Harford schools include mental health component in active assailant training
The AegisJan 08, 2019
A lot of other components are involved, including mental health, reunification and threat assessment, said
"Once an incident happens, we look at total critical response to the incident," Brooks said. That includes recovery methods and reunification training, he said.
The 2018 Maryland Safe to Learn Act passed by the
"It ensures local school systems have coordinated preparedness measures and integrated response procedures in place to respond to emergency events," Brooks said.
The number of school system trainers also doubled to 10, Brooks said.
According to the Safe Schools Act, each school district will be required to have a mental health coordinator who will help with threat assessment training.
"As part of a holistic approach, we want to go beyond the existing training and learn what our options are to respond to these things, how we can effectively recover quickly from these incidents," Brooks said, "and have the smoothest transition possible to reunify students with families and parents and most importantly how we can abate situations from happening through effective threat assessment training for personnel at the school level and the district level."
Some students and adults, especially those who suffer from anxiety, could have reactions to the training, and board vice president
The mental health partners will be part of developing the training and plan to address those issues, Brooks said.
"Students and even adults who take the training are impacted by it," he said. "Past trauma could impact how people receive training."
The training includes content and practical training, according to
The content training is done as a group.
"It's very powerful, meaningful, with an emotional component," Tarbert said. "As we learn together, we understand what we might do if a situation were to actually occur."
The practical training includes scenario-based activities working with law enforcement -- "how we will react, practicing what this looks like," she said.
"It's about the teachers, about the parents, the per diem cafeteria workers, the bus drivers, the central office folks, a comprehensive look and thought to prepare all our staff members," Tarbert said.
Beginning in the fall, teachers and administrators will lead age-appropriate drills for students.
AACRT will provide students with options that can be applied in an situation or event, Brooks said, which was based on feedback from the sheriff's town hall meeting and school sessions last year.
"Based on feedback, we know
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