Teachers, bus drivers, guidance counselors, assistant principals, athletic directors — they all interact with our kids at school. 

They all may notice changes in behavior. Trends. Who is talking to who. Who might be mad at someone else.  

But not everyone knows what to do if something seems “off” with a student. 

Recently expanded Behavioral Threat Assessment training provided by our Minnesota School Safety Center (MnSSC) is trying to change that. 

“Schools are getting to the place where they’re saying, ‘We’ve got our lockdown drills, we know what our active shooter response looks like. Now what can we do to keep it from happening in the first place?” said Jennifer Boswell, MnSSC school resource officer coordinator and training instructor. 

The MnSCC’s expanded training equips school officials with the tools to: 

1. Identify and report warning signs and concerning behaviors in students, specifically if they suspect the student will harm themselves or others. 

2. Recognize intervention strategies to better support that student and hopefully prevent them from resorting to violence. 

Minnesota schools and districts could in the past request this training (the Basic Threat Evaluation and Reporting Course) and MnSCC instructors would come to them.  

The course — part of the National Threat Evaluation and Reporting program from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — is now being held in all corners of the state, allowing representatives from different districts to learn alongside one another. Bringing schools together instead of doing it individually is a best practice, Boswell said. 

 “They really benefit from being in the same room together, sharing ideas, sharing frustrations, working through barriers, learning from each other,” Boswell added. 

School officials who attend the training take what they’ve learned back to their school communities to decide the best course of action for their school or district  

The training helps schools build a consistent foundation and connections with other districts. 

While not all violence can be prevented, Boswell believes this training will prevent tragedies. 

“After many shootings, we find out all of this concerning information that somebody had over here, and somebody had over there,” said Boswell. “But nobody knew who to talk to.” 

The MnSCC is part of our Homeland Security and Emergency Management division. Learn more on the MnSCC’s website.