St. Thomas Aquinas Roman (STAR) Catholic Schools and Wild Rose School Division are among the Drayton Valley partners that have come together to share information and work collaboratively for protection, safety and betterment of youth and the public.

STAR Catholic, Wild Rose School Division, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Alberta Health Services and Children and Family Services recently signed a Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) Protocol for the Drayton Valley area. The two school boards met March 22, 2017 to celebrate the signing and discuss the early effectiveness of the protocol.

“Working together with all of our community partners is always a major priority,“ stated Superintendent, Brad Volkman. “The success of our programs is measured through the benefit they bring to our students and we are already seeing this new approach work very well.”

The VTRA Protocol’s give all partners that work with youth - the schools, police, social workers and mental health professionals - the same ‘lens’ in which to examine worrisome behaviour. The partners share the same terminology and analysis-understanding, as they bring their expertise together to recognize symptoms and signs of a potentially dangerous issue, working together to resolve it.