WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 Welcome to the Classroom Narratives Healing in 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:04.900 Education podcast, the space where education 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:09.019 meets resilience. I'm Dr. Joey Weisler, and in 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.400 each episode, we dive deep into the personal 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:15.099 stories of educators, students, leaders, and 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:18.079 frontline advocates who are navigating the complexities 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:21.260 within modern education. Whether you're just 00:00:21.260 --> 00:00:23.879 starting your teaching journey, or are we seasoned 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:26.239 professional looking for inspiration, we'll 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:29.059 explore how to foster meaningful change, prevent 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:31.859 burnout, and build trauma -informed communities 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:34.979 within our schools. Now, let's take a seat at 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:36.859 the front of the classroom as we get started. 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:39.560 Welcome back to the Classroom Narratives Healing 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:41.899 and Education Podcast, where today's guest is 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:44.060 someone whose very presence in the world of school 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:46.880 safety carries both the weight of history and 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:51.200 the urgency of now. Chad Chaney is the manager 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.520 of school safety for Florida Virtual School, 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:57.200 where he oversees protection for over 250 ,000 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:00.119 students and supports more than 3 ,000 staff 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.520 across the state. A retired law enforcement sergeant 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:06.140 and U .S. Marines Corps veteran, Chad brings 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:08.659 more than 25 years of experience across education, 00:01:09.019 --> 00:01:12.000 public safety, behavioral threat assessment, 00:01:12.219 --> 00:01:15.099 and crisis management. He is also a certified 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:17.739 Crime Prevention through Environmental Design 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:21.269 practitioner. and an active leader with the Association 00:01:21.269 --> 00:01:23.769 of Threat Assessment Professionals, serving on 00:01:23.769 --> 00:01:26.329 both state and national committees, including 00:01:26.329 --> 00:01:28.170 the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commission's Threat 00:01:28.170 --> 00:01:30.810 Assessment Subgroup. But more than his credentials, 00:01:31.230 --> 00:01:34.430 Chad carries a visceral personal conviction shaped 00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:37.909 by his 2023 walkthrough of Building 12 at Marjory 00:01:37.909 --> 00:01:40.469 Stoneman Douglas High School, which is the preserved 00:01:40.469 --> 00:01:42.650 scene of one of the most tragic school shootings 00:01:42.650 --> 00:01:45.430 in U .S. history. That moment became a turning 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:48.290 point. sharpening his focus and deepening his 00:01:48.290 --> 00:01:50.450 resolve to not only prevent violence, but to 00:01:50.450 --> 00:01:52.769 hold our systems accountable when they fail our 00:01:52.769 --> 00:01:55.549 students. Chad doesn't conflate trauma -informed 00:01:55.549 --> 00:01:58.650 education with leniency. Instead, his approach 00:01:58.650 --> 00:02:02.010 is rooted in strategy, precision, and collaborative 00:02:02.010 --> 00:02:04.370 care, where he works shoulder -to -shoulder with 00:02:04.370 --> 00:02:07.049 school psychologists, social workers, and counselors 00:02:07.049 --> 00:02:09.349 to ensure that trauma is recognized and addressed 00:02:09.349 --> 00:02:12.229 without compromising its safety. And today, he's 00:02:12.229 --> 00:02:13.990 here to join us and talk about the intersection 00:02:13.990 --> 00:02:17.580 of safety, trauma, and leadership, and the courageous 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:19.780 decision it takes to protect students not only 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:22.159 from external threats, but from the silence and 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:24.400 inaction that so often follow. Chad, welcome 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:26.780 to the show. Thanks for being here. Thank you 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:29.439 for having me. It's a pleasure. So, Chad, I want 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:31.639 you to go ahead as a Parklander and start with 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:33.599 your experience in walking through Building 12, 00:02:33.699 --> 00:02:36.060 if you can. Chad never mentioned earlier that 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:38.419 when I was a student at Stoneman Douglas High 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:41.360 School, I was the first class of freshmen to 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:44.039 have a full school year to walk through Building 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:48.389 12. that 30 -classroom structure that had three 00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:52.030 stories first opened its doors in spring of 2009. 00:02:52.129 --> 00:02:54.580 I was in eighth grade. So that fall of 2009, 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.419 I was the first class to have that building for 00:02:57.419 --> 00:02:59.719 a full year. And of course, all four years to 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:01.280 follow through high school. Every single year, 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:04.300 we have had nostalgic connections to what that 00:03:04.300 --> 00:03:06.680 building was like. And eventually, it became 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:09.180 home to a crime scene. And now it's ashes and 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:12.180 dust. So Chad, if you could walk us through your 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:14.520 time going through Building 12 after the tragedy 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:17.439 had happened four years later. Again, you described 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:19.479 that moment as a reckoning with school safety. 