Hybrid Conference – 2023 MPY School Safety Summit: Current Challenges in Keeping our Schools Safe – Nov. 14, 2023

November 14, 2023 @ 8:15 am – 2:30 pm

Registration: 8:15 – 8:45 am
Conference: 8:45 am – 2:30 pm

REGISTRATION CLOSED

Attend In Person or Via Zoom

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School
758 Marrett Road
Lexington, MA 02421

To receive PDPs, participants must attend this conference and the conference, Building Effective Threat Assessment Teams to Prevent Targeted Violence, on November 28, 2023. Members can participate in-person, virtually or by viewing the recording.

Speakers

Description

School districts face unique safety and security challenges. Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth’s annual School Safety Summit emphasizes the importance of a positive school culture in creating a safe school environment. Speakers from both Federal and local government, as well as school leaders, will address best practices for environmental safety, responding to incidents such as swatting/bombs, and trends in targeted school violence and terrorism. Throughout the conference, speakers will stress strategies to enhance collaboration between schools and law enforcement. School administrators, mental/behavioral support staff and public safety professionals are strongly encouraged to attend this informative conference.  

About the Speakers

Paul Anastasi has worked in the public sector as a Facilities Manager for 26 years, most recently for Newton Public Schools. Since retiring, he has been working as a facilities consultant and mentor for many schools and towns in Massachusetts, as well as a public speaker and trainer from Maine to San Diego. Paul is Past President of the Massachusetts Facilities Administrators Association (MFAA). He has a degree in building construction technology from Wentworth Institute and is licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Construction Supervisor (CSL).  Additionally, he is a resident volunteer member of the Watertown School Building Committee.

John Antonucci, Ed.D., is currently the Superintendent of the North Attleborough Public Schools after serving as Superintendent of Duxbury Public Schools for four years and as Superintendent of Schools in Westwood from 2005-2017. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Superintendent of the Nashoba Regional School District in Bolton MA, and the Director of Finance for the Bedford Public Schools. He holds a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Northeastern University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (M.BA.) from Boston University, and a Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.) in Political Science from Tufts University. Dr. Antonucci is a three-term member of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Executive Committee, and is a past president of the Tri-County Superintendent’s Roundtable. He has served as an instructor in the TEC Administrator Licensure Program, the MSAA Leadership Licensure Program (LLP), and as an adjunct faculty member at Boston University.

Michael Cassidy has not forgotten the importance of his early years as a fire and life safety educator. After being promoted to Chief of the Holliston (MA) Fire Department in 2000, he has used that position to consistently advocate for community risk reduction (CRR), focusing much of his efforts on school safety and security. He was trained by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education in the use of the Threat Assessment in Schools model in 2002, and trained as an NFPA 3000: Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response Program Specialist in 2019. Although privileged to present at numerous local, state and national conferences, he believes he is achieving his full potential when delivering lessons in the schools and at the senior center. When not on duty, he can often be found serving his community and region as a board member for several nonprofits, including The Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.

John Horvath is the Chief of Police and Emergency Management Director for the Town of Rockport, Massachusetts. John is a 33-year public safety professional, who holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, as well as the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police.  John is a Master Trainer for the Department of Homeland Security, National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Office in the instruction of Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management techniques and best practices. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI), and an Association of Workplace Investigators – Certificate Holder (AWI-CH). He also holds a Crime Prevention through Environment Design Professional Designation (CPD) certification. John is the chairperson for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, School Safety and Security (MCOPA) Committee, where he leads a team of police chiefs and school superintendent representatives in identifying and leveraging best practices for safe schools.  John also leads the recently formed MCOPA committee for Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management | Violence Risk Assessment, which will build awareness and capacity for addressing threats and managing risk proactively for the safety of our communities.

