EAST LANSING, Mich. (News 10) – A program at Michigan State University called Prevent 2 Protect aims to stop school violence before it turns into tragedy.The program brings mentors, social workers, and law enforcement officers into a team to help students get back on the right path.“We don’t want teachers to be the ones blocking doors or standing in front of kids to keep them safe. So what can we do to help prevent that?” said Megan Goldstein, lead case manager of the program.The team behind the program said there are often warning signs before a student commits an act of school violence that go unnoticed. Workers with the program hope that changes.Prevent 2 Protect aims to respond to warning signs before they turn into violence in schools.“We know that these events of mass violence are planned ahead of time, they’re not just snap decisions. And we are looking at what kind of risk factors they are showing,” Goldstein said.When a tragedy happens at a school, police use every resource available to stop anyone from getting hurt.“The first ones that are on scene, we’re going to go in there and eliminate that threat,” said Lt. Rene Gonzalez of the Michigan State Police.But preventative measures could mean lives are saved before police have to respond.Goldstein said when a student is reported, a team of social workers, mental health experts and law enforcement officers can respond.“Looking at, ‘Is this something that was reactionary, is there a specific target, does the student show signs of planning or premeditation,’” Goldstein said.Gonzalez said it is not uncommon for warning signs to be ignored.“We’ve had instances on the east side of the state where someone maybe knew something, didn’t say anything — and now we’ve got students that have been killed by someone that brought a firearm to the school,” Gonzalez said.Goldstein said it is hard to quantify how many tragedies are prevented by this kind of intervention.“How do you say how many lives have been saved because we got a student who was really struggling back on the right track, connected with their community, giving them that sense of competence and contribution,” Goldstein said.In the past four years, Prevent 2 Protect has received more than 140 referrals from school districts. It has conducted more than 100 community consultations across the state.People who notice warning signs of violence are encouraged to report them to the program or through the state’s OK2SAY tip line.Stream News 10 Lansing on your favorite devices! Here’s how to download the News 10+ app on Roku, Fire TV or Apple TV.Be the first to see the Mid-Michigan headlines you care about – download the News 10+ app and subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and YouTube page to receive the latest local news and weather.Copyright 2026 WILX. All rights reserved.
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