Middle grades and secondary education students attend training on school safety

Several middle grades education students received field experience during a school safety seminar with the Rowan County School System.

Dr. Kimberlee Sharp, professor of middle grades and secondary education, and eight middle grades education majors attended a four-hour professional development seminar at the Rowan County Board of Education this spring semester titled, "Enhancing School Safety: An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence." It was designed for school personnel and was presented by Rowan County School Resource Officer Larry Robinson and U.S. Secret Service agents with the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security's National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), a congressionally funded organization to study and provide training on the prevention of targeted school violence.

During the training, students learned about:

• Research and trend data of school violence since the Columbine High School mass shooting in 1999.
• Student behaviors that school personnel and community members should be aware of to avert a crisis.
• Recommendations for schools to develop a violence prevention plan.

"The NTAC professional development on Friday, April 26, was one of the most informative and useful trainings I have experienced," Sharp said. "I learned that there is no definitive profile of a student attacker; instead, student attackers experience a range of traumas or stressful events that put them at greater risk of committing acts of violence. It takes a community to notice, intervene, and avert tragedy from happening."

Programs in Morehead State's Department of Teacher Education prepare students for careers by giving them a strong foundation in education best practices and effective pedagogy. Learn more by emailing Sharp at k.sharp@moreheadstate.edu or calling 606-783-2853.

Photo Caption: Middle grades education students attended a school safety seminar at the Rowan County Schools that offered guidance on preventing violence in schools. Pictured from left to right are: Larry Robinson, Rowan County Schools Resource Officer, two agents with the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security's National Threat Assessment Center and senior middle grades education students Danielle Deaton from West Liberty, Caleb Rood from Flatwoods, Dylan Weizman from Liberty Township, Ohio, Kaleb Cobb from Hazard, Professor and Middle Grades Education program coordinator Dr. Kimberlee Sharp, Haley Key from Belfry, Kaylee Whitaker from Whitesburg, Molly Carson from West Union, Ohio and McKenzie Chandler from Middletown, Ohio.