Tag Archive for: school security

School safety is a process, not a product. It takes a village – students, parents, teachers, Student Resource Officers (SROs), custodians, lunch ladies, counselors—everyone has to be involved.

Safe and Sound Schools’ comprehensive school safety framework identifies six key components to school safety and security: mental and behavioral health; health and wellness; physical safety and security; culture, climate, and community; leadership, law, and policy; and operations and emergency management. But it’s not about being the expert in all six, but rather partnering with the experts like the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS). Together, we’ve developed a list of five questions everyone should ask about safety and security.

1. Does Your School Have a Current School Safety Policy?

Your school’s safety and security policy should involve an emergency operations plan (EOP) and security plan. Comprehensive plans—and the policies and procedures to implement them—form the foundation of school safety and security. Without proper policies and procedures in place, it is impossible to successfully use security technology and other security measures, regardless of how advanced they may be. Effective policies and procedures alone can mitigate risks, and there are often no costs associated with implementing them.

The PASS Guidelines include essential security-specific policies and processes, broken down by the five layers of school safety and security (district-wide, property, parking lot, building, and classroom/interior; see Guidelines for details).

2. What Drills Are in Place to Help Students and Staff Respond to Emergencies?

As the widespread success of fire drills has demonstrated, drills are critical to the success of your school’s emergency response both for students and teachers. The need for “lockdown” drills has grown due to the unique circumstances of an active shooter event. Whether in a school, business, or other public space, best practices now dictate having a lockdown protocol as the major component of an effective safety plan when escape is not possible. Schools should keep the age of their students in mind when designing exercises and training. The PASS Guidelines include recommendations for how to conduct lockdown drills, as well as tips on how to design a drill that works best for your school.

3. Does Your School Have a Team Assigned Specifically to Student Safety?

Your school should have a safety and security team that comprises, at minimum, the following key stakeholders to the K-12 environment:

  • security director;
  • school administrator;
  • security/systems integrator (or consultant);
  • IT director;
  • local police and fire officials; and
  • a school-based health care professional.

For larger or more complex projects, it’s best to have a hardware consultant on board as well.

4. Have School Administrators and Security Personnel Been Trained on Crisis Management?

Teachers and staff are essential to a successful emergency response. Staff should act on their own in an emergency when direction is not available, and—at a minimum—be trained on:

  • What to do in an emergency;
  • How to make independent decisions and act on them immediately;
  • What strategies and options they can use under various circumstances;
  • Who is responsible for what, and their individual roles; and
  • How to communicate with police, first responders, and others responding to the emergency.

5. Do Students Know How to Report Suspicious Incidents?

Ideally, a counselor or mental health professional has spoken with students about identifying red flags and what to do about it. Schools should also seriously consider anonymous reporting systems, which have deterred school violence in the past. The PASS Guidelines provide guidance on how to best implement anonymous tip reporting processes.


About PASS

First established in 2014, the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) brings together expertise from the education, public safety and industry communities to develop and support a coordinated approach to making effective use of proven security practices specific to K-12 environments, and informed decisions on security investments.

 

Mark Williams, physical safety expert and Chair for the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools discusses the newly released PASS Safety and Security Guidelines with Safe and Sound Schools.

The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) just released the 5th edition of its Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools. Who should read them and why?  

The Guidelines were originally introduced in response to schools in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting.  Schools were struggling to understand what they needed to do.  Specifically, their questions fit into a handful of categories:

  • How do we assess our current state of safety and security?
  • What should we do? What are other schools doing? Vetted best practices.
  • Where should we start?

While the original Guidelines were oriented around providing a roadmap for schools to follow to answer those questions, they have evolved to be a resource that is useful for other stakeholders in the safe schools environments, like architects who design schools, general contractors who build schools, emergency responders, and parents.  All these folks are involved in taking an all hazards approach to enhancing the safety of our schools.

Who endorses the 2020 guidelines?

