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Your one-stop solution for all school safety needs.
SPRING NEWS 2025
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Susan Peng-Cowan | Behavioral Health Navigator
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Corina McEntire | Comprehensive School Safety-Public Health Coordinator
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Don Lawry | Threat Assessment Coordinator
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Travis Effinger | Threat Assessment Coordinator
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Are you in search of training opportunities? Check out pdEnroller for Regional School Safety Center Events
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In-person and online training options are available now.
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Annual School Safety Summit
Join us on Monday, August 4th, at Camas High School for the annual School Safety Summit! This year’s theme, “Building a Safer Tomorrow: Strengthening Prevention, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery”. Register Here
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We will showcase presentations that address how schools can integrate prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery into a cohesive school safety plan. Keynote Speaker Chris Sutherland, former SRO, will share his personal story on response and recovery from the 2014 school shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck.
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BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NAVIGATOR
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QPR Training for ESAs
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Suicide prevention trainings are offered regionally for ESAs needing PESB certification— final opportunity for 24-25 school year
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SMART
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School Mobilization Assistance Response Teams (SMART) are available in all our districts in our region. SMART responds to schools during a traumatic event that emotionally impacts students and staff. In addition to crisis management services, SMART provides comprehensive training to help prepare your school and staff in the event of a crisis of any magnitude.
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Save the date! We will hold the SMART initial training for the 2025–2026 school year on October 3, 2025, for those in your district who have not yet received it.
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SEBMH district planning - BHN Consultation regarding RCW 28A.320.127:
RCW 28A.320.127 requires all K-12 school districts to adopt a plan to screen, recognize, and respond to indicators of Social Emotional Behavioral Mental Health (SEBMH). Susan Peng-Cowan, your regional Behavioral Health Navigator, is available to assist districts with creating district plans for the development of comprehensive suicide prevention and behavioral health supports for students.
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At a minimum, the plan must address:
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- Identification of training opportunities for recognizing, screening, and referring students
- How to utilize district staff trained in recognition, screening, and referral processes
- Guidelines for staff on responding to suspicions, concerns, or warning signs of emotional or behavioral distress in students
- Identification and development of partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) and agencies for student referrals, including establishing at least one memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a CBO
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Susan has collaborated with numerous districts to create these plans or formalize existing procedures into a cohesive strategy. I invite you to schedule a time to discuss developing your district’s SEMBH plan and address any questions you may have. You can use the link below to book an appointment: Behavioral Health Navigator 112 bookings
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District-curated Trainings & Fall PD requests
Are you in need of staff/district training for August pre-duty days or October PD days? Availability is limited—please reach out to Behavioral Health Navigator Susan Peng-Cowan to discuss your district’s specific training needs. The most requested topics include Mental Health Literacy, Suicide Prevention, and MH curriculum training. Customized Mental Health training courses can also be developed.
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Ongoing and self-paced trainings
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Asynchronous trainings on school mental health and related topics are available at healtheknowledge.org, a resource connected to the Mental Health Transfer Center.
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- Cultivating compassionate school communities that respond to trauma effectively
- Building capacity of school personnel to promote positive mental health in children and youth (self-paced)
- Classroom WISE: Well-being information and strategies for educators
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Multi-Tiered Approach to Promoting Mental Health and Social-Emotional Learning
FREE Parenting classes - SAMHSA LINKS Program is currently scheduling any of the following in-person parenting classes for the 2025-26 school year—they are looking for districts or community partners to host in Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania Counties, or virtual classes throughout the ESD112 region.
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- Parent Project: Changing Destructive Adolescent Behaviors is a 10-week course for the parents of strong-willed teens who are exhibiting destructive behaviors.
- Loving Solutions is a 10-week course for parents of strong-willed children between the ages of 5 and 10 whose behaviors are disruptive to the family and in school settings.
- Guiding Good Choices is a course for parents of children 9-14. Parents learn in 5 sessions to strengthen family bonds and reduce risk factors that lead to problematic behaviors.