00:03:19.699 --> 00:03:22.120 And can you tell us more about that experience 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:24.120 and how it defines your approach to school safety? 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:27.539 Yeah, thanks for asking. A lot of people don't 00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:29.960 realize that that building was up for such a 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:32.159 long time since the incident. And the majority 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:34.240 of the times, a lot of these buildings are demolished 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:36.080 right afterwards because the murderer or the 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.659 shooter is either taking their own life or they 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:40.599 were taken out by law enforcement, right? So 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.439 in this instance, the shooter was arrested, so 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.159 they had to wait to the trials to go through. 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:47.539 They had the shooter's trial, then they had the 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:49.340 civil trial with the school resource officer, 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:51.520 so they kept the building up. It just blocked 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.159 off where kids were still attending the regular 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:56.479 traditional school and walking by that building 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:59.300 every single day. They just blocked it off. So 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:02.039 once the trials were over, Marty Stoneman Douglas' 00:04:02.139 --> 00:04:04.360 parents had an opportunity to go through the 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:06.419 crime scene themselves. And once they did that, 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:09.240 they came out and basically said, you know, we 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:11.860 need to share this experience with as many educators, 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:15.099 law enforcement professionals. politicians as 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:18.899 we can so this doesn't happen again. So Max Schachter, 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:20.839 one of the parents of Parkland, he was the one 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:22.899 that championed a lot of it. He invited a school 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:25.180 safety specialist to be one of the first groups 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:28.420 to go through the crime scene. And then I took 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:29.800 the opportunity to go down there because I wanted 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.519 to do my part. And when I went down there, it 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:35.399 definitely changed my perspective of everything 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:37.620 I look at, really. It's one of those things that 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:39.620 nobody's ever been through. Anybody that's not 00:04:39.620 --> 00:04:42.079 involved in that actual incident, crime scene, 00:04:43.149 --> 00:04:44.990 They don't get an opportunity to go through it. 00:04:45.050 --> 00:04:46.529 So when they brought people through it, it was 00:04:46.529 --> 00:04:48.569 frozen in time. That's what people don't realize. 00:04:48.730 --> 00:04:51.490 There was laptops up. It was Valentine's Day, 00:04:51.569 --> 00:04:53.430 so there was hearts everywhere. It's just like 00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:56.389 a typical happy environment, but this turned 00:04:56.389 --> 00:04:58.750 into a nightmare for these people. And there's 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:01.529 glass on the scenes, glass everywhere, blood 00:05:01.529 --> 00:05:04.850 everywhere. And they walked us through each room 00:05:04.850 --> 00:05:07.310 where these kids were murdered. And they talked 00:05:07.310 --> 00:05:10.579 about the mistakes that were made. And then I 00:05:10.579 --> 00:05:12.300 won't get into the graphic pieces of it, but 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:15.639 once we finished the walkthrough, we had open 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:19.240 dialogue with the parents. the spouses of the 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.000 victims and they expressed their frustrations. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:25.279 And they just wanted us to understand that the 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:27.680 mistakes were made and how can we change it? 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:30.579 And then, so what I did from that point on, I 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:33.259 just took that to heart. I literally drove home. 00:05:33.339 --> 00:05:34.939 It was a five hour drive home. And that night 00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:36.720 I started writing down notes and I just started 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:39.420 sharing my experiences with my own staff and 00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:41.120 team because I wanted them to know what I've 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:43.759 seen so we can make changes. That's how it started 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:46.500 really. What were some kinds of changes that 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:47.959 you noticed that you could have started to implement 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:50.129 instantly after that visit? Well, the one is 00:05:50.129 --> 00:05:52.649 training, right? I think the training is big 00:05:52.649 --> 00:05:54.709 across everywhere. You always hear about professional 00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:56.829 development, especially in education. You always 00:05:56.829 --> 00:05:58.750 hear about PDs, PDs this, professional development 00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:01.990 this. But there wasn't that much on school safety 00:06:01.990 --> 00:06:04.370 and threat assessments and behaviors and warning 00:06:04.370 --> 00:06:06.610 signs. There wasn't any of that information. 