We have many organizations that support, reference and endorse the PASS Guidelines and Checklist, including Safe and Sound Schools.  The PASS Guidelines are listed as the only non-governmental document on physical security within the Department of Homeland Security SchoolSafety.gov website.  PASS is also referenced in the National Fire Prevention Association’s NFPA 3000 ASHER standard as well as the Federal Report on School Safety and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commission Report.  The State of Ohio in their “School Safety Report and Recommendations” recommended that all public K-12 schools in the state of Ohio should meet with PASS Tier 1 requirements.  Additionally, COPS (The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services) which is a component with the United States Department of Justice, published a list of the 10 Essential Actions to Improve School Safety.  PASS was included in that Top 10 list.

What’s new in this year’s guidance?

There is a lot of new material in the 5th Edition. We are very excited to finally release it. Some highlights include:

  • An expanded conversation on non-code compliant barricade devices
  • New technology around Zone Emergency Response Systems which dramatically reduce the time it takes to get emergency responders to the exact location on school campus or building
  • Guidance on Lockdown Drills – what should they be and what they shouldn’t be
  • Enhanced Visitor Management practices
  • Grounds assessment and use policies
  • Recommendations on the installation of audio/video call boxes in various layers of school security
  • Architectural elements like delineating hard corners in classrooms in order to have room occupants shelter in safe places during a lockdown
  • An enhanced Checklist Tool which enables schools to document both current state and serves as a planning document going forward.
  • A new section on Emerging Technologies. These are technologies we see evolving and being tested in the k12 environment.

We are really pleased with it and hope to see even more schools make use of the updated guide.

What is the biggest takeaway for schools? 

We believe the biggest takeaway for schools is that the Guidelines and Checklist tools are evolving in a very dynamic environment to reflect the current vetted best practices from around the country.  We have a cross functional Advisory Committee of experts that are out in our school environments every day and are dedicated to making sure our schools are as safe as possible.

How can people access the new PASS guidelines? And how do you see schools using this free resource from the experts at PASS?

The Guidelines and Checklist tools are available as a no cost download at https://passk12.org/guidelines-resources/.

Schools are finding this document easy to understand and a helpful tool in assessing their current environment and a planning tool for their future needs.  It also provides a platform and resource to assist schools to pursue grants that are available for school safety and security equipment and training as well as a document to help them establish effective and appropriate solutions for enhancing the safety and security of their environments.

We set out to provide free, clear, and unbiased guidance for school leaders and decision makers when we started the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools.  We are thrilled to see more and more schools taking advantage of the resource and grateful for partners like Safe and Sound Schools spreading the word.


Guest Author:

Mark Williams served for over 30 years in the Safety and Security Industry in a number of leadership roles. He also has 15 years of experience teaching life safety codes and sits on the NFPA 3000 ASHER (Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response) technical committee. Mark has been involved with Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) since 2014 and currently serves as its Board Chairman.

When I sat down to talk with John McDonald, a nationally-recognized school security expert, I knew I had to share some of his thoughts and lessons with you. So I recorded our conversation and edited down some key points for you. This is the first conversation in a series we’re calling “The Sound Off.” More on that later this year…

Back to John. This man is quite simply, incredible.

Even though John joined Jefferson County after the Columbine shooting, he has endured three horrendous experiences… things we hope nobody else has to go through… one abduction and two shootings. Suffice it to say, we can all learn from John. He has so much experience, working for 10-plus years in his community, honing communications, processes, and overall security. He knows what works, and what doesn’t.

Sure, John’s commitment to his school community is impressive. But his accomplishments highlight the importance of having someone dedicated to school safety. From the assessments, training, and ongoing discussions he drives, John is involving the whole community and changing perceptions about school safety.

We all thank you, John, for all you do to keep these school communities safe. You are a beacon of strength, a foundation of hope, and thread of connection helping to keep your community strong.


Alissa Parker, Co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools

By Kevin Quinn

There has been much talk about school safety and active shooters. One solution discussed at great lengths is arming school staff to deter and respond to an active shooter. Some people say the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. I wish it were that easy, but there are several considerations to take when the topic of arming school staff members arises. For today’s blog, I will discuss two primary issues, identification and training. In Part 2 of this blog post, I will cover the remaining issues.

Identification

schoolsecurity-6c52aaecAs a police officer, I wear a uniform that identifies me to other officers and the public. Even if responders can’t see my face, they know I am not the suspect and can react accordingly when locating the threat. Unfortunately, teachers do not dress any differently than regular civilians and do not stand out in a crowd at a school – especially high schools and colleges where the students are older than elementary school students.

