Introduction to Threat Assessment
This course will provide a basic knowledge of threat assessment in a K12 setting. The Supplemental Materials page contains a participant guide and other useful resources. After completing the course, you will also have access to all course videos on that page.
The course will consist of:
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A required pre-test.
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Four modules to be completed in succession that will include 1) an introduction to the core concepts, 2) understanding threats, 3) the pathway to violence, and 4) evaluating threat behaviors.
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Supplemental materials to expand your understanding of threat assessment.
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A post-test to determine your retention of the materials. A score of 80% or better is required to earn your certificate of completion for the course.
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Chester Community Charter School
Proceed through the course below. If you would like to, you can schedule 15 minutes with Brian over Zoom. This is not required, but gives you a chance to talk directly with Brian about any questions from the video trainings.
If you are concerned that a student or other community member may be a threat to themselves or others, use Safe2Say Something to make an anonymous report so they can get the help they need.
Pre-Test
Choose the single best answer on multiple choice questions.
Please answers all questions.
Module 1: Introduction and Core Concepts
Meet Dr. Brian Van Brunt for an overview of the course.
Brian's content warning for the course materials.
Dr. Mary-Ellen O’Toole was kind enough to take some time out of her day to share some thoughts related to school violence prevention and the importance of teachers and staff being an integral part of the solution to violence in our schools.
In this module, we will define the scope of the problem, and the importance of our role in protecting the community. We will define the different types of violence and observe the importance of gathering data, analyzing this data and building interventions that are culturally competent and developmentally appropriate.
Please watch all videos before you continue.
Module 2: Understanding Threats
Dr. Tammy Hodo, president of All Things Diverse, LLC, discusses diversity, equity and inclusion education and addresses the importance of cultural competency in threat assessment.
In this module, we will go over how to determine if we feel threatened or are actually being threatened. We will learn about the types of threats and discuss the role of social media in threats and our threat assessment process.
We would agree.
Not quite, we would see it differently.
A male student teases a female by her locker. He makes fun of the books she is reading and jokes about Romeo and Juliet. He says, “Too bad no one wants to be your Romeo.” The female student responds with “Shut up, I hope you fall down the stairs and die” It would be more likely that this threat is a response to the teasing and is saving face, rather than leakage related to a planned attack. While there is a specific threat made, the conditional “I hope” would lean this toward transient over substantive. Addressing the teasing and the bullying would be critical in terms of school climate and being proactive with community building.
Not quite, we would see it differently.
We would agree.
This is a video clip of a young teenage boy playing video games and becoming upset at a turn in the game that he didn’t like. Note the headset and the fact he is talking directly to another player. The inclusion of the location of where he is “I figured out where you live, ok? If you keep doing this, I will make you sorry.” While other details, such as how far away the person on the other end of the game is from the boy and what he exactly means by “I’m going to make you sorry,” are unknown, there is some evidence this scenario leans slightly to substantive.
Not quite, we would see it differently.
We would agree.
Two boys are hanging out talking in a playground. The boy in the white shirt begins to complain about others boys in gym glass teasing him and “taking my stuff, I’m going to do something about it. Teach them a lesson. Put them in their place. My dad has a gun and I know where it is.” This is a concerning substantive threat that would require immediate investigation.
Not quite, we would see it differently.
We would agree.
This is an odd clip that involves a loose pencil drawing of a gun shooting bullets at a person with longer hair. Upon closer inspection there is a bullet hole drawn in the middle of the head. The student then crumples the paper for no apparent reason. The scene is witnessed by another student. Without additional details, this seems more likely to be a transient threat drawing. Remember, given any threat, following up with the team would be warranted to ask some further contextual questions.
Not quite, we would see it differently.
We would agree.
A boy in a white shirt throws some rocks at a boy in a blue shirt and starts to shove him back and forth saying, “I thought I told you not to play on my slide. Get out of here.” The boy in the blue shirt says no and the other boy says, “What are you going to do about it?!?” The boy in the blue says, “I am going to slit your throat with my knife.” This is a clear substantive threat due to the details about using a knife, where he would cut him and the realistic mention rather than the hypothetical.
Please watch all videos before you continue.
Please answer all questions before you continue.
Module 3: Pathway to Violence
This module will explore the pathway to violence and how it will help you detect vulnerable people. We will provide a brief background on how guns, mental health and violent video games can be wrongly attributed to school violence and look at how risk factors play a role in targeted violence.
Module 4: Evaluating Threat Behaviors
In this module, we will discuss the use of the ‘see-saw’ method as a balanced approach to behavior assessment. We will define and provide examples of support and connection factors and talk about the importance of awareness and prompt reporting.
Before you proceed to the post-test, please take a moment to fill out this evaluation survey.
No identifying information will be connected to your answers, which will remain anonymous.
1 = strongly disagree | 2 = disagree | 3 = neutral | 4 = agree | 5 = strongly agree
The information was presented in an effective manner.
The instructor(s) demonstrated expert knowledge.
The instructor(s) was/were engaging.
The overall training was satisfactory.
The training increased my knowledge in the subject area.
The training materials were helpful and sufficient.
I would recommend this training to others
Thank you
Post-Test
Choose the single best answer on multiple choice questions.
Please answers all questions.
Congratulations on completing the Introduction to Threat Assessment course.
Please confirm you name for the certificate:
Thank you.
Your score was below the 80% required for course completion.
Please review the materials and re-take the test.