| 17 September 2007, Belleville, ON—Ensuring all students and employees experience safe, effective and respectful learning environments is a focus of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB). In support of this objective, two guest speakers have been invited to address employees in September. Each will offer advice and strategies in his area of expertise: Ron Morrish on Building Respectful Learning Environments and Kevin Cameron on Threat/Risk Assessment Training.
Friday, September 21, RON MORRISH – Building Respectful Learning Environments
Ron Morris has been an educator and behaviour specialist since 1972. He was a teacher for 26 years. During that time he taught regular education and special education classes, was a learning resource teacher, and spent 16 years as a board behaviour consultant. In 1997 he became an independent consultant and has written three books about improving personal discipline skills and building effective school discipline as a team.
This presentation is for all HPEDSB employees—administrators, educators, and all support staff—who will attend one of two sessions to learn strategies on how to ensure respectful learning environments.
Thursday/Friday, September 26/27, KEVIN CAMERON – Threat/Risk Assessment Training
J. Kevin Cameron, M.Sc., R.S.W., is a Diplomate with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress. In concert with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Behavioural Sciences Unit, he developed Canada's first comprehensive, multidisciplinary threat assessment training program and currently serves on the Canadian Threat Assessment Training Board. He also trains crisis response teams nationally and internationally and consults with schools and communities impacted by trauma.
Eight days after the tragic school shooting at Columbine High School, a fourteen-year-old boy entered a school in Taber, Alberta with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and opened fire in Canada's first, high-profile school shooting. Kevin led the crisis response during that incident, and shortly thereafter was seconded by the Alberta Government to a 13-month initiative where he studied traumatic aftermath from a "human systems approach." Through consultation with several American sites that had experienced school shootings, and other trauma sites throughout North America, Kevin developed the Traumatic Event Systems (TES) Model.
This training is being offered to secondary and elementary administrators, child and youth counsellors, community police and child services representatives. The goal of this two-day, Level 1 training is for schools to establish a student threat/ risk assessment response plan. The plan will include creation of a multidisciplinary threat assessment team which will identify indicators that suggest a student may on a pathway towards violence. Planned intervention may decrease the risk, prevent injury to self or others, and assist the student to receive the help he or she needs to address the issues contributing to the high risk student behaviour. School and community professionals who will be conducting the actual threat/ risk assessments will have the opportunity to acquire and apply new knowledge as they work through real case studies and conduct mock assessments.
MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES ARE INVITED TO REPORT ON BOTH SEMINARS.
MEDIA ACCESS TO RON MORRISH |
MEDIA ACCESS TO KEVIN CAMERON |
• Friday, September 21
• Centennial Secondary School, 160 Palmer Road, Belleville, 613-962-9233
• 11:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. (following the presentation) |
• Wed. September 26 and Thurs. Sept 27
• Education Centre, 156 Ann Street, in the Board Room, 613-966-1170
• 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. (during the lunch break) |
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For more information, contact:
• Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, (613) 966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, extension 2354
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