ABSTRACT
School shootings and multiple victim attacks are exceedingly rare. However, they are extremely tragic and terrifying when they occur. Because of this, school shootings often affect an entire nation and they galvanize people toward wanting to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future. In response to school shootings, educators often worry that such a tragedy could occur in their own school and they may be concerned that harm could befall themselves and the students they serve (Borum, Cornell, Modzeleski, & Jimerson, 2010). This chapter discusses threats of violence to school communities as well as how educators can help with efforts to address these threats. Consistent with the expanded role of the educator, teachers, administrators, and other members of school communities are increasingly being recruited to help with strategies to reduce and mitigate school violence as well as maintain safe and supportive school environments. In particular, this chapter focuses on threat assessment procedures that have been found to be effective at addressing threats of violence and dispels misguided, ineffective, and even harmful approaches to reducing school violence and improving school safety. Lastly, this chapter concludes with suggestions on how educators should respond to threatening student behavior.
