Grant provides crisis prevention, de-escalation training to Trine students

Students in Trine University’s Franks School of Education (FSOE) will receive training in nonviolent crisis prevention and verbal de-escalation thanks to a grant from the Steuben County Community Foundation.

The grant allowed Chelsea Superczynski, assistant professor in FSOE, to receive training and certification through the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). CPI training programs are designed to help identify, prevent and de-escalate crises.

The certification allows Superczynski to train Trine’s teacher candidates. FSOE students who will complete their degrees at the end of the spring 2024 semester received the training prior to student teaching, as will all FSOE teacher candidates going forward.

Many FSOE teacher candidates complete their student teaching in Steuben County, and a number of them choose to teach in the county following graduation.

Superczynski said CPI training is popular in K-12 education and is helpful when working with students of all backgrounds and abilities.

“When I worked in K-12 education, I saw the importance of recognizing when students are escalating and knowing what to do and say to calm them,” she said. “I wanted to bring this training to our students at Trine so that they could start their teaching career with these skills.” 

“During the process of writing the grant, I spoke to many teachers and administrators in K-12. All agreed that this training would be a major benefit for our students. Many administrators said they wished all teachers had this training. When teachers can identify students who are escalating and potentially prevent a crisis, everyone wins.”