Sandy Hook Promise recently release a new PSA called "Just Joking." The PSA emphasizes the importance of taking threats of violence seriously instead of thinking people are joking. To highlight the importance, the PSA features several comedians who appear to be telling jokes about killing people and shooting up schools. However, as the PSA continues, it turns out all the "jokes" are real threats that school shooters made prior to their attacks, but people thought they were just joking. To watch the PSA, click here.

Regional Office of Education 35 is hosting a PREPaRE Workshop on School Safety Planning: Prevention Through Recovery on November 3rd in Oglesby. "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." Registration closes Sept. 29th! For more information about the workshop, click here.

There's Still Time to Register!

There's still time to register for the two sessions of the 4-hour course Surviving Bombing Incidents for Educators class on October 26th in Edwardsville, IL. Surviving Bombing Incidents for Educators provides school personnel with the skills necessary to perform critical life-saving actions in the immediate aftermath of a bombing incident, a critical moment where those who wish to help can perform life-saving actions to sustain life while medical personnel arrive at the scene. Participants are presented with lectures, discussions, and demonstrations on the hazards and injuries associated with bombings; these activities culminate in a series of performance-based exercises designed to allow course participants to practice life-saving tactics in bombing scenarios.

The morning session of the class runs from 8:00 am - Noon; the afternoon session of the class runs from 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm. For more information and to register for a session, click here.

There is still time to register for the Digital Threat Assessment® class on Oct. 10th via Zoom. The Digital Threat Assessment® training will enable participants to establish a framework to better assess all threats by constructing and considering the digital baseline of a threat maker by locating, documenting, and evaluating social media data through a threat assessment lens. A significant portion of the day will be spent engaging in hands-on exercises on the most prevalent social media platforms and associated search applications. For more information and to register, click here.

The Illinois School and Campus Safety Program is pleased to announce two sessions of the class Preventing Targeted Violence Through Leakage and Cyber Investigations, one on Nov. 1-2nd in Maywood and one on November 20-21st in Carol Stream, IL. Class objectives include:

For more information and to register for the November 1-2nd session in Maywood, click here.

For more information and to register for the November 20-21st session in Carol Stream, click here.

Upcoming Session of Campus Threat Assessment and Management Dec. 6th-7th in Chicago

The Illinois School and Campus Safety Program is pleased to announce the class Campus Threat Assessment and Management will be held December 6-7, 2023, in Chicago, IL. This two-day workshop for institutions of higher education featuring Gene Deisinger, Ph.D will help participants to better understand the dynamics of targeted violence and to develop and enhance strategies for early identification, assessment, and intervention with concerning situations. For more information and to register, click here.