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Offered Spring 2028
Tuesday evenings, 5:30pm – 8:00pm (Pacific Time), online synchronous format.
Class dates: Mar 7, Mar 14, Mar 21, Mar 28, Apr 4, Apr 11, Apr 18, Apr 25
Tuition: $1,000
We are a Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) clock hour provider approved by the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB).
Prepares students to lead, sustain, and continuously improve BTAM efforts within educational systems. Building on foundational concepts and applied research, students will develop the leadership competencies necessary to guide multidisciplinary teams, shape policy, and institutionalize best practices across schools and districts. Focuses on leadership skills, including team facilitation, conflict resolution, ethical decision-making, and strategic communication with diverse stakeholders such as students, families, educators, law enforcement, and community partners. Students will examine best practice frameworks for program implementation, fidelity, and scalability, as well as methods for training personnel and fostering a culture of safety, trust, and prevention. Emphasis is placed on aligning BTAM practices with the latest research, legal requirements, district policies, and equity-centered approaches.
Over the course of the quarter, students will:
- Learn leadership skills to guide and sustain school BTAM teams
- Develop and implement policies and protocols aligned with best practices and legal standards
- Facilitate effective collaboration among multidisciplinary stakeholders
- Design training and professional development programs for school BTAM teams
- Evaluate program effectiveness and ensure fidelity to evidence-based models
- Lead crisis response and post-incident recovery efforts
- Promote equitable, culturally responsive, and ethically grounded practices in school safety initiatives
Courtenay McCarthy
School Psychologist, Senior Advisor of School Safety Solutions; Public Consulting Group
Courtenay is a school psychologist and senior advisor of school safety solutions for Public Consulting Group. She served over a decade as the lead school psychologist in student threat assessment and management for Salem-Keizer Public Schools, conducting multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessments, chairing the Mid-Valley Student Threat Assessment Team, providing daily consultation to school staff, community partners, and families, engaging in ongoing program development, and providing ongoing training and professional development to school staff and community partners.
While partnering with John Van Dreal, she has refined the SK Cascade student threat assessment system to reflect leading practice in behavioral threat assessment, violence prevention, early intervention, and equitable practices. Courtenay has over 25 years of experience in threat assessment and management, psychoeducational evaluation, intervention with at-risk youth and families, and behavioral consultation and intervention. As a certified threat manager and nationally certified school psychologist, she regularly provides training and consultation on student threat assessment systems implementation and youth violence to school districts and community agencies throughout the nation. She also provides workshops, symposiums, and content presentations to national audiences. Courtenay’s areas of interest and expertise include best practices in K-12 behavioral threat assessment and management leadership, the dynamics of implementing and maintaining BTAM systems in K-12 schools, and the intersection of BTAM and special education. In addition, Courtenay is a co-author of the book Youth Violence Prevention: The Pathway Back Through Inclusion and Connection (Van Dreal, McCarthy, Van Dreal, 2022) and contributing author to the book, Assessing Student Threats: Implementing the Salem-Keizer System – Second Edition (Van Dreal, 2017).
