Serving our schools since 2001
In 2001, Professor Dewey Cornell of the University of Virginia led a team of educators and researchers to develop a practical and effective set of guidelines for schools to use in responding to threats of violence. This model, the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG; formerly the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines) has been rigorously evaluated in controlled studies and large-scale implementation studies involving thousands of schools in multiple states. In 2013 it became the only threat assessment model to be recognized as an evidence-based practice by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. Over the past 20+ years, CSTAG has been widely disseminated in the United States and Canada.
CSTAG allows school‐based teams to follow a decision‐tree process to resolve less serious, transient threats quickly while focusing greater attention on more serious, substantive threats. Our threat assessment forms are freely available here.
See these links for information about our trainers, online training and live workshops, evaluations of our training, digital case management software, the CSTAG manual, and other resources and research. Use the contact form at the bottom of this page to learn more about our training services, available in the U.S. and Canada.
Jim Feger, Sharmila Mehta, Dewey Cornell, and Talisha Bond
Why Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management?
prevalence of School violence
School shootings have generated a widespread misconception that schools are not safe. On the contrary, national crime statistics show that school-age children are safer from shootings at school than almost any other location. However, there are many situations where students threaten to commit a violent act, and educators must make every effort to keep students and staff safe. Educators do not want to over-react to student threats that are not serious, yet they must recognize and take action in response to a serious threat. This is why leading authorities in education, law enforcement, and mental health recommend that schools use a systematic approach called threat assessment.
prevention is Possible
Since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, schools have spent billions of dollars in security measures to make their schools "hard targets" against shootings. However, prevention must start before there is a gunman at the school door. Prevention means building a supportive school climate, helping students in distress, and taking appropriate protective action before a conflict or problem escalates into violence. Schools do not need to predict who is going to commit a violent act if they focus on identifying and helping students in need of assistance. Our model of threat assessment is a problem-solving approach that involves both assessment and intervention to prevent violence.
Threat Assessment Is effective
Our research, conducted through the University of Virginia and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, shows that schools using threat assessment have resolved thousands of threats without serious injury. Moreover, schools using our model of threat assessment have substantial reductions in the use of school suspension and lower rates of bullying. On school climate surveys, students and teachers report feeling safer than in schools not using threat assessment. Finally, school staff representing administration, instruction, mental health, and law enforcement all report high levels of satisfaction, knowledge, and motivation regarding the use of threat assessment after attending our workshops.
“Prevention must start before there is a gunman at the school door. ”
Contact us.
Contact us for information about fees, scheduling and logistics.