00:06:06.889 --> 00:06:09.149 So I had to get in front of my leaders. And it 00:06:09.149 --> 00:06:11.230 started with a trust. I had to share that experience 00:06:11.230 --> 00:06:12.529 with them because I wanted them to understand 00:06:12.529 --> 00:06:15.589 why we need this training and stuff. So it took 00:06:15.589 --> 00:06:17.750 a while, but we got buy -in. And they understand. 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:20.759 that needed to be done. So that's one of the 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:22.500 first things that happened was the training. 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:24.740 Definitely. Thank you for that. And I think when 00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:27.120 we talk about training, we're also applying that 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.680 to the teacher level when we have educators that 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.540 are acting as, for example, mandatory reporters 00:06:32.540 --> 00:06:36.120 and those who are trained in just. student emotional 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:39.019 wellness, or SEL as we call it, social emotional 00:06:39.019 --> 00:06:41.899 learning and wellness, as a way to sound alarms 00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:44.240 for the student's well-being. But even when 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:45.959 they are trained and equipped with the tools 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:49.060 to be informed in regulating students' emotions, 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:52.000 Sometimes teachers still find themselves dismissed 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.279 or ignored by those above them when it comes 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:56.660 to bringing forward concerns about their students. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:59.540 So what advice do you have for teachers that 00:06:59.540 --> 00:07:02.740 are navigating these types of institutional failures, 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.220 if you will, where it involves mandated reporting 00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:08.100 or giving tips to those above them about students 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:11.220 that otherwise go ignored? That's a great question. 00:07:11.339 --> 00:07:14.540 So I think it all stems from relationships when 00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:15.939 these teachers, they're learning their kids. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:18.319 If they have built this relationship with these 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:20.180 kids, they understand that the student is maybe 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:22.480 having a bad day. If they know every day he comes 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:24.600 in with a smile, everything's fine, and then 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:26.860 the next day he's just very reserved and quiet 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:28.759 and something's going on. So it's recognizing 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:30.139 that there's something going on and addressing 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:32.319 it. Hey, is there something going on? Pull them 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:34.939 to the side. And then if they realize that something 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:36.600 doesn't seem right, they need to bring that to 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:38.079 the attention, whether it's a school counselor, 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:40.199 some type of administrator, because they're like, 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:42.360 you know what, something is not right with so 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.560 -and -so today, and I think it would be a benefit 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:46.860 for somebody else to talk to them. and then if 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:50.680 they don't get the i guess the reception from 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:52.699 that person they're reaching out to that's when 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:54.040 they have to take it to another level they have 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:55.600 to understand their trust their instincts and 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:57.360 say you know what something doesn't seem right 00:07:57.360 --> 00:07:59.079 i need to go to another level whether that's 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:00.500 going to an administrator going to the school 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:02.720 resource officer and bring it to their attention 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:05.100 because at that point It's on all those people 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:07.480 to come together and say, OK, we need to do some 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:09.160 type of intervention and speak up what's going 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:11.579 on. And if you're still not, obviously, you said 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:13.519 the mandatory reporting. If there's something 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:15.240 that's raising your attention, they need to report 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.120 it to not only their leadership, but possibly 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:20.800 the Department of Children and Families or additional 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:22.920 law enforcement outside their school. But in 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:24.920 Florida, we're getting a little better, but they 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.040 have to be able to speak up. They have to trust 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.259 their instincts and they have to not stay quiet. 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:30.899 They can't just let that suppress that feeling. 