November 19, 2024 @ 8:45 am – 2:30 pm

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

In person registration closes November 12, 2024 at 5:00 pm.

Attend In Person or Via Zoom

Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
565 Maple Street
Danvers, MA 01932

SpeakerS
  • Dewey Cornell, Ph.D., Forensic Clinical Psychologist, Director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project; Faculty Associate of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia
  • Michael Chase, School Resource Officer, Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
  • Shannon Donnelly, Principal, Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
  • Sean Emberley, M.Ed., CAGS, Assistant Principal, Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
  • Sandra Goldstein, MSW, Director of School Counseling and Admissions, Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
  • John Horvath, Chief, Rockport Police Department
  • John Oteri, M.Ed., School Safety Coordinator, Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth
  • Mary Ellen Sowydra, Esq., Partner, Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane, LLP         
Description

School administration and staff cannot be expected to predict violence. They can, however, identify and evaluate threatening situations, then take appropriate actions to reduce the risk of violence. Forensic Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project, Dr. Dewey Cornell, created the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guideline (CSTAG) to equip threat assessment teams to identify, assess and support students who exhibit challenging behaviors. Dr. Cornell will present how this system may be used effectively in schools. School-based Threat Assessment Team members will describe how their team evaluates and responds to student threats. The conference will conclude with a discussion led by an educational attorney about confidentiality, how to properly store information obtained, and duty to inform.

About the Speakers

Dewey Cornell, Ph.D., (he/him) is the Virgil Ward Professor of Education in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Dr. Cornell became interested in the prevention of youth violence in the 1980s when he worked as a forensic clinical psychologist evaluating and treating violent offenders. After contributing to the FBI study of school shootings in 1999, he led the development of school threat assessment guidelines in Virginia, now called the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG). Over the past 25 years, he has conducted a series of studies on the safety, effectiveness, and fairness of school threat assessment, and has helped disseminate the CSTAG model nationwide. Dr. Cornell has authored more than 250 publications in psychology and education, including studies of behavioral threat assessment and violence prevention, school climate and safety, bullying, and juvenile homicide. 

Officer Michael Chase (he/him) is a dedicated professional with extensive experience in both education and law enforcement. From 2001 to 2016, Officer Chase worked in special education at North Shore Academy, an alternative high school, where he supported students with social, emotional, and behavioral disabilities. In 2016, Officer Chase joined the Danvers Police Department, and by 2018, he was selected as the School Resource Officer at Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School. In this role, Officer Chase has been instrumental as part of the school’s Threat Assessment Team, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all students and staff. Michael also travels across the country as a keynote speaker, inspiring audiences with his powerful story of survival from the attacks at the Boston Marathon finish line in 2013. 

Shannon Donnelly, M.A.T., (she/her) an educator for 15 years prior to becoming an administrator, is the Principal of Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School. Ms. Donnelly has been on the administrative team at Essex North Shore since the school’s opening in 2014, most recently serving as the Assistant Principal of the Freshman Academy and as the Admissions Coordinator for the school. Ms. Donnelly played an integral role in working on the policies and procedures as well as the configuration of the academies in preparation for Essex North Shore. Ms. Donnelly was instrumental in the development of the Emergency Response Plan and the Threat Assessment Team. She provides extensive training to staff and has presented nationally at the annual School Safety Advocacy Council conference. Ms. Donnelly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an M.A.T. in Biology from Salem State University. In addition to her professional teaching license (9-12) in Biology, Mrs. Donnelly is a licensed Principal/Assistant Principal and Vocational-Technical Principal/Assistant Principal. 

Sean Emberley, M.Ed., CAGS, (he/him) joined the Essex North Shore leadership team as Assistant Principal in 2021. Prior to this role, Sean worked as an administrator and faculty member in the Danvers and Lynn Public Schools. Sean brings many years of educational experience and a passion to inspire students to be the best version of themselves. Sean earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Communications from Assumption College, a master’s degree in Education in Counseling Psychology from Cambridge College, and a CAGS in Educational Leadership from UMass Lowell. Mr. Emberley has been a presenter at the October 2019 MA DESE Leap (Leading Educational Access Project ) conference, and a presenter for Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. conferences on restorative justice practices. 

Sandra Goldstein, MSW, is the Director of School Counseling and Admissions at Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School. She is also the Early College Designation Program Coordinator and an active member of the Crisis Team and Threat Assessment Team. Since joining Essex Tech in 2014, Ms. Goldstein has held positions as a Freshman School Counselor, School Adjustment Counselor and Admissions Counselor. Before joining Essex North Shore, she served first as a School Adjustment and Guidance Counselor for Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School and later as their District’s Curriculum Coordinator. Ms. Goldstein began her career as an Educational Advocate with the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn, NY. Ms. Goldstein also facilitates several community partnerships on behalf of Essex North Shore relative to student and staff wellness, mental health, and social emotional learning. 

John Horvath (he/him) 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 Environmental 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.

John Oteri, M.Ed., (he/him) has over 33 years of experience in working with students and schools. John was a Social Worker for DSS for 9 years before transitioning to an educator at Somerville High School. John served as a Social Studies teacher, Assistant Principal and then as Principal of Somerville High School. John then became Superintendent of the Malden Public Schools. After retiring, John joined Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth as the School Safety Coordinator. In this role, John works with MPY and Children’s Hospital through the Department of Homeland Security on reducing targeted violence in schools. John is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and UMass/Lowell.

Mary Ellen Sowyrda, Esq. (she/her) is a partner at the firm and heads the Special Education Department within Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane, LLP, which currently represents approximately 160 school districts and educational collaboratives in the field of Special Education Law. She is involved in all aspects of litigation including hearings, mediations, pre-hearing conferences with the Bureau of Special Education Appeals and court cases. She provides clients with daily advice on school-related legal issues and deals with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Bureau of Special Education Appeals, and other state agencies that involve the provision of special education services to students. She conducts workshops for clients on such special education topics as discipline, inclusion, procedural issues, strategies to avoid hearings and to prepare for hearings, recent trends in the law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and ongoing changes in regulations. Ms. Sowyrda also conducts workshops on these same topics before national groups such as Lorman Education Services, Inc., and the National Business Institute. Ms. Sowyrda is a Phi Beta Kappa summa cum laude graduate of Boston College and a graduate of Boston College Law School. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the American Bar Association and has been named a Super Lawyer by Boston Magazine for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

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 to 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.

Register In-Person

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MEMBER PRICING

Register Virtually

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MEMBER PRICING

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