4.5 walking through a safety assessment

This presentation will allow participants to observe a mock safety assessment, including a recorded interview with a student actor playing the role of the student. Participants will be able to listen to the thought processes of experts in the field as they consider the case and formulate an action plan for this student. Saneliso Masuku, MD, will present a composite case study of a student who makes a threat at school and together with Nancy Rappaport, MD, will lead the other presenters, playing the roles of a safety assessment team, through the threat-assessment inquiry process. This engaging presentation will include: written records provided to participants; recorded interviews of the “team” engaging in lively mock interviews with the student, a parent, and a witness; and the team’s thoughtful discussion about the information gathered, the risk presented, and how they would proceed to support the student, family, and school based on this assessment. An elementary school student has had several significant episodes of aggression toward staff and has made statements about wanting to harm himself. In the past month, he has whispered a threat to another student that his classroom teacher heard and made a drawing with a gun that left his art teacher concerned. Last week, he was sent to the emergency room from school when he tried to remove his teacher’s personal protective equipment (PPE). The school wants to know if he is safe to return to school and, if so, how best to support him while keeping the staff and students safe. This engaging, facilitated case demonstration and discussion will give participants the unique opportunity to observe experts in several aspects of school safety consider a case and describe how they would gather information, assess the threat, and proceed to support the student, family, and school.