Colorado School Staffs Get New Violence Prevention Training

Group shot of Project Unite managers in the Exhibit Hall include, from left, Mo Canady, Susan Payne, Dr. Sarah Goodrum, Michele Gay, Donna Lefebvre, Dr. C.J. Huff, Dr. Beverly Kingston, and Carly Posey.
Project Unite, a new model of preventing school shootings, is providing pilot training to school districts before rolling it out nationwide in the fall. Project managers include, from left, Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers; Susan Payne, director of safety and security for Cheyenne Mountain D-12; Dr. Sarah Goodrum, senior research associate in violence prevention at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder; Michele Gay, founder of Safe and Sound Schools; Donna Lefebvre, grants program coordinator for the National Association of School Resource Officers; Dr. C.J. Huff, former superintendent of Joplin Schools; Dr. Beverly Kingston, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence; and Carly Posey, mission director for the "I Love U Guys" Foundation. (Debbie Kelley/The Gazette)

Project Unite, a new model of preventing school shootings, is providing a pilot training to school districts before rolling out nationwide in the fall.

An article in the Denver Gazette highlighted the two-day training on the most effective prevention tactics was held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock. Law enforcement officials and representatives from 18 pilot schools, including Douglas County RE-1, and five school districts in El Paso County — Harrison D-2, Cheyenne Mountain D-12, Manitou Springs D-14, Colorado Springs D-11 and Academy D-20 — are assessing their existing safety and security systems, identifying gaps and being tasked with adding what they’re learning to their repertoire.