John Van Dreal, MEd. EdS

John Van Dreal has over 35 years of experience in threat assessment and management, crisis and behavioral intervention, and security/risk management systems consultation. He is a school psychologist and the retired director of Safety and Risk Management Services for the Salem-Keizer School District. He now consults with school districts and communities on behavioral threat assessment systems and operational security. 

He began the development and implementation of the Salem-Keizer Cascade Model in 1999. Through that collaboration, he has worked with educators, law enforcement, trial court personnel, juvenile justice, and mental health personnel in preventive behavioral threat assessment—the management of youth threats of aggression within the schools, institutions and community. He chaired Oregon’s Mid-Valley Student Threat Assessment Team from its inception in 2000 through 2015 and has served as a member of the Marion County Threat Advisory Team since 1999. 

He is the editor and principal author of Assessing Student Threats: Implementing The Salem-Keizer System, Second Edition. His most recent book (authored with Courtenay McCarthy and Coleen Van Dreal), Preventing Youth Violence: The Pathway Back through Inclusion and Connection, was released in March of 2022. He regularly provides training and consultation to national audiences on threat assessment systems, preventing and mitigating youth violence, school security and response options for violent intruder and active shooter situations.