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:34.039 So they have to stay on their ground. And I think 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:35.720 the problem with the way that our system has 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:37.919 currently been set up, and I appreciate you telling 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.360 us about that as well, is that sometimes teachers 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:42.139 feel like their hearts are bleeding, but their 00:08:42.139 --> 00:08:44.320 hands are tied. And I got that same vibe even 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:46.799 on the leadership level as well. When I used 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:48.919 to come forward with, I had a student, for example, 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:51.080 write me a suicide letter for her literacy fair 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:54.639 poem in December. And the response that I got 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:56.820 from leadership was, oh, your student's only 00:08:56.820 --> 00:08:59.700 13. She doesn't understand what she's actually 00:08:59.700 --> 00:09:02.500 feeling. And when the FSA, the state test are 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:05.059 over in five months in May, she'll feel a lot 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:06.740 better. So just put this to the side for now. 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:10.700 As a teacher, when that's the type of response 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:13.320 that you get, what steps do you take? And you're 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:14.960 actually making me think now, Chad, maybe I should 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:17.220 have gone to the SRO at that point, but I didn't. 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:19.240 I didn't know what to do. I just kind of, I didn't 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.120 know. What advice would you have for teachers 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:23.919 that continue to face resistance and want to 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:28.029 protect their position, essentially? Well, again, 00:09:28.090 --> 00:09:29.470 like I said, it's difficult when you have 100 00:09:29.470 --> 00:09:31.409 -something kids. But if you take that time to 00:09:31.409 --> 00:09:33.610 learn about these kids, especially the kids that 00:09:33.610 --> 00:09:35.529 you identify that maybe are going through something, 00:09:35.730 --> 00:09:38.110 take the time to show them that you care, right? 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:40.970 And then get the feel for their baseline behaviors. 00:09:41.350 --> 00:09:44.909 If the kid is every day struggling and he's sleeping 00:09:44.909 --> 00:09:49.529 every day, then out of the norm, if he's hyper, 00:09:49.629 --> 00:09:51.230 something else is going on that day. So you have 00:09:51.230 --> 00:09:52.889 to understand the baselines of these behaviors 00:09:52.889 --> 00:09:56.190 sometimes. And then you have to stay resilient. 00:09:57.350 --> 00:09:59.409 keep that fire in you. And that's how I am when 00:09:59.409 --> 00:10:00.950 I, in my own work, when I'm dealing with the 00:10:00.950 --> 00:10:03.190 leaderships or other organizations, I'm like, 00:10:03.230 --> 00:10:05.269 look, we can't stop. We're not until we get the 00:10:05.269 --> 00:10:08.250 answers we need. We need to dot our I's cross 00:10:08.250 --> 00:10:12.169 our T's and get to the root of the cause of what's 00:10:12.169 --> 00:10:15.009 going on with these kids. And if the teachers, 00:10:15.110 --> 00:10:18.529 if they're going to give up, then they're not 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:20.850 doing their part. And I know that's hard for 00:10:20.850 --> 00:10:22.029 them to say, but it's just like, you know what? 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:25.759 this is more important than getting an A in this 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:27.500 class. And that's where a lot of the administration, 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:29.720 especially in a lot of the brick and mortar districts, 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:31.440 is they're dealing with the, they are dealing 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:33.000 with a lot, but they want that A grade, right? 00:10:33.100 --> 00:10:34.600 And that's what they're focused on is academics. 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:36.860 And that's where that started with Marjory Stoneman 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:38.960 Douglas is that they worry more about academics 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:42.200 than they worry about school safety. So if kids 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:44.480 don't feel safe at school, then they're not going 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:46.480 to learn. So, and that's where you have to start 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.240 that right at the bottom. Perfect. I really appreciate 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:51.919 that. And when it comes to what you've been doing 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:54.340 throughout your time and working with behavioral 00:10:54.340 --> 00:10:56.559 threat assessments, what systems should be in 00:10:56.559 --> 00:10:58.679 place to act on behavioral threats before they 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:02.759 become an issue when they're too late? Good question. 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:05.000 I think the first thing is, I know we talked 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:07.440 about this before, is that that's just... Johnny 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:09.620 being Johnny, right? Oh, that's just him. No, 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:11.019 that's not Johnny being Johnny. There's something 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:12.860 going on there. So we need to find out what it 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:14.740 is. A lot of times when you do these interviews 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:16.700 with these kids or the counselor is talking to 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:19.059 them, they unpack so much, right? They find out 00:11:19.059 --> 00:11:21.539 that mom and dad are getting divorced or he hasn't 00:11:21.539 --> 00:11:24.320 seen dad in three years. And now they've introduced 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:26.200 some other person in their life. And it's just 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:27.659 a lot of these different stressors going on. 00:11:27.940 --> 00:11:29.860 And that's where that chronic stress starts getting 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:32.039 involved. So I think that's one of the things 