School Safety Today

In this episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Dr. Marisa Randazzo to discuss the importance of continuous improvement in threat assessment practices.  Dr. Randazzo shares her extensive experience in threat assessment, emphasizing the importance of quality training and to regularly evaluate and enhance their threat assessment processes to pre...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, join host Dr. Amy Grosso as she sits down with Shannon Jenkins, M.Ed., Coordinator of Mental Health at Thompson School District in Loveland, Colorado. Together, they delve into the crucial topic of supporting staff wellbeing within educational settings. KEY POINTS: - Distinction between self-care and wellbeing - Importance of leader...

In this episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Adam Coughran, President, Safe Kids, Inc. During the conversation, they discussed proactive strategies for preventing violence in schools, focusing on the importance of communication channels within schools, behavioral awareness, and community involvement to aid in early detection and intervention.

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Heilit Biehl, Director of Judicial Services, Jeffco Public Schools in Jefferson County Colorado, Board of Directors Vice-Chair for the “I Love U Guys” Foundation and President of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP). During the conversation, they di...

In this episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Bruce Canal, Executive Lead for K-12 / Higher Education at Genetec, Inc. During the conversation, they focused on several critical aspects of enhancing safety in educational environments. Key Takeaways: • The formation and importance of Threat Assessment teams • The role of analytics and AI in school...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Bree Borgsteadt, LCSW-S, Director of Outpatient Services at Georgetown Behavioral Health Institute. During the conversation, they discussed Self-Injury Awareness Month and the importance of understanding, identifying, and addressing self-injury among students. KEY POINTS: • The concept of self-injur...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Matias Klein, Founder & CEO of Kognition AI. During the conversation, they discussed leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance security in educational settings. Matias shares his journey from aspiring healthcare professional to tech entrepreneur, emphasizing the role of AI in preemptively i...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Angela Lee, Director of Love Is Respect at the National Domestic Hotline. During the conversation, they discussed Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and the significance of educators understanding the signs of unhealthy relationships and teen dating violence so they can recognize and address them...

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Jamison Peevyhouse , VP of Public Safety, RapidSOS . During the conversation, they discuss enhancing emergency response outcomes by securely linking life-saving data from connected devices directly to emergency services. Key Takeaways:...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Annabelle Thomson, Program Specialist with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) Child Sex Trafficking Team, to discuss the nature and scope of child sex trafficking, misconceptions and warning signs in children, the role of educators and communities in prevention and supp...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies , Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Natalie Mactier , CEO of Vivi International . Natalie discusses the evolution of classroom technology into an integrated school safety communication system that includes: • Highly targeted emergency notifications and integrations with other security systems, enhancing campus safety and situational...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Kenya Haynes, Program Specialist at the National Center for Homeless to discuss the complexities surrounding the issue of students experiencing homelessness and the educational strategies required to address these challenges effectively. • The critical role of local homeless education liaisons in sc...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies , host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Liz Nowland-Margolis , Executive Director of School Safety and District Operations for Ann Arbor Public Schools for part two of a two-part series on proactive student wellbeing through early intervention to discuss the importance of: • Proactive approaches to school safety, including early interven...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Dr. Frank Straub, Senior Director of Violence Prevention Research and Programs at Safe and Sound Schools and Co-Director of the “Protect 2 Prevent” project for part one of a two-part series on proactive student wellbeing through early intervention to discuss the importance of: • The inception and de...

In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Missy Dodds, speaker and trainer for Safe and Sound Schools, a national non-profit school safety advocacy and resource center. They discussed the pivotal role parents play in advocating for and ensuring the safety of their children within the educational environment and how schools can strengt...

In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies , host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Carolyn Jennings-Brown, Founder and Program Director of “Hey Dude, Nice Shoes” to discuss the importance of: • Raising awareness about bullying and shifting the focus from merely identifying the problem to finding solutions and promoting kindness. • How bullying has evolve...

Student suicide prevention is a paramount concern among mental health providers. For one organization, student suicide prevention is more than a concern: it’s their mission. The alarming rise in mental health crises among youth has become a pressing concern in recent times. With the complexities of modern life and the challenges of the digital age, young individuals are more susceptible to mental...

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with John-Michael Keyes, executive director and co-founder of the “I Love U Guys” Foundation to shed light on their mission, collaboration, and unique approach to training, all aimed at protecting the joy of youth. During the podcast, t...

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In today’s episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down with Mark Ruiters, Founder of SchoolPass and Chief Strategy Officer at Raptor Technologies to shed light on the benefits and challenges of private schools automating campus operations through adopting transformative technology and discu...

The rise in adolescent suicides is an alarming trend, gaining global attention in recent years. Youth and young adults ages 10-24 comprise 15% of suicide deaths in the United States and are the second leading cause of death amongst this age group. Amidst these grim statistics, the essential role of educational institutions in suicide prevention is now more pertinent than ever, with educators enlis...

According to Education Week's school shooting tracker, there have been 18 school shootings this year alone. With the increasing number of these violent incidents, what’s being done to make schools safer? School Safety Today’s host, Michelle Dawn Mooney, is joined by Max Schachter, the Founder of Safe Schools for Alex, to discuss his advocation for policy change to better safeguard students. Schach...

Student safety has been a major topic in the last few years as more violent acts have occurred on school grounds. While some of it happens after school hours, student safety is still under threat, and the ways we combat this danger has room to improve. So how are schools ensuring student safety and improving their ways of maintaining a safe space for all? On this episode of School Safety Today, ho...

Natural disasters are one of the most unpredictable, but expected forms of destruction that humanity can expect to happen anywhere and at any time. Unfortunately, many types of disasters result in the loss of life, in addition to wide-scale devastation. When it comes to educational facilities like schools, there’s a certain type of disaster response that communities will need in the aftermath of o...

On today's episode of School Safety Today, Michelle Dawn Mooney chatted with Mike Matranga, former Director of Safety and Security at Texas City ISD and CEO of M6 Global. They talked about how situational awareness skills can be used to implement early intervention measures, how schoolwide training is critical for identifying and providing mental health resources, and the importance of practicing...

Finding adequate funding can be difficult task for some schools. But there is a benefit when a school district, and ultimately its schools, become a grant recipient. These grants can help schools implement more educational and extracurricular programs, and even hire more staff, which can have a major impact on the quality of education provided. However, there are stipulations that come with these...