Parents, community members encouraged to attend safety workshop

In Adams 12 Five Star Schools’ ongoing effort to support staff and families in helping our students be safer and make smart decisions, the district is partnering with leading safety experts to present a two-hour safety workshop on two different nights:

Northglenn High School on Monday, Oct. 29, 6-8 p.m. in their small auditorium and Tuesday, Oct. 30, 6-8 p.m. at Mountain Range High School in their auditorium.

This workshop will cover a range of information, skills and examples about violence on children and how to prevent it. It is intended for protectors of kids in grades K-12. It is not suitable for those under the age of 18. It is being presented for free. Please find additional information on the workshop below.

Keeping Kids Safe:

A Child Predator Education & Safety Workshop for Parents, Teachers and Other Protectors

In the wake of the Jessica Ridgeway tragedy, parents, teachers and other protectors of children are left with many questions, anxiety and uncertainty:

• What can we do to protect our kids?
• What shouldn’t we do?
• How can we educate about predators without scaring?
• What information do we need to know as protectors and what do our kids need to learn?
• What does a tragedy like this do to us and how can we deal with our shattered sense of security, our challenged assumptions about safety, and the heightened anxiety we feel?

This two-hour workshop will provide a forum for protectors to discuss, learn and plan to enhance the safety of our kids and communities. Our two goals are: (1) To alleviate unwarranted fear through knowledge, and; (2) Making warranted fear work for us through preparation, communication and action to keep our kids safe.

In this workshop we will explore:

• Awareness information about predators & victims (based on case histories)
• The problem with “Stranger Danger” training for kids and new solutions to better protect them
• Abduction and violent event indicators and countermeasures for kids & adults
• Plans and policies for families and schools to keep kids safe now and in the future

Workshop Facilitators

JOHN NICOLETTI, Ph.D. Dr. Nicoletti is a Clinical/Police Psychologist who specializes in identifying, assessing and defusing attack related behaviors and violence in various workplaces, campuses and schools. He has written three books in the areas of violence: Violence Goes to Work (1994); Violence Goes to College (2001); and Violence Goes to School (2002). He provides training and consultation to various universities and school districts and consults nationally to state and federal law enforcement agencies and private corporations. Dr. Nicoletti was on-scene at the April 20, 1999 Columbine school shooting, the Platte Canyon High School shooting in September 2006 and responded to the Aurora Theater shooting in July 2012.  He also provides training for parents of young children on stranger awareness and personal safety and is on the Governor’s Task Force on Expert Emergency Response and is past Chair of the Police Psychologist Section for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 

BRAD MCLAIN, Ph.D. Dr. McLain is an education research faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver, specializing in experiential learning, identity construction and risk-taking. For nearly 10 years, Dr. McLain, his wife Teresa, and Dr. Nicoletti ran the Personal Advantage Safety Seminars (PASS) program in Colorado, providing training to universities, corporations, non-profits, and community centers on violence awareness and prevention skills for kids and adults. Additionally, Dr. McLain led the creation of safety and decision making curricula for upper elementary and middle school kids for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, reaching more than 150 Colorado schools in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. He has also conducted violence prevention workshops for Boulder County Rape Crisis, the University of Colorado Boulder and NASA.

TERESA MCLAIN. Mrs. McLain is one of the co-founders of the Personal Advantage Safety Seminars (PASS) Program along with her husband Dr. Brad McLain and Dr. John Nicoletti. She is also the author of GirlsSpire (2009), a book about safety, confidence and identity for tween-years girls and has conducted numerous GirlSpire workshops over the past 10 years. Additionally, for nearly 10 years, Mrs. McLain, was the children’s program director for Boulder Martial Arts, is herself an internationally-ranked martial artist, and is an expert in children’s personal safety skill development and training.