Parenting coaching—free opportunity: Parenting coaching sessions are now available for free through Beech Acres Parent Connext. SWWA families (or school staff on their behalf) can fill out a referral form through our Youth Navigator Program here and state that they would like parent coaching. The sessions are 1:1, free, and last for approximately six sessions over a six-week period.
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STUDENT THREAT ASSESSMENT
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If you would like to schedule a threat assessment training for your district, or even just your building, please contact us. We would love to do that for you! Best practice means at least one member of staff in each building is trained in threat assessment. Remember, level 1 threat assessment forms are to only be used by those who have been formally trained in the Salem-Keizer Cascade Threat Assessment model. If you have a situation in which you are uncertain if a threat assessment is indicated, or you just want to talk through a concern you’re having with a student, we are happy to help!
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The Dads of Great Students WATCH D.O.G.S.® program is one of the nation’s largest and most respected school-based, family, and community engagement organizations, designed and developed by educators, experts, and parent & guardian volunteers over more than two decades. This program is designed for elementary and middle school campuses to provide positive male role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important. Meanwhile, providing extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school security, reduce bullying, and provide a greater sense of campus safety, allowing students and teachers to focus on learning and instruction.
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Invent2Prevent (I2P) is a Department of Homeland Security experiential learning program that empowers high school and college students to design, implement, and measure the success of creative solutions to prevent threats in their schools and communities. I2P gives students a platform to turn ideas into action, making a real, measurable difference. Projects don’t just remain concepts; they drive positive change and strengthen resilience across the nation. I2P gives students the opportunity to actively participate in the prevention of targeted violence.
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News to Know
Georgia lawmakers, in response to the Apalachee High School shooting in September of 2024, recently passed H.B. 268, which addresses many issues related to targeted violence, including adult prosecution for students aged 13-16 charged with certain violent crimes, a statewide system to flag students who threaten or commit violence at school, a statewide anonymous reporting system, wearable panic buttons for staff, and the sharing of school maps with law enforcement.
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West Virginia lawmakers have recently passed S.B. 199, addressing discipline in schools, specifically elementary schools. The measure permits teachers in kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms to remove students who are violent, threatening, or intimidating toward staff or peers or students whose behavior is impeding other students’ ability to learn. This bill allows for teachers to immediately remove the student from the classroom and sets forth a process for the student to follow an intervention program or potentially be placed in an alternative learning center that fits their needs. The legislation gives teachers more control over their classrooms and creates safe learning environments for students.
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Locally, the Salem-Keizer School District has started implementing weapons detection systems along with other building safety measures, including one-way, see-through window film; alarmed exterior doors; and flow control of students/staff. The decision to implement a weapons detection system came after a successful six-week pilot program in 2024 at South Salem High School. During the pilot program, behavior issues and attendance violations decreased, attendance improved, and most surveyed students and staff reported feeling safer.
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The program demonstrated positive results and feedback from more than 1,100 community members who helped shape the next steps.
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COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL SAFETY
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Spotlight on Visitor Management
Having clear visitor management procedures is key to managing the overall safety and security of the school community. Verifying visitor business, maintaining a single point of entry, and having clear signage are just a few strategies that support overall visitor management.
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- Is the main office door easily identified by visitors through the use of signage or distinct approach pathways?
- Are there signs differentiating between what areas are public and what areas are for authorized personnel?
- Do you have designated visitor parking spaces within view of the main office?
- Is the vegetative groundcover low-growing, and are tree canopies trimmed appropriately to promote good natural surveillance of the visitor parking lot and other areas?
- Do you have an appropriate and thorough visitor check-in process?
- Is door propping an unacceptable practice in your building?
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RCW 28A.320.125 encourages schools to conduct regular tabletops and exercises. Why? Because practice is key to emergency preparedness.
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Join schools across our region:
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- Conduct a tabletop.
- Enter to win a school emergency kit! Winners will be announced June 1.
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"The outlines and worksheets were very helpful.”
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Summer Safety Activities
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Ready for summer? You deserve a break! These safety activities are great to tackle while students are out of session:
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