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:35.610 is just understanding that don't. dismiss something 00:11:35.610 --> 00:11:38.149 if it doesn't seem right you need to look at 00:11:38.149 --> 00:11:40.409 it right then and even the smallest little thing 00:11:40.409 --> 00:11:42.889 needs to be addressed now it might not be anything 00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:45.649 but we've looked at it we've investigated it 00:11:45.649 --> 00:11:47.889 we've followed through with everything and if 00:11:47.889 --> 00:11:49.470 there's an intervention needs to be put in place 00:11:49.470 --> 00:11:50.990 we put an intervention in place whether it's 00:11:50.990 --> 00:11:53.409 a small one or it ends up being a lot bigger 00:11:53.409 --> 00:11:56.190 which sometimes it does so that's probably the 00:11:56.190 --> 00:11:59.210 first thing I would recognize and then not to 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:00.850 get too deep into school shooting type of stuff 00:12:00.850 --> 00:12:03.590 but leakage is one of the biggest things is that 00:12:03.950 --> 00:12:05.590 There was a study done. I'm not going to quote 00:12:05.590 --> 00:12:08.679 the research on it, but. Pretty much 100 % of 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.419 all school shooters have leaked their information 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:13.080 to somebody else that they were going to do it, 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:16.019 whether it's via internet, talking to somebody. 00:12:16.340 --> 00:12:19.460 I know we talked about this before, is that somebody 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:21.799 mentioned to somebody else that he looked like 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:23.340 he'd be a school shooter or he was acting like 00:12:23.340 --> 00:12:25.460 it, but just based on his behaviors, right? So 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:27.860 there's always some type of almost like a red 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:29.940 flag that wasn't addressed in a lot of these 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:32.039 situations. So they need to go with their gut 00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:34.200 feeling and they need to bring it to somebody's 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:38.100 attention. I appreciate that. And when it comes 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:40.500 to teachers that are working with administration 00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:45.279 that seems to lean into the systemic failures 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:47.419 rather than help them, I've noticed that some 00:12:47.419 --> 00:12:48.860 things that have helped me, I've been going to 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:51.059 other trusted colleagues, especially if it's 00:12:51.059 --> 00:12:53.039 around a student. I'll go to other colleagues 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.460 that share that student that I know, maybe get 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:58.899 along with me or the child and say. We're not 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:00.679 working against the students. We're here to form 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:03.220 a village for them. Form a village so they have 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:05.559 a network all day long of people checking in 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:08.179 on them. It's like if I'm period two, I'll go 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:10.179 to, in the morning, I'll go to the teacher they 00:13:10.179 --> 00:13:12.059 have for lunch and maybe their sixth period just 00:13:12.059 --> 00:13:15.200 to say, let's work as a team to keep eyes on 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:17.200 the student all day long to make sure that they're 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.100 feeling safe and being safe during the school 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:22.659 day. What are some other strategies and networks 00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:25.179 that teachers can use to protect our students? 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:28.080 You said it right there. It's collaboration, 00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:30.440 talking about it. You find out that there's five 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:32.059 other teachers that are dealing with this kid. 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:33.980 Go to them and talk to them. Say, hey, have your 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:36.019 own team meeting. Bring together and say, hey, 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:38.000 how can we support this kid? Are you seeing these 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.120 same type of behaviors in the class? And if they 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:42.259 are, then obviously it's not just your class. 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:44.399 Or it could be maybe it is your class. Maybe 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:46.360 it's something that you need to change, whether 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:49.059 it's moving the seat or bringing some type of 00:13:49.059 --> 00:13:51.360 intervention in your classroom. But if you're 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:52.820 not sharing that information, that's kind of 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:55.179 where the threat assessment process is. It's 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:57.059 multidisciplinary. bringing everybody together, 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.960 talking about strategies, how to help these kids. 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:02.700 It's not about punishment. It's about prevention. 00:14:02.940 --> 00:14:05.980 So it's about providing the resources and services. 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:09.340 And you bring that version to supporting these 00:14:09.340 --> 00:14:11.700 kids. And that's how you get them back on track. 