Training
We aim to provide a variety of trainings addressing student safety including trainings on student mental health, threat assessment, suicide prevention / postvention, and other relevant topics. Our goal is to make trainings accessible to all Connecticut schools, so our trainings are low cost, and our school safety consultants work at no cost to the schools they serve. Consultative services are generally offered at no charge. We are open to ideas for training that we can run through the Center and make accessible to all. Because we do not want cost to be a barrier, we offer scholarships for individuals who are unable to afford training costs. Customized trainings are available at a market rate. Please email schoolsafetycenter@wcsu.edu to inquire.
The Center was awarded a grant through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to bring the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) model to districts free of charge. If you would like to schedule Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) training for your district, please contact your Regional School Safety Coordinator. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, opportunity number DHS-23-TTP-132-00-01.
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Our workshops are offered in collaboration with the Western Connecticut State University’s Department of Social Work and approved for
Continuing Education Credit for Connecticut State Licensed Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, Psychologists, and Marriage and Family Therapists.
The approval meets relicensing criteria for LPCs, LCSWs, LMSWs, LMFTs, and licensed Psychologists in the State of Connecticut.
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Time: 9:00 am – 11:30 am EST
Course Name:
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM): Best Practices for a Defensible Process
and Special Education Considerations
Course Description:
This workshop will discuss how to make your school/district’s BTAM process more legally defensible and the considerations necessary to ensure your threat assessment processes do not violate special education protocols and procedures.
Current research and recommendations will be discussed with an emphasis on the critical importance of establishing multi-disciplinary threat assessment teams, addressing bias, equity, and disproportionality within the BTAM process,
and how to address the systemic barriers that complicate information sharing, documentation, follow-up planning and supports, and implementation fidelity. Federal laws also require the “Direct Threat Standard” be met for
any threat assessment that is conducted on students receiving specialized services or accommodations. IDEA, 504, ADA Title II, and Title IX considerations that must be addressed within the threat assessment process
to ensure districts are complying with federal law will be presented. Best practice guidance regarding parent permission vs notification, information sharing, discipline, and change in programming and/or placement decisions
will also be discussed. In addition, knowledge gained in serving as an expert witness in court cases involving threat assessment, targeted violence and suicidal ideation will be highlighted.
Participants will:
- learn how to build a high quality behavioral threat assessment and management program utilizing best practice strategies to build a legally defensible process.
- understand how to conduct a threat assessment using strategies that increase equity while decreasing bias and disproportionality.
- learn the clear distinction, yet complementary aspects, between threat assessment and suicide risk assessment, and special education policies and procedures.
- be provided best practice guidance regarding parent permission vs notification, information sharing, discipline, change in programming and/or placement decisions, and implementation fidelity.
- learn how IDEA, 504, ADA Title II “Direct Threat Standard”, and Title IX intersect with threat assessment and the considerations needed to ensure districts are complying with federal law.
- identify the critical actions that need to be taken in the threat assessment process if a change of placement or programming is to be recommended.
Location: Virtually on Zoom
Instructor: Melissa Reeves, Ph.D., NCSP, LPC (bio)
Cost: FREE
Registration Deadline: February 24, 2025
Intended Audience:
This training is appropriate for all school safety personnel and for those who are members of school behavioral threat assessment teams.
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Date: March 5, 2025
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am EST
Course Name: Beyond Compliance Virtual Workshop Series – Suicide Postvention Overview
Course Description:
A loss by suicide is like no other, and grieving can be especially difficult for individuals, schools, and communities. Postvention–a strategic, proactive response following a suicide–plays a crucial role in supporting healing and minimizing the risk of additional tragedies.
This interactive session is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to implement best practices for suicide and prevention and response. Through hands-on practice in using safe language and actionable strategies, attendees will be empowered
to take immediate steps in creating or strengthening postvention policies and procedures within their environments, fostering a culture of support and safety.
Location: Virtually on Zoom
Instructors: Abby Wood Maldonado, MSW, CPS, Behavioral Health Director (bio) and Emma Johnson Hollis, CPS, Behavioral Health Director (bio) from the Western CT Coalition.
Cost: FREE
EXTENDED Registration Deadline: March 3, 2025
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for anyone involved in school safety including but not limited to educators, school and district administrators, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, security, facility managers, and school resource officers. (Please register with as many members of your team as possible because there will be a breakout session for your team to discuss the scenario and apply your protocols).
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Date: March 20, 2025
Time: 8:30 am – 4:30 am EDT
Course Name: PREPaRE Workshop 1: Comprehensive School Safety Planning: Prevention Through Recovery (3rd Edition)
Course Description:
This full-day Training is provided by PREPaRE Trainers – Dr. Tanya Iacono and Dr. Amery Bernhardt. It will be held at CES in Trumbull from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT. Participants will learn how to establish and sustain comprehensive school safety efforts that attend to both physical and psychological safety. The workshop addresses critical components needed to develop, exercise, and evaluate safety and crisis teams and plans and conducts building vulnerability assessments. The model also integrates school personnel and community provider roles in providing school-based crisis preparedness and response activities. Additional topics addressed also include media/social media, communication, reunification, students with special needs, culture, and memorials. After this workshop, participants will be better prepared to improve their school’s climate, student resilience, and crisis response capabilities of school personnel. With updated research and strategies, this workshop makes a clear connection between ongoing crisis prevention, mitigation, protection, response, and recovery.
