UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Since the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that shocked the nation in December, legislators and policy makers have been searching for ways to prevent school violence.
Penn State, in collaboration with Centre County’s school districts, will hold a special talk and panel discussion on "Preventing School Violence: From Community Awareness to Evidence-Based Policies and Practices," from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Monday, April 1, in the lobby of the Outreach Building, located at 100 Innovation Park Blvd. in State College.
The event, which also will be streamed live online, will begin with a talk by John-Michael Keyes, whose daughter was killed in a 2006 shooting at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colo. Following his talk, Penn State Public Broadcasting’s Patty Satalia will moderate a discussion on violence in schools and the research being done at Penn State to prevent similar tragedies.
The panel will include Penn State Distinguished Professor of Psychology Karen Bierman and Brian Bumbarger, director of Penn State’s EPISCenter, both members of Penn State’s Network for Child Protection and Well-Being; Rebecca Bywater, manager of threat assessment and community education for Penn State University Police, and Randy K. Rockey, director of emergency management for Centre County.
Registration for in-person attendance is required and will be accepted until all seats are filled.
Those wishing to view the live stream should register on the webpage after 7 p.m. on April 1. Viewers are invited to join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #SchoolSafety and on the live stream page for a moderated online chat.
Event sponsors include Penn State World Campus, Penn State Continuing Education, Penn State Social Science Research Institute, The Network on Child Protection and Well-Being, Penns Valley Area School District, Bald Eagle Area School District, Bellefonte Area School District, State College Area School District, and Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District.
To read more about Penn State researchers’ work on school-violence prevention programs and research involving members of the Network for Child Protection and Well-Being, go to http://news.psu.edu/story/270109/2013/03/25/impact/penn-state-experts-talk-research-prevention-programs-school-safety.
For more information, visit http://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/community/preventing-school-violence online.
Penn State Outreach serves more than 5 million people each year, in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and more than 100 countries worldwide.