Teachers, Police Meet And Discuss Mental Health, School Safety

PROVIDENCE, RI — Police, teachers and school administrators discussed school safety and the role mental health plays in keeping children safe Wednesday at a meeting. The safety meeting was held at Rhode Island College.

Law enforcement professionals from the Rhode Island State Police highlighted several training topics and situations they are exploring to make school's safer. Some specific training state police are looking at included de-escalation training and looking at how bomb threats are handled, State Police Captain Derek Borek said.

Borek, who is also the Rhode Island School Safety Committee Chairman told NBC 10, "Our goal is to look at how we can make our schools as safe as possible. Whether it's through our threat assessments or whether it's through training of this nature."

Discussion at the meeting linked school violence to mental health issues and acknowledged the role social media can play in amplifying mental health issues. Teachers, social workers and school administrators joined in on a discussion.

Administrators asked other school administrators what sort of mental health prevention they take part in at their schools. They discussed how both schools and law enforcement spot potential warning signs for at risk students that might not always be easy to see.

What worked and hasn't work for school districts was discussed, Westerly Public School safety director Michael Turano told WPRI 12.

If educators can, "have the mental health in place for the students, then we might be able to stop some of this from happening," Turano said..."I think it's going to be the mental health training that we get and how to potentially stop these issues before they happen."

Image via Shutterstock