Location: CES, 40 Lindeman Drive, Trumbull, CT 06611
Instructors: Dr. Tanya Iacono, Dr. Amery Berhnardt
Cost: $70, Lunch Included
Pre-Work is Required.
Registration Deadline: March 6, 2025
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for all school personnel who need to understand how the comprehensive school crisis team is organized and functions. This can include but is not limited to mental health professionals, administrators, teachers, other pupil services personnel, security officers, front office staff, transportation directors and before and after school activities coordinators.
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Date: March 26, 2025
Time: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm EDT
Event: CT Center for School Safety Inaugural Artificial Intelligence and School Safety Conference
Description:
The CT Center for School Safety Inaugural Artificial Intelligence and School Safety Conference is a dynamic, participant-driven event that invites attendees to actively engage in meaningful conversations about the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of AI and school safety. Rather than traditional presentations, this conference emphasizes small-group discussions where participants will explore critical questions, share insights, and collaborate on solutions.
Attendees will work together in facilitated discussion groups to address pressing challenges related to the use of AI. These conversations will focus on real-world issues, such as the concerns AI poses for students and the integration of AI technologies into school safety practices. Groups will discuss assigned questions, report out on their findings, and contribute to actionable strategies for navigating AI and leveraging AI to enhance safety and resilience in schools.
By fostering collaboration and prioritizing participant expertise, this event is designed to harness the collective knowledge of practitioners, academics, and technology leaders to shape innovative solutions for today’s most urgent challenges.
Location:
Western Connecticut State University
Westside Campus – Campus Center Ballroom
43 Lake Avenue Ext
Danbury, CT 06811
(Parking available near Campus Center, please follow signs)
Campus Map and Directions
Cost: FREE
CONFERENCE HAS SOLD OUT BUT YOU CAN STILL REGISTER TO BE PUT ON A WAITLIST!
Intended Audience:
This training is appropriate for anyone involved in school safety, including but not limited to educators, school and district administrators, IT directors, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, security personnel, facility and operation managers, and school resource officers, higher education professionals, technology leaders, emergency management professionals, policymakers, school board members, and community stakeholders.
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Date: April 1 & April 3, 2025
Time: 8:30 am – 4:30 am EDT
Course Description:
This 2-day workshop will be presented by PREPaRE Trainers – Dr. Tanya Iacono and Dr. Amery Bernhardt. The workshop will be at CES in Trumbull and is held from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. EDT. This training develops the knowledge and skill required to provide immediate mental health crisis interventions to the students, staff, and school community members who have been simultaneously exposed to an acute traumatic stressor. The knowledge and skill developed within this session will help build a bridge to the psychotherapeutic and trauma informed mental health response required to address challenges associated with trauma exposure. This workshop is an excellent course for all mental health professionals in your district who provide mental health crisis intervention services.
Location: CES, 40 Lindeman Drive, Trumbull, CT 06611
Instructors: Dr. Tanya Iacono, Dr. Amery Berhnardt
Cost: $80, Lunch Included
Pre-Work is Required
Registration Deadline: March 10, 2025
Intended Audience:This training is appropriate for any individual filling the role of a crisis intervention specialist. This includes school mental health staff (school psychologists, social workers, counselors, and nurses), administrators, and other individuals whom the team has identified as appropriate providers of psychological first aid. Additionally, this workshop can be very helpful for community-based mental health practitioners who may work with the school crisis team and/or may be brought into the school to assist in response to a crisis. (You do not need to have completed PREPaRE WS1 in order to take WS2).
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Date: April 4, 2025
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am EDT
Course Name:
Beyond Compliance Virtual Workshop Series: Beyond the Physical Walls: Recognizing, Responding, & Creating Psychological Safety in Schools
Course Description:
This training is intended to build awareness and support individuals in any role in recognizing and responding to individuals who have been exposed to adversity and trauma. Discussions will center on the repercussions of trauma and toxic stress on neurological development, and the results implications for self-regulation, relationship development, and learning. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of a trauma-informed care framework (e.g., the 4 Rs and 6 principles of trauma-informed organizations), and how it can be applied to developing psychologically safe practices in schools. Participants will reflect on traditional practices targeting physical safety in schools (e.g., active supervision, predictability and routines, discipline, fire drills, lockdowns), and identify trauma-informed practices to support feelings of psychological safety for all stakeholders in schools.
Participants will:
- Learn the types of trauma experience by children, adults, and/or specific communities.
