Board hears aides’ call for de‑escalation, CPR and midyear training

Board members and staff discussed staff training needs at the June 10 meeting, with aides and other employees urging the district to provide more consistent de‑escalation and emergency response training for midyear hires and substitutes.

Kelly Kubicki (speaker 11) told the board she had heard from multiple aides who "do not feel like they have the appropriate training or enough training for what they're doing," and that requests include CPR, playground safety, and de‑escalation techniques for responding to student behavior. Kubicki said substitutes and midyear hires are particularly likely to miss training given their start dates.

Superintendent Mike Bennett (speaker 2) said the district already provides some trainings and is exploring options to better meet need and scheduling constraints. He noted that workplace‑violence training and mandatory‑reporting modules apply to staff and board members and that workplace‑violence training must be held in person. Regarding possible vendors, board members said Questar had been discussed as a resource and that the district could consider purchasing video modules or contracting for in‑person sessions.

The board asked staff to survey employees to identify specific training gaps and to arrange sessions — potentially as part of a retreat or in partnership with outside providers — so that new hires and substitutes can complete core trainings before their first workdays when feasible.

The item concluded as a direction to district leadership to develop a plan and report back to the board with options and cost estimates.