Security experts discuss school safety in Cranberry Township
CRANBERRY TWP — Acts of mass violence or public safety concerns make headlines frequently.
Butler County has seen its share of cases — from the recent arrest of a county resident for intent to commit terrorism to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in 2024.
School safety in particular has been at the forefront of this discussion for years now. Last week, three teenagers were injured in a Pittsburgh shooting outside a high school football game.
Though there have been notable incidents in the area lately, improving threat prevention is a vital need across the nation, said Matthew Miraglia, president of Crisis Leadership Preparedness Solutions (CLPS), a threat management and school security firm.
To address the matter, close to 100 expert stakeholders gathered at the RLA Learning & Conference Center on Friday, Oct. 9, for a summit organized by CLPS. The event’s main theme was threat identification and management.
Representing over 50 school districts, attendees at the summit included police officers, school administrators, mental health professionals and security specialists from the region. Several training activities like tabletop scenarios and group discussions were facilitated.
“We have a full house here,” said Miraglia. “We hold these summits around the country.” The gatherings usually take place early in the school year. “We don’t want these schools to become complacent,” he added.
Jeff James, director of safety and security at Mars Area School District, was one leader present at the summit. James spoke about standard response protocol to emergencies like poor weather conditions, medical emergencies or active shootings.
The meeting also covered modern strategies to “identify at-risk individuals” to prevent acts of violence.
“What we found is that if a student is on the pathway to violence, intervention can stop that,” said James.
Another goal of the summit is to ensure a school is not a soft target for an attack. James said in most school shootings, the shooter surveils the target for weak spots. Visible deterrents like police patrol and security doors can make a big difference toward prevention, he said.
First-time attendee Emily Dunker, assistant vice principal of Eden Hall Upper Elementary School in Pine-Richland School District, said the summit was impressive, introducing her to different experiences and perspectives with a “multitiered approach” to school safety. Dunker previously worked at North Catholic High School.
“The speakers have been so helpful to give us an introspective moment of our own district — how are we doing things, and how could we improve?” said Dunker. One of Dunker’s takeaways was the importance of improving student support systems in place across districts.
“Safety doesn’t rely just on one or two people,” she said. “It relies on so many of our members, and building positive relationships with students and colleagues.”
Implementing artificial intelligence and other modern tools in securing schools was also a major point of conversation at the summit, said Miraglia. A counterintelligence software developed by CLPS, for example, scans and analyzes social media activity. The software is licensed to school districts, said Miraglia.
“We’re evolving as people, and artificial intelligence needs to be implemented in school safety,” he said. “And I think where it comes into play is early threat identification.”
James said access to a summit of this type as a free resource is valuable to communities, considering the typically high price tag of security training.
“I’m very humbled and flattered that they asked me to be part of this,” said James. “The big thing is us getting the word out to school administrators, police departments and teachers, that these resources are there and this is how it should look.”
While the school years are an exciting time for students, Miraglia said, “We can't be complacent, and we need to be prepared for the worst, hoping the worst never happens.
“When it comes to threat management, we do not want to be on defense, and we don't want to be reactive. We want to be proactive and go on offense to prevent violence, and not have to respond to it after it occurs.”