- Identify ways that trauma or toxic stress impact neurological development, relationships, and learning.
- Explore the key components of a trauma-informed approach in schools.
- Define psychological safety, and the elements that contribute to a learning environment that allows individuals to express their thoughts, ideas and concerns without fear of judgement.
- Reflect on the key elements of physical safety in schools, and how commonly utilized practices (e.g., fire drills, lockdowns) can be trauma-informed.
Location: Virtually on Zoom
Instructor: Dana M. Bossio, (bio) Regional Trauma Coordinator & School Psychologist, Behavioral Psychology & External Professional Development, Cooperative Educational Services (CES)
Cost: FREE
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for anyone involved in school safety including but not limited to educators, school and district administrators, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, security, facility managers, and school resource officers.
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Onsite Training Delivered To Your School District / Agency
Date: Contact Your Regional School Safety Coordinator to Schedule
Course Name: Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines Training
Course Description:
This is a 1-day workshop on The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG). CSTAG is an evidence-based model that teaches interdisciplinary school-based teams to respond to student threats of violence by assessing the seriousness of the threat and creating an intervention plan that addresses the underlying problem that led to the threat. CSTAG is the only school based threat assessment model that is listed in the federal government’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) and is used in more than 3,000 schools in 41 states. Schools that employ CSTAG have lower rates of long-term suspensions, fewer alternative school transfers, fewer bullying incidents, more students engaged in school counseling services, and more positive perceptions of school climate. Schools using CSTAG are able to eliminate the racial discipline gap and are more likely to have students who report that there is at least one adult in the building that they would go to for help.
Location: Onsite at Your Facility
Cost: FREE
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for anyone involved in school safety including but not limited to educators, administrators, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, security, facility managers, and school resource officers.
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Date: Contact Your Regional School Safety Coordinator to Schedule
Course Name: NASP PREPaRE WS 1: Comprehensive School Safety Planning: Prevention Through Recovery, 3rd Ed.
Course Description:
In this 1-day workshop participants will learn how to establish and sustain comprehensive school safety efforts that attend to both physical and psychological safety. The workshop addresses critical components needed to develop, exercise, and evaluate safety and crisis teams and plans and conduct building vulnerability assessments. The model also integrates school personnel and community provider roles in providing school-based crisis preparedness and response activities. Additional topics addressed also include media/social media, communication, reunification, students with special needs, culture, and memorials. After this workshop, participants will be better prepared to improve their school’s climate, student resilience, and crisis response capabilities of school personnel. With updated research and strategies, this workshop makes a clear connection between ongoing crisis prevention, mitigation, protection, response, and recovery.
Location: Onsite at Your Facility
Cost: $45 NASP Fee (& online web processing fee)
Max Capacity: 100
Pre-Work Required. Provides 7 credit hours of NASP-Approved CPD.
Click here (PDF) to see the learning objectives for this workshop
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for all school personnel who need to understand how the comprehensive school crisis team is organized and functions. This can include but is not limited to school mental health professionals, administrators, teachers, other pupil services personnel, security officers, school resource officers, front office staff, transportation directors, and before an after school activities coordinators.
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Date: Contact Your Regional School Safety Coordinator to Schedule
Course Name:
NASP PREPaRE WS 2: Mental Health Crisis Interventions: Responding to an Acute Traumatic Stressor in Schools, 3rd ed.
Course Description:
This 2-day workshop develops the knowledge and skill required to provide immediate mental health crisis interventions to the students, staff, and school community members who have been simultaneously exposed to an acute traumatic stressor. The knowledge and skill developed within this session also help to build a bridge to the psychotherapeutic and trauma informed mental health response sometimes required to address challenges associated with trauma exposure. This workshop is an excellent course for all mental health professionals in your district who provide mental health crisis intervention services.
Location: Onsite at Your Facility
Cost: $55 NASP Fee (& online web processing fee)
Max Capacity: 40
Pre-Work Required. Provides 13 hours of NASP-approved CPD.
Click here (PDF) to see the learning objectives for this workshop
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for any individual filling the role of a crisis intervention specialist. This includes school mental health staff (school psychologists, social workers, counselors, and nurses), administrators, and other individuals whom the team has identified as appropriate providers of psychological first aid. Additionally, this workshop can be very helpful for community-based mental health practitioners who may work with the school crisis team and/or may be brought into the school to assist in response to a crisis.
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We, at the Center for School Safety, are ADA compliant. If you require an accommodation to participate in any of these events, please call
Mary Pupazzoni at (203) 837-8915 or email pupazzonim@wcsu.edu and cc: schoolsafetycenter@wcsu.edu
*Continuing education requirements vary from state to state. Many state boards grant reciprocity with national accrediting organizations and other state boards. It is the responsibility of each professional to understand the requirements for license renewal or check with the state or national licensing board and/or professional organization to become more familiar with their policies for acceptable continuing education credit.