GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Special training was held in Green Bay to help make area schools safer.
The state’s Office of School Safety held threat assessment training at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) Thursday.
Police officers, public safety professionals, fire and EMS, school personnel, and other community members participated.
Green Bay police commander Kevin Warych said trainings like this are important.
“People don’t want to hear us just say, ‘ya, we’re planning, we’re preparing.’ They want to see us. They want to make sure that they know that every child is safe, that every person in the school, whether they’re the professional staff, the teachers, the kids, that they’re going to be helped if we are called upon,” Warych said.
The training focused on a behavior-based approach to preventing targeted violence in schools.
Office of School Safety director, Trish Kilpin, says the training ensures that children get what they need effectively.
“It starts with accurate understanding. When we have accurate appraisal of the situation, which comes through a threat assessment process, then we can match interventions to what that child needs. Those interventions are based often on behaviors and so in a school, if a child is dysregulated, they’re having poor distress tolerance, they’re having difficulty coping, we look at ways we can increase their protective factors and mitigate the likelihood they’re going to continue down a pathway to violence,” she explained.
The event is put on by the U.S. Secret Service, the Green Bay Police Department, NWTC, and U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Another event will be held in Waukesha in May.
The Office of School Safety also provides resources the public can use to keep students and staff safe on school grounds.
The program runs its tip line Speak Up, Speak Out Resource Center which gives citizens a way to report threats or concerns. Analysts are available 24/7, and after they receive a tip, they are able to review it immediately.
To submit a tip, you can go to the website, download the app or dial 1-800-MY-SUSO-1.
There are also e-learning webinars available to watch online which covers topics from preparing and responding to protest activity, active shooter drills, mental health and de-escalation.
