Newswise — Indiana State University will host a workshop to help prepare police and school administrators to deal with shooting incidents like the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech. The International Tactical Officers Training Association will co-host the event with the ISU physical education department and ISU department of public safety.

The one-day workshop on June 5, "Active Shooters on Campus: Critical Strategies for Law Enforcement Officers & School Administrators," will feature experts in active-shooter encounters, high-stress scenarios, school security and violence, emergency management and close-quarters combat.

The workshop is geared toward administrators and counselors at junior and high schools, colleges and universities; school security officers; and state, city and campus law enforcement, from throughout the region.

"No one ever expects a situation like what happened at Virginia Tech, but what we can do is be prepared to the best of our ability, and that is what this workshop is about," said workshop coordinator Jason Winkle, assistant professor of physical education at ISU, and president of the International Tactical Officers Training Association.

Former director of combatives for the United States Military Academy at West Point, Winkle is an international presenter in the areas of SWAT, leadership in high-stress/high-fear environments, counter-terrorism tactics and ethical decision-making.

"School administrators can be a hindrance when they don't know the protocol for dealing with an active shooter. If they understand what's happening and what their role is, it lessens the fear and increases their ability to respond," Winkle said. "Our goal is to get everyone on the same page and train them so they are as prepared as possible for these worst-case scenarios."

Presenting with Winkle will be Louis Rapoli, a police sergeant in the School Safety Division of a major metropolitan police department on the East Coast, and a school security consultant; Dr. Dorene Hojnicki, director of the Vigo County Emergency Management Agency, and public health coordinator of the Vigo County Health Department; and Jeffrey Edwards, exercise physiologist, and chairperson and professor of Indiana State University's physical education department.

The deadline for registration is May 30, 2007. To register, call (812) 237-8479 or e-mail [email protected]. The cost is $50 and includes a continental breakfast, beverages and a snack.

Workshop agenda for June 5, 2007:

8:00-8:30 Registration, ISU's Hulman Memorial Student Union, Dede I8:30-9:50 Debrief of Virginia Tech Shooting & Update on School Violence in U.S. (Louis Rapoli)10:00-10:50 The Mindset for Combating Active Shooters (Jason Winkle)11:00-11:55 Understanding the Physiology of High-Fear & High-Stress Scenarios (Jeffrey Edwards)12:00-1:00 Lunch1:00-1:55 Emergency Management Agency's Role in Active-Shooter Encounters (Dorene Hojnicki)2:00-4:00 Active-Shooter Doctrine: Why We Must All Understand This Process (Jason Winkle)

Speakers:

- Louis Rapoli is a police sergeant in the School Safety Division of a major metropolitan police department on the East Coast, and a school security consultant. His primary assignment is to conduct preliminary investigations on all threats that come in to the metropolitan area's public school system, assess them and handle them accordingly. Sgt. Rapoli has been to Virginia to be debriefed on the Virginia Tech shooting, and will share what happened and how we can learn from this tragedy.

- Jason Winkle, recognized as a top international consultant and presenter in both military and law enforcement communities, is an assistant professor of physical education at Indiana State University, and president of the International Tactical Officers Training Association. Former director of combatives for the United States Military Academy at West Point, Winkle has more than 12 years of experience training members of the U.S. elite special operations community. His combat-readiness regimens have revolutionized the training approach utilized by numerous SWAT teams and military special operators. He has a Ph.D. in education, leadership, administration & foundations from Indiana State University; a master's in kinesiology and a bachelor's in philosophy, both from Indiana University.

- Dr. Dorene Hojnicki is the director of the Vigo County Emergency Management Agency, and public health coordinator of the Vigo County Health Department. Dr. Hojnicki has more than 30 years of experience in emergency medicine, working with first responders, law enforcement and EMS personnel. She is a board-certified emergency physician and serves as medical director for numerous volunteer fire departments in the Wabash Valley. As an emergency room registered nurse, she did her trauma training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She is the former medical director of student health services and team physician for Indiana State University.

- Jeffrey Edwards is an exercise physiologist, and chairperson and professor of Indiana State University's physical education department, and interim chairperson of athletic training. He received his Ph.D. in human performance with an emphasis in physiology from Indiana University. Edwards was a member of the Big Red Scientific expedition high-altitude research team that climbed Mt. McKinley in Alaska; he served as research director for the National Institute for Fitness and Sport in Indianapolis, and was instrumental in starting its research laboratories; and is the inventor of the GPAC (Global Positioning Activity Counter), a small, computerized device for measuring both physical activity and geographic location.

PHOTO: (download high-resolution photo of Winkle)http://ISUphoto.smugmug.com/photos/137142919-D.jpg