Date: 10/27/2015
Final
Teacher Panel
SCHOOL SAFETY AND YOUTH IN CRISIS
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12:41 PM -- Teacher Panel
Senator Scheffel called the meeting back to order and convened the teacher panel.
Kiki Leyba introduced himself as an English Teacher at Columbine High School. He noted that on April 20, 1999, he was in his first year as a teacher at Columbine and detailed his experiences supporting staff in other schools that have experienced acts of school violence, including Platte Canyon, Sandy Hook, and Arapahoe High School.
Christian Adams introduced himself as a special education teacher at Broomfield Heights Middle School. He reviewed the composition of this school, which has about 500 students. He said that they have a lot of structures available to hear from students, including an annual student climate survey.
Jonathan Ail introduced himself as a teacher and math department chair at Skyview Academy. He said charter schools have limited resources and budgets and, as such, that can be a challenge for school safety purposes. He reviewed his school's resources, including learning specialists; an on-site school psychologist, social worker, and therapy dog; training; two counselors; student programs; and an active shooter training.
Todd Churchwell introduced himself as a social studies teacher in Wray. He spoke about his school's lack of resources and told the committee it just recently acquired cameras and door locks. Mr. Churchwell reviewed his district's protocols, which include using materials from the I Love U Guys Foundation. He said an advantage in Wray is that the community is small and therefore teachers and kids have relationships outside of school, which may facilitate identifying students who are struggling.
Imogene Higgins introduced herself as a first grade teacher in the Genoa-Hugo School District. She reviewed the school district composition and resource sharing that occurs as a result of its small size and budget. She discussed the value of building relationships and how a smaller community helps to facilitate that. She reviewed the roles of faculty and staff and the overlap in functions as a result of having no dedicated school safety personnel. Ms. Higgins said small schools need clarity and guidance on how to perform duties of threat assessment and as safety coordinators. She said the Genoa-Hugo School District also uses the I Love U Guys Foundation protocols, and reviewed its implementation. She suggested that the committee consider developing a model protocol so that students who move between school districts know what to do in an emergency.
01:31 PM
Representative Duran thanked the panel members for their participation and asked them to comment on the training they receive, as teachers, on FERPA. Mr. Ail reviewed the in-service training at his school and said that teachers are not familiar with FERPA and its requirements per se, but if a threat has been communicated, teachers know to communicate it to school administration.
Mr. Crews thanked the panel for their participation and asked if the I Love U Guys Foundation protocol is working well. Mr. Leyba and Ms. Higgins each responded affirmatively.
Ms. Harms asked about mental health professionals, professional development days, and threat assessment protocols in small, rural school districts. Ms. Higgins said there are no mental health professionals in her school, but they have a threat assessment team that consists of the principal, superintendent, and sheriff. She said they have to go to Limon or another area for mental health services, so it can take many days to get an assessment done. Mr. Churchwell said his district has a counselor for middle and high school students and there is a mental health center in town. He said that their threat assessment team includes a counselor, the principal, and others as needed, including law enforcement or mental health professionals.
Ms.Weinerman thanked the panel and asked if bigger districts are able to identify and assist students struggling with mental health issues, like suicide. She asked about training students to identify needs among their peers. Mr. Adams responded that he is in agreement.
Representative Wilson thanked the panelists and asked how student relationships with teachers can happen in a school where there are 1,000 or 2,000 students. Mr. Leyba responded that there are many similarities; he feels like he knows the name of 800 students every school year and as such, they have been able to identify students who are struggling. Mr. Leyba said it would be easier if class sizes were smaller.
Senator Scheffel asked if any of the panelists have participated in the threat assessment process. Mr. Leyba said threat assessments happen at the administrator level and he is not aware of any teachers being involved. Mr. Adams said he was involved when one of his students was threatened and he was brought in to assess communication issues. Ms. Higgins said she had a first grader who was making threats and displaying violent behavior and was able to work with her school administrators. Mr. Ail said he has been asked for input on students, but never formally as part of a threat assessment. Mr. Churchwell said he has been asked for input and participated in student reentry plans.
Mr. McDonald thanked the panel for their emphasis on relationships. He said there were concerns over threat assessments and students receiving special education might be at a higher risk for a threat assessment. Mr. Adams responded that each threat assessment is different.
Senator Newell thanked the panel. She asked about the lessons learned from a teacher perspective. Mr. Leyba responded that schools should put programs and resources in place prior to a tragedy. He said some schools don't have school resource officers or mental health workers and that the limited resources of trauma workers is crippling.
Kate O'Donnell also thanked the panel. She asked whether the teachers felt supported by school administration, to which Mr. Churchwell and Mr. Adams each replied affirmatively.