In this Learning Lab episode, Kathleen Bates, Youth Initiatives Coordinator, sits down with Makaylla Talavera, a graduate from Pasadena Memorial High School’s class of 2025. On the evening of Saturday, February 1, 2025, gunshots erupted during a band competition, chaos and fear began to spread and while students, staff, and families fled for safety, the shooter was quickly disarmed. While the four men who detained the shooter were honored for their heroism, another hero went unknown and unrecognized. That hero is Makaylla Talavera. This interview recounts those chaotic moments as gunshots erupted and how Makaylla applied her Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training to evacuate the gunshot victim and save his life. Makaylla also shares her thoughts on how schools can help teens be prepared for any emergency. If you are interested in learning more about engaging students in grades 1-12 in emergency preparedness or how you can host a Youth Emergency Preparedness Training, visit Ready.gov/kids for curriculum lesson plans, games, social media toolkits, how to start a youth preparedness program, information about Teen CERT, and more.

In this Learning Lab episode, host Dr. Celina Bley speaks with staff from two Texas fusion centers to discuss their role in Texas and how they can assist school districts, specifically with school behavioral threat assessments. They discuss how centers collaborate with law enforcement and the importance of having current contact information for the growing number of school district police departments in Texas. They also discuss the Texas Suspicious Activity Reporting Network (iWatchTexas) and the specific reporting process for school safety related reports.

In this Learning Lab episode, host Dr. Celina Bley speaks with staff from Mineola ISD, a district that has developed a Guardian Program alongside their own ISD police department. Staff discuss why they developed the program in addition to their law enforcement presence as well as how they intentionally train their guardians beyond the minimum requirements. Their school safety philosophy is elaborated to detail how their vision is implemented to expand their school safety posture.

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.