Editors: Reporters and photographers are welcome to attend. A complete schedule of events is available by calling (303) 492-4007 or e-mailing caughey@colorado.edu. The hotel is located near U.S. 36 and 104th Avenue at 10600 Westminster Blvd. in Westminster.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and prominent experts on school violence and school safety will gather in Westminster April 11-12 for the fourth annual Safe Communities-Safe Schools Conference sponsored by the CU-Boulder Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
The conference will bring together more than 200 teachers, school officials, law enforcement officers, researchers and community members to discuss what works and doesn't work in youth violence prevention. The Safe Communities-Safe Schools initiative, funded by The Colorado Trust, was developed in response to the Columbine tragedy in 1999.
Topics to be addressed include the terrorist siege at Beslan School in Russia, bullying behavior and prevention, threat assessment, school building security, Homeland Security, collaborating with law enforcement, an update on Columbine and statewide school safety initiatives.
The two-day conference at the Westin Westminster is full and has a waiting list. Some highlights of this year's conference include:
* "Colorado School Violence Prevention," keynote address by Suthers, 12:20 p.m. Monday
* "Safe2Tell," workshop session with Susan Payne, program director for Colorado Crime Stoppers and the Safe2Tell hotline initiative, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday.
* "And Words Can Hurt Forever: Protecting Kids From Bullying, Harassment and Emotional Violence," keynote address by James Garbarino, professor of human development at Cornell University and author of "Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them," 8:45 a.m. Tuesday.
* "Creating Safer Schools: The Safe Communities-Safe Schools Initiative," keynote address by Del Elliott, director of the CU-Boulder Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence and distinguished professor emeritus of sociology, noon, Tuesday. Elliott was senior science editor for Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General in 2000.
The conference is funded by The Colorado Trust and the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. For more information about The Colorado Trust visit .
The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence is part of the CU-Boulder Institute of Behavioral Science. For more information about the center visit .