Five Lincoln-based safety professionals showed this winter why Lincoln Public Schools is a national leader in protecting students, staff and families.
 
Members of the LPS threat assessment team traveled to the Orlando, Fla., area for the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) Winter Conference. Jon Sundermeier, Allyson Headrick, Liesel Hogan, Kristi Lange and Nate Hill spoke with state, national and international threat assessment experts during the trip. Sundermeier was also selected to give a presentation for an audience that included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secret Service and renowned medical schools.
 
LPS Director of Security Joe Wright said the team’s time in Florida will directly help the Lincoln community.
 
“We’re getting the best training available at the ATAP conference,” Wright said. “The training there is at a high-class level, and we’re able to build up our network of professionals that we can contact.”
 
“National training provided by ATAP involves learning directly from top researchers and experts in the field, which is required to maintain best practices within our work doing behavioral threat assessment,” Headrick said.
 
“Something that is reinforced every time I attend an ATAP conference or training is how the threat assessment process is truly a hopeful process,” Lange said. “When teams provide needed resources and stabilizers, we start to see a sense of hope being instilled with our students and families.”
 
Wright helped establish the threat assessment system at LPS when he joined the school district in 2013. He worked with Mario Scalora, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and international expert on threat assessment, to create a prevention-based process.
 
Scalora said LPS team members are respected across the country for their high-quality work.
 
“The scope and extent of what the team does is well-regarded,” Scalora said. “They cover an array of issues and make sure there is a comprehensive approach to every situation.”
 
National leaders showed their high regard for LPS by selecting Sundermeier to give one of the ATAP presentations. He was the only person employed at a K-12 school district who spoke at the conference.
 
“It’s really fantastic because not a lot of K-12 practitioners are chosen to present,” Wright said. “To have Jon be selected is really impressive. It shows what an excellent resume he has and how fortunate we are to have him here at LPS.”
 
Sundermeier spent 31 years at Lincoln Police Department before joining LPS in 2017. He is one of only 170 people in the world who are certified threat managers (CTM) with ATAP.
 
Scalora said the LPS team is helping many people feel safe and secure across the city.
 
“It’s always great to brag up the excellent work that’s being done in Lincoln,” Scalora said.
 
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