CSUSB Palm Desert to host talk Friday on preventing school shootings

Jonathan Horwitz, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·1 min read
The California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert campus in Palm Desert, Calif., June 27, 2022.
The California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert campus in Palm Desert, Calif., June 27, 2022.

Cal State University San Bernardino Palm Desert will host a public seminar Friday night to address possible preventative measures to America’s school shooting epidemic.

The talk had been scheduled before Monday’s deadly shooting where three 9-year-olds and three adults were killed at the Covenant School, a Presbyterian school in Nashville.

It also comes as the Coachella Valley Unified School District Board of Education grapples with how to manage school policing, campus security and student and staff emotional well-being.

The discussion, moderated by professor Thomas McWeeney, will feature guest speakers FBI Executive Assistant Director Dale Watson and educator Angela Pohlen.

McWeeney, Watson and Stephanie Dailey, an assistant professor at George Mason University, recently teamed up to write an opinion piece in the Desert Sun advocating that CVUSD and other districts "self-assess” their security vulnerabilities before a tragedy happens.

They are urging school district leaders to consider:

  • Social work/mental health: Is our school able to identify and assist all troubled leaders?

  • Intelligence: does our school have a process/protocol for collecting/evaluating relevant information?

  • School Administration: Are our school administrators able to address vulnerabilities and take corrective action?

  • Law Enforcement and Security: Do our school’s security measures address all the physical vulnerabilities at our school?

In CVUSD: parents, students and staff have recently questioned district protocols on each of those topics. In approximately 12 instances over five months, sheriff deputies have responded to reported threats at district school sites.

On Friday, McWeeney, Watson and Pohlen will dive deeper into those four prongs of K-12 school security.

The talk runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Oliphant Auditorium at the CSUSB Palm Desert campus.

Jonathan Horwitz covers education for The Desert Sun. Reach him at jonathan.horwitz@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: CSUSB Palm Desert to host talk Friday on preventing school shootings