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:14.200 And it's helping the families as well. It's not 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:16.120 just leaving the kids. What's going on in the 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:17.059 family? That's when you get the social worker 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:19.240 involved and say, okay, is there any resources 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:21.139 that the family can have? I found out they're 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:23.740 living in a hotel. Okay, what can we do to try 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.840 to lessen that stress on these kids to get them 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:30.519 back on track? Thank you so much for that. And 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:33.100 the work you're doing now is also spanning into... 00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:35.950 online learning environments as well. So with 00:14:35.950 --> 00:14:38.129 your leadership going from both virtual and physical 00:14:38.129 --> 00:14:41.330 learning spaces and I know teachers here in 2025 00:14:41.330 --> 00:14:43.389 have probably had a good combination of each 00:14:43.389 --> 00:14:45.850 especially after 2020. What are some different 00:14:45.850 --> 00:14:47.789 challenges or even opportunities that you've 00:14:47.789 --> 00:14:49.950 noticed between those two spaces especially with 00:14:49.950 --> 00:14:52.889 the online presence and how to identify and intervene 00:14:52.889 --> 00:14:56.259 with student crisis at that level? The biggest 00:14:56.259 --> 00:14:58.600 thing is you don't have eyes on them every day. 00:14:58.700 --> 00:15:00.259 You know, if you have that baseline behavior 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:02.840 of a kid walking in the classroom and he's all 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:05.559 hype and hyper and he's very just, you know, 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:08.139 a good open kid. Right. And then. You don't have 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:10.580 that same opportunities in a virtual environment. 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:12.460 So a lot of these kids are off camera teachers. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:14.259 A lot of times they don't, they don't require 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:15.860 them to be on camera. They're dealing with some 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:18.039 kids that are isolation. They have anxieties. 00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:20.460 You don't get to see that baseline behavior. 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:22.580 And that's one of the big things is that you 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:24.659 just don't know if he's having a bad day or not. 00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:26.220 You don't know if he didn't sleep last night. 00:15:26.299 --> 00:15:27.799 You don't know if he has bags under his eyes. 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:30.399 You just don't get that opportunity. If you have 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:32.679 a kid that you see every single day and he seemed 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.120 to shuffle, maybe he didn't get a chance to change 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.419 his clothes in the same clothes every day. Something's 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:38.740 not right with that kid, but you don't have that 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:42.259 opportunity in the virtual world. Also, a lot 00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:43.720 of times the kids get expelled, they get sent 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:45.500 home, right? And there's no eyeballs on them 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:47.419 at that point. Similar to a workplace environment 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:49.960 when they do a hasty firing and they just fire 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:51.320 somebody, now you don't have eyeballs on them. 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:53.279 So now we don't have eyeballs on this kid from 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:55.799 a daily check -in with them, right? With a counselor 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.259 or a supervisor or somebody just to check in 00:15:58.259 --> 00:16:00.039 with them. You don't have that. Now you have 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:02.019 a kid that possibly is at home by himself, not 00:16:02.019 --> 00:16:05.299 supervised, in front of the internet and isolated. 00:16:06.730 --> 00:16:09.049 look at the opportunities they have to do other 00:16:09.049 --> 00:16:11.250 things that they shouldn't be doing. So that's 00:16:11.250 --> 00:16:14.009 kind of the challenges. The opportunities are 00:16:14.009 --> 00:16:16.409 you get to collaborate with multi -districts, 00:16:16.409 --> 00:16:18.169 right? I deal with every single district throughout 00:16:18.169 --> 00:16:20.429 the state. You deal with a lot of law enforcement 00:16:20.429 --> 00:16:22.870 throughout the state. So I get a chance to learn 00:16:22.870 --> 00:16:25.909 and to share information. And that's one of the 00:16:25.909 --> 00:16:29.009 big things for me. I really appreciate that. 00:16:29.070 --> 00:16:31.389 Thank you so much for that. And based upon our 00:16:31.389 --> 00:16:33.389 conversation from today, what would you say is 00:16:33.389 --> 00:16:36.039 a major takeaway that our listeners can come 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:37.879 forward with or even come away with in terms 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:40.220 of practices that they can now start to implement 00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:43.860 at the beginning of the new school year. Well, 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:45.740 I don't know if it's anti, but I'm anti social 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:47.539 media for these kids at a certain point, right? 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:49.519 I think the social media has changed the landscape 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.500 of parenting in general. My kids are adults now, 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:54.659 but they didn't have to deal with it. But setting 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:56.460 boundaries, I think that's one of the big things 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:58.059 is that I talked to some of these parents about 00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:01.159 if the kid's on his cell phone at 11 o 'clock 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:02.919 at night, there's nothing positive at 11 o 'clock 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:04.279 at night for them to be playing on the internet, 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:07.819 right? So unless they're studying for some exam, 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:09.960 they need to set boundaries. Take the phone away 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:11.380 from them at night. It's a privilege, right? 