BTAM in Action: Prevention Beyond the School Day
Warning signs do not always appear during school hours or within the school building. Concerning behavior can surface during evenings, weekends, holiday breaks, in digital environments, and anywhere else in the community, making it important for prevention efforts to extend beyond the school setting.
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) provides a framework for recognizing, assessing, and managing concerning behavior. When schools and law enforcement have established reporting pathways and multidisciplinary teams that work together, preventing violence is more likely.
The following case from the Averted School Violence Project Database highlights the importance of maintaining systems year-round and the partnership between school teams and law enforcement.
Before the First Day
In this case, established systems helped prevent violence in Louisiana when a report of concerning online activity came in before the start of the school year.
In August of 2024, a 16-year-old student was arrested after allegedly making threats of violence towards his school. According to reports, the student contacted two other classmates through social media and by phone and made threats about the beginning of the year.
The student of concern reportedly told his two classmates that they would not make it past the first day of school, stating “if you go to school on the first day, you’re not going to leave alive, and then if you are there at the end of the day, you’re going to be running for your life.” The communication was not only concerning, but it was also behavior indicating that the student was progressing on the pathway to violence.
Even though school was on summer break at this time, the threats were reported to local law enforcement. They were able to investigate the report and arrest the student before the start of the school year. The intervention by local authorities meant the threat could be addressed before students returned to campus and before it could escalate.
This case demonstrates the importance of strong systems that do not rely on one specific environment. Prevention cannot depend on concerning behaviors occurring within school walls or during school hours. Warning signs may surface anywhere from text messages, social media posts, phone calls, or conversations in the community. Knowing what to look for, how to report, and who to report to are critical to the success of prevention.
Year-Round Prevention
It's important to remember that concerning behaviors and problems do not start or stop at school doors. While students may not be physically present in the building, concerning behaviors, grievances, and warning signs may still exist.
BTAM is strongest when established reporting pathways are known and consistently used. Students, parents, staff, and community members need to understand what to look for, where to report, and what information to share.
Despite the threat emerging during summer break, an established BTAM team and relationships with local law enforcement helped to ensure that it was taken seriously, and intervention took place before any harm could occur.
Strong year-round practices rely on:
Clear reporting pathways that remain accessible even when school is not in session.
Community education so students, families, and community members know how to recognize and report concerning behavior.
Established relationships with local law enforcement and other community partners who understand the school’s BTAM process and their role within it.
BTAM processes do not begin and end when the school day does. Maintaining these systems and relationships year-round helps ensure that when concerning behavior does surface, the right people are prepared to respond.
Cases like this are a powerful reminder of everything we can learn from averted incidents. By understanding what worked, from reporting pathways to strong community partnerships, schools can identify opportunities to strengthen their own efforts and intervene earlier. To review more cases from real work done in the field, you can sign up for access to the Adverted School Violence Database, a free resource built for school leaders, local law enforcement and multidisciplinary BTAM teams to learn from.
Build on Your BTAM Foundation
Sessions including Lessons in Prevention and 5 Ways Schools Can Identify Threats Before They Escalate will be explored during our upcoming BTAM Foundations: Threat Assessment Training Virtual Summit. Learn from experts in the field as they share practical strategies, real-world insights, and foundational practices for identifying concerns early, strengthening prevention efforts, and building effective behavioral threat assessment and management practices.
Ready to take your learning a step further? Map your stops on the Road to Prevent. Join us at one or a few stops across the country to dive deeper into BTAM, learn alongside experts and peers, and bring information back to your community that’ll make an impact.
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