This session will focus on the importance of early intervention in reading and mathematics. Attendees will look at how early and ongoing difficulties in reading and math can contribute to patterns that show up as “behavior,” disengagement, chronic absenteeism, and later challenges. Attendees will learn how patterns first observed in elementary school can intensify across grade levels, influencing students’ academic trajectories, sense of belonging, and mental health. Early academic intervention requires a whole system and a whole child approach. An overview of the state framework for building a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) that proactively identifies and responds to the academic and behavioral needs of all students will be provided. 

Part 1: U.S. Secret Service Research, Analysis and Key Findings of Targeted and Averted School Violence

For over 25 years, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) has conducted research on the thinking and behaviors of those who commit acts of targeted school violence, in an effort to prevent future acts from occurring. Key findings from this research indicate that establishing multidisciplinary threat assessment teams and encouraging school communities to report concerning behaviors are critical steps in the prevention of targeted violence.

This presentation will highlight case studies, key findings, and recommendations from NTAC’s latest research reports examining targeted school violence and averted attacks at K-12 schools in the United States. It will also focus on how communities can use a multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment approach to identify and assess students exhibiting concerning or threatening behaviors and apply appropriate interventions to ensure safety and promote successful outcomes for the students.

Part 2: NTAC Case Study utilizing the Systems Approach

This interactive case study utilizes the NTAC Systems Approach to examine the behavioral background and life circumstances of an individual of concern. The presenter will use specific question prompts to engage the audience in discussion surrounding procedural considerations, opportunities for additional information gathering and assessment, and strategies for intervention and response.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Becoming a certified trainer of QPR’s industry-leading approach to suicide prevention is an excellent way for K–12 educators to empower their school communities to effectively intervene on behalf of suicidal and in-crisis individuals.

Attendees will learn to:

• Understand the nature, range, and importance of suicidal communications and their role in preventing suicide
• Review the groups at greatest risk of suicide and why QPR can be effective for them
• Train participants to teach QPR gatekeeper training for suicide prevention
• Gain a historical perspective on suicide prevention and how QPR fits into national efforts
• Acquire specific knowledge about how audiences may respond to the QPR message and how to react in a helpful manner
• Learn how to effectively promote suicide prevention in their own communities
• Gain the competence and confidence to teach others how to save lives and help prevent suicidal behaviors

After completing the training, participants will hold a three-year certification, receive 25 QPR classroom booklets, and be equipped to host training workshops in their school district or building.

This full-day (6-hour) training introduces attendees to the Community Resilience Model (CRM), a practical, skills-based approach for understanding stress and building nervous system awareness. Attendees will learn how stress and trauma show up in the body and behavior, and how simple, concrete skills can help restore balance, increase self-awareness, and support regulation in everyday moments. The training emphasizes the importance of “putting your own mask on first” as a foundation for prevention and well-being.

The session combines content with hands-on practice, allowing attendees to experience CRM skills in real time and explore how they can be applied across a variety of settings. CRM skills are adaptable, culturally responsive, and appropriate for all ages and roles, making this training relevant for educators, administrators, support staff, behavioral health professionals, and community partners. Attendees will leave with practical tools they can use immediately to manage stress, prevent escalation, and support others without absorbing or carrying their distress.

Sources of Strength Workplace Wellness is designed to support educators and school staff in building protective factors, strengthening resilience, and creating a positive workplace culture. This session introduces the Sources of Strength model and how it can be adapted for staff wellness, including strategies to enhance peer support, increase connectedness, and promote hope and coping skills. Attendees will explore practical approaches to implementing workplace wellness practices that reduce burnout and improve staff morale. The session will include examples of staff-based activities, strategies for building support networks, and methods for sustaining wellness efforts over time.

Sources of Strength Workplace Wellness is designed to support educators and school staff in building protective factors, strengthening resilience, and creating a positive workplace culture. This session introduces the Sources of Strength model and how it can be adapted for staff wellness, including strategies to enhance peer support, increase connectedness, and promote hope and coping skills. Attendees will explore practical approaches to implementing workplace wellness practices that reduce burnout and improve staff morale. The session will include examples of staff-based activities, strategies for building support networks, and methods for sustaining wellness efforts over time.

Welcome: 8:00am – 8:15am

Idaho Department of Education 

Opening Keynote: 8:15am – 9:30am

"What I Wish You Knew" Teen Panel 

Session 1: 9:45am – 10:45am

CATCH My Breath: A Peer to Peer Approach 

From Data to Upstream Action: Using Idaho Youth Well-Being Survey Insights to Build Communities Where Youth Thrive

From Helping with Homework to Attachment: The Hidden Impacts of AI Chatbots

Idaho Standard Command Response Systems

Inside the 2026 Idaho Legislative Session: What Education and Prevention Leaders Need to Know

Session 2: 11:00am – 12:00pm

Community Resource and Asset Mapping: Strengthening School Systems Through Strategic Partnerships

Crisis Communication When Trust Is on the Line Planning, Presence, and Leadership in High-Pressure Moments

Reunification Planning in Remote or Under-Resourced Areas

TCOM 101 for Educators: Using Shared Tools to Identify Needs and Strengths Across Systems

Lunch: 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Exhibitors

Networking

Tabletop Activities 

Session 3: 1:00pm – 2:30pm

Building Community and Family Partners: Parent CAFÉ

Connection and Curiosity: What to Do with Kids Today to Prevent Bigger Issues Tomorrow

From Helping with Homework to Attachment: The Hidden Impacts of AI Chatbots

Online Threats and the Radicalization of Juveniles: An Educators Guide to Awareness of Current Concerning Online Trends and Potential Indicators

Small Pouches, Big Concerns: Nicotine and Caffeine Use Among Adolescents

Closing Keynote: 2:45pm – 4:45pm

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

Welcome: 8:00am – 8:30am

Superintendent Debbie Critchfield

Opening Keynote: 8:30am – 9:45am

When the Unthinkable Happens: Lessons in Crisis Leadership from the University of Idaho Murders

Session 1: 10:00am – 11:30am

Believe-In over Buy-In: How to Help Staff Understand Functional Behavior and Apply it to Your Schoolwide Systems

Early Prevention to Later Success

Safety Awareness: Fostering a Culture

Supportive Reporting: Abuse vs. Neglect

The Code of Ethics for Idaho Professional Educators and Ethical Decision Making

Lunch: 11:30am - 12:30pm

Exhibitors

Networking

Tabletop Activities

Session 2: 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Collaborating for a Safer, Healthier Tomorrow

Developing Connections with Every Student: A Perspective of a Teaching Shepherd Who Has Had Over 9,000 Souls Be a Part of His Flock

IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS

Motivational Interviewing for Educators Part 1: Empowering Conversations with Students

Silence Your Phones: It's Time to Learn

Session 3: 1:45pm – 2:45pm

CATCH My Breath: A Peer to Peer Approach

Emergency Preparedness Tabletop Exercise

Inside the 2026 Idaho Legislative Session: What Education and Prevention Leaders Need to Know

Motivational Interviewing for Educators Part 2: Deepening Skills and Rolling with Resistance

Stand Tall Leadership

Closing Keynote: 3:00pm – 4:15pm

Standing Tall Through it ALL