zoom for those who wish to participate remotely. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
School administrators and staff cannot be expected to predict violence. They can, however, identify and evaluate threatening situations and then take appropriate actions to reduce the risk of violence. School-based Threat Assessment Team members will describe how their team evaluates and responds to student threats. The conference will conclude with a presentation panel and a discussion led by an educational attorney about confidentiality, how to store obtained information properly, and the duty to inform.
The keynote speaker for the conference will be Forensic Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project, Dr. Dewey Cornell.
After contributing to the FBI study of school shootings in 1999, Dr. Cornell led the development of school threat assessment guidelines in Virginia, now called the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG). Dr. Cornell will discuss how to equip threat assessment teams to identify, assess, and support students who exhibit challenging behaviors and how this system can be used effectively in schools.
Over the past 25 years, Dr. Cornell has conducted a series of studies on the safety, effectiveness, and fairness of school threat assessment and has helped disseminate the CSTAG model nationwide. Dr. Cornell has authored more than 250 publications in psychology and education, including studies of behavioral threats.
At the conference, Dr. Cornell will be introduced by Rockport Chief of Police and Emergency Management Director John Horvath. Chief Horvath is a 33-year public safety professional who holds a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Chief Horvath is the chairperson for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association’s School Safety and Security Committee, where he leads a team of police chiefs and school superintendent representatives in identifying and leveraging best practices for safe schools.
Dr. Cornell’s address will be followed by a panel presentation, which will focus on developing and implementing the school-based Threat Assessment Teams. MPY School Safety Coordinator John Oteri will moderate the panel.
Panelists include North Shore Essex Agricultural and Technical High School staff: School Resource Officer Michael Chase, Principal Shannon Donnelly, Assistant Principal Sean Emberley, and Director of School Counseling and Admissions Sandra Goldstein.
Mary Ellen Sowyrda, Esq., a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey, and Lehane, who heads the firm’s Special Education Department, will speak about issues relating to conducting threat assessments in schools. She will discuss confidentiality, properly storing information, and the duty to inform.
Registration is open on MPY’s website, mpyinc.org. To register for a webinar or conference, use the “Webinars & Conferences” tab at the top of the website, or click here to register for the Nov. 19 conference. Registration to participate in-person for the conference closes at 5 p.m. on Nov. 12.
Every MPY conference is recorded and available to registered participants through a link that remains live for seven days.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education-approved Professional Development Points (PDPs) and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are offered at no additional cost to participants who attend the Nov. 19 conference and the Dec. 10 conference, Identifying and Managing Students at High Risk to Create a Safer School Environment.
About the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, fosters collaboration and develops programming to increase the health and safety of students. MPY is committed to bringing cutting-edge information and high-quality trainings to constituents and endeavors to provide solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and ideally eliminating risky behaviors for youth. MPY programming reaches nearly 6,000 educators per year in Massachusetts, spread across approximately 300 districts, with more than 150 webinars and over a dozen conferences.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth is governed by a Board of Directors made up of school superintendents, police and fire chiefs, and other community leaders who work closely with MPY staff to deliver this mission. To learn more, visit: massachusettspartnershipsforyouth.com.
