Assessing Threats in School

Does Your School Have a Student Threat Assessment System?

When faced with a student who may be prone to violence, how do administrators know when to worry, when not to worry, and how to intervene? Educators across three counties in Oregon faced this situation, and in searching for answers, developed Student Threat Assessment (STAT)—a regional system that draws resources from schools, mental health agencies, law enforcement bureaus, and other youth-serving organizations.

STAT is designed to address two common types of violence:

• targeted violence that's planned and aimed at specific individuals
• reactive violence that's an immediate, emotional response to provocation or a perceived threat.

Learn about this pioneering effort, plus 10 steps to implementing a threat assessment system, at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Web site: http://nwrel.org/nwedu/13-01/coord. You can also find more strategies and resources on how to make your classroom safer at www.nea.org/ref?threat.