It’s hard to believe it’s December already! The holidays are upon us. Where does the time go?

1. Technology Safety

No doubt there will be a lot of new technology coming into homes over the holidays. Check out and share the Connect Safely Guides. You’ll find both one-page Quick Guides and longer Parent Guides to help all adults understand many of the apps, sites, and technologies which they may be seeing or hearing about.

2. National Bullying Prevention Center

As another gift to educators, the Pacer National Bullying Prevention Center Videos has over 100 short videos available for free. These can be used as staff refreshers. Many can also be used in the classroom with students. This is a resource which keeps on giving as new videos are frequently added.

3. Suicide Prevention

Did you realize that the suicide rate is lowest in December. That’s good news! However, those rates rise after the New Year and into the spring. Check out the OSPI Suicide Prevention page. There you will find an excellent Model Plan Template to help build suicide prevention into your district and school comprehensive safety plan.

4. Threat Assessment

As we know, Threat Assessment refers to a structured group process to evaluate the risk posed by a student or another person. It is done in response to an actual or perceived threat or concerning behavior. Through our 9 ESDs, WA is implementing the Salem-Keizer Threat Assessment Model. The model includes a site-assessment screening completed by a trained multi-disciplinary Level 1 team. If necessary, more comprehensive in-depth assessment and consultation is completed by a Level 2 multi-agency team. For general background information on threat assessment, checkout this link from the Secret Service.

Have a safe and happy holiday season! Get ready for a safe and productive new year!