00:17:13.580 --> 00:17:15.500 trust their instincts. A lot of times they just 00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:16.880 hand them the phone and that's it. It's like 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:18.480 a little tool for them and they just go away, 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:20.720 but they need to learn about it. They need to 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:23.220 learn about keeping their kids safe on social 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:26.599 media and monitoring them. And that's the thing. 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:28.599 And a lot of them do. And if you hear about a 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:30.119 lot of these incidences, oh, I didn't know my 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:32.319 kid did this. Well, why don't you? Why are you 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:34.460 allowing them to be unsupervised at home and 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:36.599 on the internet? And I think that's one of the 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:38.480 biggest challenges that we deal with now with 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:39.920 a lot of the parents, you know, you deal with 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.210 a lot of online threats. Well, they didn't know 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:43.630 that they're not monitoring their kids' social 00:17:43.630 --> 00:17:45.930 media. They're not monitoring what they're doing 00:17:45.930 --> 00:17:48.029 online. And there's so many tools that the parents 00:17:48.029 --> 00:17:51.329 can have access to, and we try to teach them 00:17:51.329 --> 00:17:53.289 as much as possible, but they have to take ownership 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:55.930 in that. And that's one thing that the schools 00:17:55.930 --> 00:17:58.210 need to do a better job as well, and to provide 00:17:58.210 --> 00:18:00.109 the opportunities for the parents to learn about 00:18:00.109 --> 00:18:03.769 the challenges with social media. And what do 00:18:03.769 --> 00:18:05.630 those tools and opportunities look like for parents? 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:08.220 I mean, I could share a lot of the tools with 00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:10.299 you, but there's a, we call it digital threat 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:12.640 assessment, but there's a school safety type 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:15.779 of sites that we have multiple links on where 00:18:15.779 --> 00:18:18.339 it teaches them about like Instagram. It teaches 00:18:18.339 --> 00:18:21.259 them about Snapchat and what to look for and 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:23.119 how kids can hide things. There's applications 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:25.039 that they can hide, like the calculator app, 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:27.160 right, where they can hide. It's like a window. 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:28.980 It leads into other different little rooms and 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:30.519 stuff in their phones. A lot of these kids are 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:33.200 hiding stuff in these applications. So there's 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:36.259 so many opportunities that I can share. But there's 00:18:36.259 --> 00:18:38.920 so many that I can't even count how many they 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:42.339 are that are very valid. Is it something that 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:44.500 we can put into our show notes? Yeah, for sure. 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:47.160 Yeah, I can definitely send it to you. Awesome. 00:18:47.220 --> 00:18:48.279 Thank you for that. We'll definitely take a look 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.660 at those and include those. And one thing that 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:53.140 I've learned over time as a teacher as well is 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:55.500 to really focus on, we always talk about relationships, 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:57.940 relationships, but I found that the most important 00:18:57.940 --> 00:19:00.460 relationships come from the peer -to -peer connections 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:04.359 to start with. I'm thinking now, like, How many 00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:09.200 classes did I have after eighth grade from high 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.940 school through graduate school where I walked 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:15.960 into the classroom and by the end of my time, 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:18.700 if not significantly sooner, know the names of 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:21.640 every single student in that room with me? And 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:24.299 it was very, very few. And I'm remembering now 00:19:24.299 --> 00:19:26.660 that the ones or the classrooms where I did know 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:28.380 the most people who were there, where they were 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:31.019 visible, they were human, they were beyond the 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:34.000 number. Those are the ones that I did the best, 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:35.319 and those are the classes that I performed the 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:39.299 best in. And I think once we have students connect 00:19:39.299 --> 00:19:41.079 with each other and watch out for one another, 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:44.019 then they can build that whole relationship with 00:19:44.019 --> 00:19:45.960 the classroom. So when we say that whole tacky, 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:48.259 oh, I'm building a family, you really have to 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:50.480 do exactly that. You're getting the students 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:52.380 to become family members in order to make the 00:19:52.380 --> 00:19:54.740 whole classroom thrive to its best potential. 