The Sound Off On School Safety

How do schools prepare for emergencies in ways that protect both physical safety and psychological well-being? In this special episode of The Sound Off on School Safety, Michele Gay is joined by Dr. Steven Brock, Dr. Melissa Reeves, and Mo Canady to discuss the newly updated Best Practice Guidance for School Safety and Lockdown Drills: Preparing for Active Threats. More than a decade after the ori...

What if the most important shift in school safety is realizing we don’t have to wait for a crisis to prevent it? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety, Michele Gay sits down with Dr. Kate Rahi, Associate Director of Projects and Training at Safe and Sound Schools, for a powerful conversation about prevention, early intervention, and the teams behind effective school safety. Drawing fro...

What does it mean to turn unimaginable loss into lasting change? In this deeply personal episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay sits down with Lori Alhadeff — mother, advocate, and founder of Make Our Schools Safe — to talk about the life and legacy of her daughter Alyssa, who was killed in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Lori shares...

What does it really take to turn a school safety plan into something that actually works when it matters most? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay sits down with Craig Straw, former Director of Security and School Safety , to explore what it means to move beyond planning and into real-world execution. With a career spanning military service, district leadership, and sys...

What happens after we identify a student in crisis—but don’t know what to do next? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay sits down with Sammie Wicks—nationally recognized practitioner and researcher in behavioral threat assessment and targeted violence prevention—to explore the gap between recognizing concerning behavior and actually preventing violence. With experience s...

What if the warning signs are already there—but we’re not seeing them clearly enough? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay sits down with Bruno Dias, PhD, CTM—nationally recognized expert in behavioral threat assessment and management—to explore how schools can move from reacting to crises to preventing them. Drawing on experience across law enforcement, federal service,...

Leadership in school safety can feel heavy—especially when it feels like everything depends on you. Katey McPherson, experienced school leader, former administrator, and advocate for community-centered leadership, joins this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety to explore what it really means to lead in today’s environment—and why no one should have to do it alone. From navigating complex cha...

When we think about school safety, the cafeteria isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind. But maybe it should be. In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay speaks with Patti Montague, CEO, and Liz Campbell, VP of Government Affairs and Media Relations at the School Nutrition Association, about the critical — and often overlooked — role school nutrition professionals...

What does it really mean to prepare people to think, decide, and act — not just follow rigid rules — when safety is on the line? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay is joined by Jason Cornwell, a nationally respected trainer in options-based safety and crisis response, and Ben Thompson, Assistant Superintendent in Frederick County Public Schools, Virginia. Together, the...

What does the future of school safety look like when mission comes first — not tools, not checklists, not silos? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety Podcast , host Michele Gay is joined by Antoinette King , a nationally recognized expert in the convergence of physical security, cybersecurity, and risk management — and a member of the Safe and Sound Schools Speakers Bureau. Antoinette...

When a crisis happens at school, most people focus on the response in the moment. But as school psychologist, public speaker and national crisis-response leader Ben Fernandez reminds us, effective school safety begins long before an incident — and continues long after. In this episode, Michele and Ben unpack the before, during, and after of crisis intervention: how schools can strengthen psycholog...

What if the tools you already have could make your campus safer, your team more efficient, and your response time faster — all without adding new staff or systems? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , host Michele Gay talks with Nikita Gupta , Senior Product Manager at Verkada , about how AI and mobile alerts are helping schools modernize their safety operations. They explore how sm...

What’s the real secret to transforming school safety? It’s not just policies or protocols — it’s people working together, across agencies, communities, and even states. In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay talks with Shauntelle Cota and Rhett Larsen of the Utah School Safety Center about how Utah built a true culture of safety statewide. From landmark legislation to less...

Most educators know school law matters — but few really understand how it shapes everyday safety. What if the rules we fear could actually empower us to protect our students better? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay sits down with Amanda Bigbee , a veteran school attorney and trusted advisor to districts across Texas, to unpack what the law really says — and what it d...

When kids act out, shut down, or spiral, it’s easy to label their behavior as defiance. But what if those moments are really signs of stress — and opportunities for connection? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety, Michele Gay speaks with Dr. Stephanie Grant, child psychologist and national trainer on trauma-informed practices, about how stress and trauma affect the student brain. Dr....

What does it really mean to engage a community in school safety? Beyond slogans and vision statements, how do schools, parents, and partners work together to create real impact? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay sits down with Amy Jeffs — a longtime partner and advocate for safer schools — to unpack what genuine community engagement looks like. From building trust to...

Parents may think they’d recognize the signs of drug or alcohol use in their kids, but the reality is far more complicated. Today’s guest has spent decades uncovering what families, schools, and even communities often miss. In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety, Michele talks with Jermaine “Tall Cop” Galloway, a nationally recognized expert on substance trends and prevention, about wha...

When it comes to keeping schools safe, it’s not just about plans or protocols — it’s about people. How can schools make sure every student feels they have someone they can trust? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay speaks with Barbara Grimm, School Safety Specialist with SchoolResponder and longtime Safe and Sound Schools partner , about the role of connection in preven...

When it comes to keeping schools safe, there’s no single law, gadget, or checklist that will do the job — and Kathy Martinez-Prather wants everyone to know it. As Director of the Texas School Safety Center, Kathy leads one of the nation’s most forward-thinking efforts to create safer schools through prevention, policy, and community collaboration. In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety...

How do we protect kids in a world that's always online? Dr. Scott Poland has been on the frontlines of school crisis response and youth suicide prevention for decades — but today’s challenges with social media and mental health are unlike anything we’ve faced before. In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay reconnects with one of Safe and Sound Schools’ earliest champion...

When a crisis hits, what you say — and how you say it — can shape a community’s path to recovery. In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay sits down with veteran educators and crisis communication experts Dr. Lori Mueller and Jerry Gallagher to unpack what it takes to lead in the moments that matter most. Drawing from their years of experience supporting schools before, duri...

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children with autism. But what if the biggest barrier to preventing it... is misunderstanding? In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety, host Michele Gay sits down with Cindy Freedman, co-founder of Swim Angelfish and a longtime pediatric therapist, to confront the realities — and the myths — of water safety for neurodivergent children. T...

When former Secret Service agent Mike Matranga turned his attention to school safety, he didn’t bring more gadgets or guards — he brought a mission to empower people. In this episode of The Sound Off on School Safety , Michele Gay talks with nationally recognized school safety leader Mike Matranga about what most schools get wrong — and what it really takes to prevent violence. From his experience...

How do we protect our kids from grooming and abuse when the signs are often so hard to spot? In this episode of The Sound Off , Michele Gay sits down with Michelle Denault, an advocate and survivor, to discuss the realities of grooming, how predators manipulate trust, and how we can build safer environments for our children. Michelle shares her powerful story and offers practical insights into how...

Weapons detection in schools—it’s a challenging topic that sparks strong opinions. In this episode, Michele Gay sits down with Tom McDermott, a recognized expert in detection technology, to unpack what weapons detection really means for K-12 schools. They discuss why it’s not just about metal detectors, but about layered security strategies and thoughtful implementation. Listen to learn how to bal...