Sandy Hook Mom To Speak At Valley View School Safety Conference

BOLINGBROOK, IL — A mother who lost her daughter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Connecticut and an internationally-recognized expert on school safety, drug-use, and bullying will be the featured speakers at the Sept. 28 Valley View School District 365U School Safety Conference in Bolingbrook.

Michele Gay, who co-founded the “Safe and Sound” initiative in honor of her daughter, Josephine, and in memory of 19 other children and six teachers lost on Dec. 14, 2012, will tell her inspiring story, including the lessons she has learned and methods she believes will help the nation’s school communities improve school safety.

Dr. Stephen Sroka, who went from living in the “projects” to being a professor, from the “hood” to the National Teachers Hall of Fame, from living in obscurity to being on "Oprah," will bring his world-famous “The Power of One” presentation to Bolingbrook as he continues his efforts to show how “The Power of One” and “The Power of Many” can change the lives of children, parents, schools, and communities.

Designed for school safety administrators, student services personnel, district and school-level administrators, municipal administrators, emergency service personnel, school resource officers, police officials, fire officials, deans, and counselors, the action-packed program will also include speakers from the FBI, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board, Linden Oaks Hospital, the law firm of Robbins & Schwartz and the Orland Park, Romeoville and Bolingbrook police departments.

Topics include: Keeping Kids Safe in a Toxic Society, Behavioral Indicators of Potential Violence, Active Shooter Preparedness, Student Behavior Threat Analysis, Best Practices for First Responders, Mental Health First Aid, bullying prevention and much more.

Not only will both keynote speakers conduct breakout sessions, but they will also participate in a working lunch Q&A discussion.

Space is limited for the 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. conference. Online registration is available for $99 per person at www.vvsd.org/modernview. Lunch is included for all registrants. The conference will take place at Bolingbrook Golf Club, 2001 Rodeo Drive, Bolingbrook.

“We’re proud to be able to bring world-class experts on school safety to this conference,” said Leroy Brown, who oversees VVSD’s nationally-recognized school safety program. “It’s important for all of us to work together to maintain a safe learning environment for our children.” Brown is a longtime Bolingbrook village trustee, a former Cook County Sheriff's deputy and Vietnam veteran, as well as a renowned safety expert who served as head of security for the Sears Tower for more than three decades.

Nearly 300 people from throughout the Midwest attended VVSD’s highly successful school safety conference in 2008. A similar number is expected on Sept. 28.

Submitted by Valley View School District

Photo: This undated file photo provided by the Gay family shows Josephine Gay, killed Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/The Gay Family, File)