Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vice principal summarizes school-safety conference takeaways: planning, threat assessment and communication
Summary
Jordan Gosling, Oakdale High vice principal, presented highlights from the National Student Safety and Security Conference including behavior threat-assessment tools (ETAM), planning for large events, anonymous reporting, and social-media signals of student distress.
Jordan Gosling, vice principal at Oakdale High School, presented highlights from the National Student Safety and Security Conference and stressed practical approaches to campus safety, mental-health supports and communication.
"Hope is not a strategy and safety is not a destination," Gosling told trustees, summarizing a recurring conference theme: plans must be practiced and staff must be trained on responses.
He described behavior threat-assessment tools (noted in the transcript as ETAM) and said data discussed at the conference suggested low rates of injury when using such models: "5 percent resulted in injury, 0.05 percent resulted in serious physical injury, but 95 percent there was no injury when using that model," Gosling said, describing the evidence presented to attendees.
Gosling also discussed large-gathering safety planning for sporting events and tournaments and flagged the potential role of anonymous reporting apps in improving school climate. He reported that the conference showcased a vendor metal-detection system (described as a wireless, transportable ‘‘open gate’’ detection system), and said he does not personally recommend immediate implementation but that he wanted the board aware of the technology and ongoing conversations.
On mental-health signals, Gosling described how emojis and hashtags on social media can be indicators of crisis and said schools should consider how staff would interpret and act on those signals.
Board members pressed for clarification about lockdown notification for students off campus during lunch; Gosling said the district’s lockdown protocol would close gates and that the district’s messenger systems and other communications could be used to notify families when warranted.
Gosling concluded by recommending continued planning, communication and staff training to strengthen safety and mental-health supports.
The board did not take action on the item; Gosling’s presentation was informational.
