St. Albert Public Schools has compiled a list of resources and tips to support your child or loved one through times of grief and loss.
Letter to parents/guardians
Everyone’s safety is a priority
We are committed to creating and maintaining school environments in which students, staff, parents, and guests feel safe. Schools cannot ignore any threat of violence.
What is a threat?
A threat is an expression of intent to do harm or act out violently against someone or something. Threats may be verbal, written, drawn, posted on the internet or made by
gesture. Threats must be taken seriously, investigated and responded to.
When is a Threat Assessment initiated?
A Threat Assessment will be initiated when behaviour indicates an individual is moving along a pathway of violence. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- serious violence with intent to harm or kill
- verbal/written threats to harm or kill others
- internet website/internet threats to harm or kill others
- possession of weapons (including replicas)
- bomb threats
- fire setting
- significant change in baseline behaviour
What is the purpose of a Threat Assessment?
- To ensure the safety of children, youths, staff, parents and others.
- To ensure a full understanding of the factors that contribute to the threat maker's behaviour.
- To be proactive in developing an intervention plan that addresses the emotional and physical safety of the threat maker.
- To promote the emotional and physical safety of all.
Duty to report
To ensure that school communities are safe and caring learning environments, staff, parents, students and community members must report all threat related behaviour.
What is a Threat Assessment Team?
Each school has a Threat Assessment Team, which is multidisciplinary. The team may include the principal, vice principal, school counsellor and police.
What happens in a Threat Assessment?
All threat-making behaviour(s) by a child/youth(s) shall be reported to the principal who will activate the protocol for the initial response. Once the Threat Assessment Team has been activated, interviews may be held with the child/youth(s), the threat makers, parents, and staff to determine the level of risk and development an appropriate response to the incident. Intervention plans will be developed and shared with parents, staff and child/youth(s) as appropriate.
Can I refuse to participate?
It is important for all parties to engage in this process. However, if for some reason there is a reluctance by the threat maker or the parent/guardian to participate in the process, the threat assessment process will continue in order to ensure a safe and caring learning environment for all.
Do other school divisions follow the same process?
Our school division is a partner in the St. Albert and Sturgeon Regional Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) Protocol. The regional partnership includes school divisions, emergency services and community agencies, all working together for the safety of all children, youths and families.
Alberta Education developed this comprehensive resource to help parents better understand the Alberta Curriculum and other related information.
The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit educational organization which supplies a free online collection of over 2,200 micro lectures via video tutorials stored on YouTube teaching mathematics, history, finance, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and economics.
LearnAlberta.ca is a website that provides quality online resources to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) community in Alberta. Students, teachers, and parents will find multimedia learning resources that are based on Alberta Learning curriculum guidelines. LearnAlberta.ca is a safe, reliable, and innovative collection of learning resources developed by Alberta Learning in consultation with stakeholders. Within LearnAlberta.ca, the Online Reference Centre is a collection of multimedia encyclopedias – in both English and French – that can be accessed on LearnAlberta.ca. Reference material, which includes newspapers, magazines, books, maps, pictures, video, transcripts, and more, can be found for all grades and subject areas. A username and password to access this site can be obtained from the school Librarian or from your child’s teacher.
This St. Albert organization helps community members in times of need. Visit their website to learn more about their programs and services or how you can be of help.
The Family Resource Centre fosters healthy families in healthy communities by providing workshops, counselling and other programs to assist families in regaining a sense of power.
Alberta Health provides a number of links to information and resources on mental health, substances and addiction to help improve the health and mental well-being of Albertans.
This network of health professionals and organizations works together to coordinate services and to improve access to primary care services for residents.
St. Albert Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) provide preventive social services to the residents of St. Albert through direct service to the community as well as a range of services offered through FCSS funded community organizations.
The Developmental Assets are 40 research-based, positive experiences and qualities that influence young people’s development, helping them become caring, responsible and productive adults.
Drug Free Kids Canada encourages and supports parents to prevent and reduce the harms of problematic drug use by youth.