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:57.880 That's what I've learned as well over time. No, 00:19:58.019 --> 00:20:00.880 that's the peer -to -peer mentorship. building 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.220 a little bit now. It's starting to get a little 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:05.480 bit more popular, but it's, when I was a kid, 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:07.000 that's all you had. We didn't have social media. 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:08.640 Oh, you had your peers. Everybody was like, oh 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:10.599 man, where's Johnny at today? He's not here, 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:13.140 you know? So you're right. Everybody knew they 00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:14.700 went to their family's houses. They played in 00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:16.660 the yards and everybody wasn't isolated like 00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:18.980 they are now. So you're right. There's that built 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:21.400 culture that. The teachers have to show ownership. 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:23.200 The leadership has to show ownership. It's like 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.400 a village, right? Everybody has to take ownership 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:28.160 in that. But who is responsible for doing that? 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:31.140 We are as adults and parents and teachers and 00:20:31.140 --> 00:20:34.440 educators to bring these tools to the kids. And 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:36.200 so they understand that and bring it back to 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:37.839 reality. And I think that you're right. It's 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:42.160 missing. uh missing piece right now and you've 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:43.779 said it right when you knew every one of your 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:45.640 kids in that class that shows that you cared 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:47.500 about them and you've seen those videos where 00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:50.039 those teachers have those handshakes every one 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:52.180 of their kids right and that positive relationships 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:54.480 those kids understand they know every day that 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.660 they feel loved and they know that they're safe 00:20:56.660 --> 00:21:00.039 and that's all about that's what we need to build 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:02.819 back again and it definitely holds students accountable 00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:04.759 for each other i remember my very first year 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:08.150 there was a student who was I was very distraught 00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:10.210 one day and I found that it was because her boyfriend 00:21:10.210 --> 00:21:12.869 had attempted suicide the night before. And it 00:21:12.869 --> 00:21:14.670 was her close friend from that class that came 00:21:14.670 --> 00:21:16.750 to my desk and said, hey, so -and -so is having 00:21:16.750 --> 00:21:18.210 a hard day. Why don't you just make sure that 00:21:18.210 --> 00:21:19.890 you check in on her on the way out? So now the 00:21:19.890 --> 00:21:21.769 students are being accountable for each other. 00:21:22.410 --> 00:21:25.269 And that was huge. Yeah, that's having those, 00:21:25.430 --> 00:21:29.170 identifying those leaders at that level and say, 00:21:29.250 --> 00:21:31.630 hey, I need some help here. We need help to make 00:21:31.630 --> 00:21:33.230 sure we're keeping eyeballs on everybody, making 00:21:33.230 --> 00:21:35.029 sure. But you have to give them the tools as 00:21:35.029 --> 00:21:36.849 well to how to address it right. So, and show 00:21:36.849 --> 00:21:39.029 them what to look out for. So that's a good idea. 00:21:39.630 --> 00:21:41.569 Thank you for that. Any final thoughts for listeners? 00:21:42.670 --> 00:21:44.630 We're all in this together and that if something 00:21:44.630 --> 00:21:46.089 doesn't seem right, it probably isn't right. 00:21:46.210 --> 00:21:48.849 So it needs to be brought to the attention of 00:21:48.849 --> 00:21:51.710 somebody else that's in a position to address 00:21:51.710 --> 00:21:54.690 that. Thank you so much for that, Chad. So that 00:21:54.690 --> 00:21:56.710 was Chad Chaney here to remind us that school 00:21:56.710 --> 00:21:58.849 safety isn't about metal detectors and discipline 00:21:58.849 --> 00:22:01.250 codes. It's about the people and about having 00:22:01.250 --> 00:22:03.730 the courage to intervene early, have the humility 00:22:03.730 --> 00:22:06.250 to self -reflect, and the willingness to stand 00:22:06.250 --> 00:22:08.430 in the difficult space between both crisis and 00:22:08.430 --> 00:22:10.950 prevention. Whether you're a teacher who feels 00:22:10.950 --> 00:22:13.490 unheard, an administrator balancing competing 00:22:13.490 --> 00:22:16.349 demands, or a policymaker with the power to shift 00:22:16.349 --> 00:22:19.130 the system, Chad's message is clear that we all 00:22:19.130 --> 00:22:22.190 have a role in this work. And that role must 00:22:22.190 --> 00:22:25.500 begin with accountability, collaboration, and 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:27.819 an unflinching commitment for us as a system. 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:30.980 Thank you for listening today. Thank you for 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:33.200 joining us on the Classroom Narratives Healing 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.000 and Education podcast. If today's episode inspired 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.640 you or made you think differently, I'd love to 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:41.339 hear from you. Drop a comment or review wherever 00:22:41.339 --> 00:22:43.759 you listen to podcasts and stay connected with 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:46.599 us on the at Classroom Narratives podcast over 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:49.880 Instagram and Facebook. Remember, together we 00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:52.559 can transform our scars into stars in education. 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:55.240 one conversation at a time.