Brian LeBlanc is Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Boston, assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in the Boston Division, with a prior assignment to the JTTF in Miami, Florida. Since joining the FBI in 2007, SA LeBlanc has specialized in complex counterterrorism investigations, as well as in the mitigation of terrorism threats as a WMD specialist and bomb technician. SA LeBlanc has led counterterrorism investigations domestically and internationally throughout South America, the Caribbean and Africa. SA LeBlanc has also served as the FBI counterterrorism specialist assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command (SOC) in Afghanistan as well as a long-term assignment to the FBI Legal Attaché Office at the U.S. Embassy Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to joining the FBI, SA LeBlanc served seven years as a municipal police officer and six years in the U.S. Marine Corps. SA LeBlanc holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts and a Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland.

Jeff Marsden, Ed.D., is beginning his 18th year as a superintendent of schools. His prior roles include teacher, assistant principal, elementary principal, and Director of Instruction. Jeff served as superintendent for the Wrentham Public Schools for 7 years and continues to serve the Medfield Public Schools for the past 10 years. He earned his Doctorate of Education from Boston College in 2007. He has also served as an adjunct professor for the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. He has served many roles for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents including Executive Committee, Roundtable Co-President, MIAA representative, and School Safety Committee. 

Chief Marc Montminy has been serving in law enforcement for 37 years. Beginning as a patrol officer, he was promoted through the ranks and became Chief of the Manchester, CT Police Department in 2009. In 2018, Chief Montminy took over the Uxbridge Massachusetts Police Department, as their Chief of Police. Chief Montminy is a graduate of the Northwestern University School for Police Staff and Command in Chicago, and a graduate of the 214th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He has an Associate’s Degree from Manchester Community College, a Bachelor’s Degree from Charter Oak State College, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore. Chief Montminy was the incident commander during a mass shooting in 2010 in which 10 people were shot and 8 killed. He also conducted the after-action review of the Newtown Police during the Sandy Hook School Shooting. Chief Montminy has lectured around the country on active shooter response and the mental health aftermath.

Scott Morrison, Ed.D., is the Superintendent of the Tri-Town School Union, a PreK-6th grade school district serving the towns of Boxford, Middleton and Topsfield.  As a former teacher, principal, and Director of Curriculum and Technology, Scott has spent over 25 years in the field of public education. Scott holds a B.S. in Elementary Education, an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and recently received his doctoral degree at Northeastern University where he focused his research on Crisis Leadership.

Dennis J. Mott currently serves as a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) – Protective Security Advisor (PSA) for the State of Massachusetts with the City of Boston and surrounding areas as his area of responsibility.  Mr. Mott supports homeland security efforts and contributes to the development of the national risk picture by identifying, assessing, and monitoring risks to critical infrastructure assets. As a PSA, Mr. Mott facilitates, coordinates, and performs vulnerability assessments for critical infrastructure and provides physical and cyber security resources to Federal, State, City, County, and local government, law enforcement agencies, and private sector critical infrastructure owners and operators. Before joining DHS/CISA, Mr. Mott served as a law enforcement officer with the Bernards Township Police in New Jersey serving in numerous law enforcement positions over a 23 year career before retiring as Chief of Police in 2009.

Ken Wertz, CFA, is the Executive Director for both the Massachusetts Facilities Administrators Association (MFAA) and the National School Plant Management Association (NSPMA). Both nonprofit professional associations share a mutual goal of providing professional development, networking opportunities, and working with legislators to target improved support for members. The membership consists of public facilities professionals who are focused on enhancing the health and safety of municipal buildings and k-12 schools for all occupants. Ken is a nationally recognized public speaker and has delivered hundreds of presentations at facilities conferences and events across the country.

To receive PDPs, participants must attend this conference and the conference, Building Effective Threat Assessment Teams to Prevent Targeted Violence, on November 28, 2023. Members can participate in-person, virtually or by viewing the recording. For participants requesting CEUs, the quiz will be available on the website following the conference. If you do not qualify for PDPs and/or CEUs, you may request a Certificate of Attendance.

Membership Information

Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.

PDPs and CEUs

MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz. The PDP quiz will be made available only be participants who have registered for and attended both conferences.

Event Cancellation Policy

If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.

For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.