‘Leading through uncertainty’ is focus of school safety summit

A nonprofit founded by the mothers of two girls slain in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre will offer insight about “leading through uncertainty” at its annual National Summit on School Safety this week.

The three-day virtual summit features keynote speakers Frank DeAngelis, former principal of Columbine High School, Peter Langman, a psychologist who studies school shooters, and Michele Gay, executive director of Safe and Sound Schools, a nonprofit she founded with Alissa Parker after their daughters were slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School with 18 other first graders and six educators.

Other speakers include Scarlett Lewis, the mother of a boy slain in the Newtown school shooting and the founder of the nonprofit Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, who will speak about “Social Emotional Learning: Ensuring Safety From the Inside Out.”

The goal of the summit is to help participants learn about “school threat assessment and management, planning for physical safety and security, trauma informed drills, positive school climate culture, preventing trafficking of vulnerable students, and addressing the needs of gender diverse students.”

The nonprofit Safe and Sound Schools was in the headlines in July, when a national survey it commissioned found “disappointing” disparities between families and educators about school safety perceptions, but also highlighted resource officers as a bright spot for the new academic year.

“This…demonstrates an opportunity for open dialogue between school resource officers, the students, teachers and administration officials they protect,” the nonprofit’s report read.

“Students may view SROs as a visible deterrent but may not understand other ways in which they can engage to improve comprehensive crisis prevention and response. They need to see SROs as allies and trusted resources, not adversaries.”

During this week’s virtual summit, Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, will be a panel member in a discussion called “Safer Together Today and Tomorrow: A Comprehensive Approach to Supporting School Communities.”

Registration is online at the summit website.