The Learning Lab School Safety Podcast: Recent Episodes
Texas School Safety Center
Introducing the Texas School Safety Center’s Learning Lab School Safety Podcast, where we have thought-provoking conversations about safety and security issues facing Texas schools and communities. Join us as we sit down with passionate “boots on the ground” Texans who are working to improve the physical, mental, social-emotional, and digital safety of Texas youth. In each episode our hosts and expert guests analyze and highlight the challenges and successes of improving Texas youth safety and security.
In this three-part Learning Lab episode, host Brian Clason and co-host Joe Munoz, explore what it takes for a school district to start their own ISD police department. In part two, Brian and Joe sit down with Eanes ISD Superintendent, Dr. Jeff Arnett and Eanes ISD Police Chief, Matt Greer to discuss their journey from school board approval to a fully functional ISD police force.
In this three-part Learning Lab episode, host Brian Clason and co-host Joe Munoz, explore what it takes for a school district to start their own ISD police department. In part one, Brian and Joe sit down with Jarrell ISD Superintendent, Dr. Toni Hicks and Jarrell ISD Police Chief, Sharif Mezayek to discuss their journey from school board approval to a fully functional ISD police force.
This episode features Leanne Foell, a mental health therapist and teen advocate, who treats young people who are addicted to vaping and other drugs or who are struggling with their mental health. Leanne discusses why addiction affects teens differently than adults, the difference between vaping nicotine and THC on the teen brain, what a vaping addiction may look like, tips for teen who are trying to quit, how youth can be a supportive friend to someone who is quitting vaping, and the difference between good mental health and bad mental health.
In this Learning Lab episode, Brian Clason sits down with Michele Gay, co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools, to reflect on the past year and a half, in which Safe and Sound Schools modified the Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) course for age-appropriate delivery to Texas K-12 students. Once modifications were complete, Safe and Sound Schools and Texas School Safety Center staff delivered the in-person training to interested districts statewide. CRASE was developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT), located at Texas State University and is a crucial safety partner to the Texas School Safety Center and Safe and Sound Schools.
In this two-part Learning Lab episode, host Brian Clason explores how artificial intelligence is shifting the school safety landscape for Texas school districts. In part two, Brian sits down with Liberty Hill ISD's Chief of Schools, Travis Motal, to discuss the role artificial intelligence is playing in Liberty Hill ISD's ongoing journey to improve safety.
In this two-part Learning Lab episode, host Brian Clason explores how artificial intelligence is shifting the school safety landscape for Texas school districts. In part one, Brian sits down with Waco ISD’s Superintendent, Susan Kincannon, and Chief Technology Officer, Jerry Allen, to discuss the role artificial intelligence is playing in Waco ISD’s ongoing journey to improve school safety in the wake of a 2022 active shooter hoax and the discovery of weapons at Waco High School in early 2023.
In this Learning Lab episode, host Kathleen Bates sits down with retired Naval Executive Officer, Alvaro (Al) Lima, to reflect on the changing targeted marketing tactics he witnessed from tobacco companies over the course of his 30 years of service. In addition, Lima provides insight on the cultural acceptance of tobacco use while serving tours in other countries and the altered sense of reality it has created for men and women globally since the 80’s. Lastly, Kathleen and Al discuss practical efforts to bridge the gap in denormalizing the use of tobacco, especially among new recruits and veterans.
In this Learning Lab episode, host Kathleen Bates sits down with Dr. Joel Dunnington, former professor of Diagnostic Radiology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center to discuss the deceptive tactics the tobacco industry used to sabotage the U.S. military into accepting the use of tobacco products as a part of their culture. In addition, revealing how the military is left paying for the detrimental health effects tobacco use causes as well as prevention efforts that better support tobacco-free living on military bases.
In this Learning Lab episode, host Celina Bley sits down with Todd Pauley, the Deputy CISO and Cybersecurity Coordinator at the Texas Education Agency, and Karen Fuller, the Director of Network Infrastructure & Communications at Cypress Fairbanks ISD, to discuss the challenges school districts face in their journey to protect their cybersecurity infrastructure.
Recorded: March 2023
In this Learning Lab episode, host Celina Bley sits down with Paul Batchelder, Director of Life, Safety, and Emergency Preparedness in New Caney ISD, to discuss the key role the district’s School Safety and Security Committee plays in safety and security planning, implementation, and assessment.
Recorded: March 2023
In this Learning Lab episode, host Stephanie Peterson sits down with Randy Randolph, Senior Prevention Coordinator Expect Respect (SAFE Alliance), to discuss the signs of teen dating violence and how to respond to it.
Recorded: February 2023
In this Learning Lab episode, host Celina Bley sits down with Kate Shaw, Threat Assessment Coordinator at Mansfield ISD, to discuss the importance of stopping a student's pathway to violence by utilizing a documented intervention plan.
Recorded: January 2023
In this Learning Lab episode, host Celina Bley sits down with Debbie Solcher from Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas and Janet Kasper from the Office of the Texas Governor's Child Sex Trafficking Team to discuss child trafficking. The trio cover the types and warning signs of child trafficking, who is at risk for being trafficked, prevention efforts for parents and schools, and resources aimed at preventing trafficking and supporting those who are being trafficked.
Recorded: January 2023
In this Learning Lab episode, host Stephanie Peterson sits down with Michelle Tubilla, a Licensed Professional Counselor and former school counselor, to discuss how anxiety can look like behavior problems in the classroom and at home, and some practical tools that can be used to regulate our nervous system.
Recorded: December 2022
In this Learning Lab episode, host Celina Bley sits down with Ty Morrow, Director of Safety, Security, and Emergency Management, in Brazosport ISD to discuss the high level of collaboration needed to develop a multi-hazard emergency operations plan for your district.
Recorded: November 2022
In this Learning Lab episode, host Stephanie Peterson sits down with Jeri Skrocki, Head of District Safety and Security in Hays CISD, to discuss the impact of the fentanyl crisis on Hays CISD and the surrounding community.
Recorded: November 2022
In this Learning Lab episode, host Stephanie Peterson sits down with Maurine Molak, co-founder of David's Legacy Foundation, to discuss what bullying is and the profound negative impact it has on youth mental health when left unaddressed.
Recorded: October 2022
In this inaugural Learning Lab episode, host Celina Bley sits down with TxSSC’s Associate Director of Readiness, Nate Turner, to discuss the new Intruder Detection Audits and what the audits aim to accomplish.
Recorded: October 2022