Schools

In March 2025, members of the ASPIRE team in partnership with Southern University Police Department will host a law enforcement engagement session focused on understanding and overcoming the barriers smaller agencies have when recruiting. The town-hall style session will focus on collaborative brainstorming between smaller agencies to understand how they may more successfully engage with potential recruits. The townhall will consist of two recruiting staff from four municipal and tribal police departments.

The Safer Schools Community of Practice is designed with the purpose of bringing together school safety practitioners for collaborative discussions to identify best practices and model polices, support problem solving, and recognize emerging trends related to school safety strategies and policies. The insights gathered in this forum will be utilized to guide the program's comprehensive technical assistance, subject-expert working groups, resource development, and training deliverables.

The Safer Schools Community of Practice is designed with the purpose of bringing together school safety practitioners for collaborative discussions to identify best practices and model polices, support problem solving, and recognize emerging trends related to school safety strategies and policies. The insights gathered in this forum will be utilized to guide the program's comprehensive technical assistance, subject-expert working groups, resource development, and training deliverables.

The Safer Schools Community of Practice is designed with the purpose of bringing together school safety practitioners for collaborative discussions to identify best practices and model polices, support problem solving, and recognize emerging trends related to school safety strategies and policies. The insights gathered in this forum will be utilized to guide the program's comprehensive technical assistance, subject-expert working groups, resource development, and training deliverables.

Given the variety of behavioral challenges that can occur in a school environment, it is essential for school resource officers, security personnel, and school staff to possess strong de-escalation skills. These abilities are crucial for preventing situations from escalating and for responding effectively to the unique needs of each student. Through effective de-escalation, stakeholders can improve student safety, maintain a positive learning environment, enhance trust between officers and students, and reduce student involvement in the juvenile justice system.

General inquiries and questions, as well as requests for one-on-one Technical Assistance, are processed through our Virtual Help Desk (TeamDynamix).

FY25Q1Engagement Activities

Follow-up email to Kalyn's email sent on 12/4 with information about new call cadence and scheduling instructions.

In December 2024, the project team in partnership with IACLEA conducted a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) focus group at the University of Central Florida to further learn recruitment and retention insights from diverse communities. The focus group consisted of 5 female students from various majors, such as Criminal Justice, Political Science and Criminal and Law Deviance.

To support outreach and engagement IIR staff attended the 2024 I Love U Guys' Briefings: National School Safety Symposium in San Mateo, California, from November 7–8, 2024.