What is Especially Safe?
Especially Safe is designed to help multidisciplinary teams address the safety and security needs of everyone. Through the Especially Safe Program, we detail how teams can plan and prepare, as well as teach and train, to meet the special needs of students, staff, and visitors in your school community – from developmental disabilities to communication challenges, medical needs to mobility challenges, and more. Through inclusive planning, we can create a culture of safety and security for all children, students, parents, and staff to depend on in emergencies of all kinds.
Program Highlights
Designed with multidisciplinary school safety teams and emergency managers in mind, Especially Safe:
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Ensures that teams develop strategies to meet the diverse safety needs of all stakeholders within the educational community
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Considers federal regulations that apply to all members of a community equally, including vulnerable populations within the community
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Leverages the TEAMS Framework for inclusive safety to help teams consider and plan for the safety of all community members
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Allows multidisciplinary teams to consider individuals who have access and functional needs and are serviced through programs, but also to look beyond these programs to identify other safety needs that may exist
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Utilizes a collaborative planning process that allows specific needs to be identified by those who know and work with the individual so that required accommodations for the individual can be planned for
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Provides for a formal plan to be developed, shared, and allows for regular review and changes to the plan as needed
Training Details
The Especially Safe training program is filled with hands-on activities and discussions to prepare individuals to implement this program with high fidelity.
The training covers:
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Understanding and using the TEAMS Framework to organize and prepare for the needs of community members such as students, staff, volunteers, parents, delivery personnel, substitutes, and guests
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How to gather information about the specific needs of community members and develop accommodations utilizing an Individual Safety Planning Team
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A collaborative planning process which equips Individual Safety Planning Teams to develop Individualized Safety Plans based on a set of identified criteria
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Instruction on best practices in terms of sharing, reviewing and updating the Individual Safety Plans
Not ready for training yet?
We invite you to dive deeper into Especially Safe with the Program Guide and Implementation Resources below!
The Guide
Here, you will find all the details related to our Especially Safe Program. This resource includes:
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How the program is mapped to our Comprehensive Approach to School Safety
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How planning teams can engage in the development of emergency operations plans that cover all hazards (fire, active assailant, weather, etc.) and all phases (prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery) of emergency management, while also ensuring that plans serve all members of the community.
Tools to Get Started
Resources and Supports to Facilitate Implementation of Especially Safe
Planning Templates & Tools
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Essential Questions for Inclusive Planning Checklist: This comprehensive checklist highlights important questions in various areas that must be considered when planning for all individuals.
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Inclusive Safety Planning Survey: Provides multidisciplinary teams a standardized way to identify and gather information on who may need an Individualized Safety Plan.
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Individual Safety Plan Template: Planning teams can use this template to get started on building comprehensive Individualized Safety Plans.
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Individual Safety Plan (Hazard/Protocol-Specific Template): Planning teams can use this template to build hazard- and protocol-specific Individual Safety Plans.
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Individual Go-Kit Checklist: This checklist allows teams to develop go-kits with specific individualized supplies that individuals may need to carry out their safety plan.
Classroom Activities & Discussion Guides
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Introduction: Safe to be Me: Demonstrate to learners what it means to be safe, feel safe, and how being safe helps us learn and grow.
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Help is All Around Me: Show learners how to identify helpers in our community and how they have the tools to keep us safe.
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I Can Speak Up for Safety: Equip learners to identify safety concerns and how to tell a helper about those concerns.
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Telling Not Tattling: Help learners understand the importance of reporting safety concerns to a trusted adult.
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Fire Safety: Teach learners the importance of fire safety and evacuation protocols.
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Wind and Weather Safety: Highlight various types of severe weather and safety protocols to stay safe.
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People and Animal Safety: Prepare learners to identify their “Stay Safe Choices” or actions in the event that an unsafe person/people or animal is inside or outside.
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Earthquake Safety: Enable learners to recognize that an earthquake can be a safety situation and how “drop, cover, and hold” can be used as a safety strategy.
Bring Safe and Sound Training
TO YOUR SCHOOL, DISTRICT OR ORGANIZATION!
Our expert team is dedicated to empowering school safety stakeholders across the U.S. and beyond with training and tailored consulting. If none of our existing programs are the perfect fit, we also offer customized consulting to help you strengthen your school safety efforts.
Please complete the form below to get started, and a member of our team will be in touch soon!