Furthermore, when officers arrive at the scene of an active shooter, our first goal is to end the violence. As we attempt to locate the suspect, we look for someone with a weapon. Imagine we come across Mr. Jones, the math teacher, in the hallway with his gun drawn. Chances are, Mr. Jones will be detained until his identity can be confirmed. That is, of course, if Mr. Jones doesn’t react in a way the officers deem a threat. In that case, there is a possibility of injury. But here’s another alarming variable –time – precious time that officers should be spending locating and apprehending the suspect.

Training

How much training will the armed staff members receive when the program is put into place? How much on-going annual training will they receive? How many hours will a staff member train before being allowed to carry a gun in schools? Depending on the location in the country, I have heard everything from eight to 24 hours of firearms training. It is important to realize that being able to shoot holes in paper does NOT mean you are ready for a potential deadly-force encounter. That readiness comes with intensive force-on-force training, decision-making scenarios, and high-stress combat shooting.

As you can see, identification and training alone raise several questions we need to consider before deciding to arm our school staff members. Look for Part 2 of the blog post, later this week.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Kevin Quinn is a 20-year veteran police officer and SRO in Arizona and the former President of the National Association of School Resource Officers. He is the current President of the Arizona School Resource Officers Association as well as an advisor to several school safety organizations. He can be reached on Twitter @klah316 or email kquinn@asroa.org.

Q1-Blog-Picture1
January, February, and March have come and gone with Safe and Sound Schools bringing its message to new communities and new social media channels.

This year’s first quarter started with the culmination of the Shine A Light for Safer Schools campaign, the holiday fundraiser we launched last November. Safe and Sound Schools raised over $3,500 through online and mail donations, some of which has already been used to update our free online materials and website.

By mid January, Safe and Sound Schools turned its focus to onboarding new students from PRLab, Boston University’s student-run public relations agency. This is Safe and Sound Schools’ fourth time working with PRLab students who help the organization meet its outreach initiatives.  We are lucky to have such great talent from BU to support our growing organization!

In the months of February and March, Safe and Sound team members travelled to several communities across the country. Michele travelled across the state of Tennessee, presenting to full houses of school administrators, educators, mental health professionals, and law enforcement in Knoxville, Murfreesboro, and Jackson, Tennessee. She then made her way to the Midwest to present to an audience of over 150 at the 2016 Tuscarawas County School Safety Summit in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Michele concluded her February travels in Baltimore, Maryland. Joined by her husband, Bob Gay, Michele accepted a $20,000 endowment award from the BFG Community Foundation, an organization dedicated to affecting positive change in local communities by supporting charitable organizations.

In early March, Frank DeAngelis, Safe and Sound speaker & former principal of Columbine High School and Paul Timm, Safe and Sound advisor & author of School Security:  How to Build and Strengthen a School Safety Program, presented at the Axis School Safety Symposium in Syracuse, NY.  On the same day, Michele traveled back to the South, to Decatur, Alabama, where she presented to a room of approximately 400 administrators, educators, law enforcement, and mental health professionals at the 14th Annual Alabama Child Safety Conference.

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 5.43.35 PM

By mid March, Safe and Sound Schools launched it’s new website, complete with new additions, including a Press Room, Speaker’s Bureau, and an improved user-friendly interface.  We’ll continue to add to the site this year.

March also found us busy in Massachusetts, with Michele attending the Massachusetts Juvenile Police Officers Association conference and working with three local school districts, to support the unique efforts of each community to improve school safety.  We are excited to see our collaborative model take hold close to home and across the country!

Communications efforts continued with Safe and Sound Schools using social media platforms to celebrate social work month, highlighting and celebrating the contributions and positive impact social workers have on school safety and children. We concluded March and social work month with featured guest blogger & Safe and Sound Schools advisor, Shari Nacson, a Cleveland-based clinical social worker specializing in child development.

To keep up with Safe and Sound Schools daily, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and now, Instagram. Stay tuned for more about our spring travels and additions to our new speaker’s bureau in the next quarter.

 

 

 

 

 

Donation to fund school safety programs in Maryland

Baltimore, Md. – February 29, 2016 – BFG Community Foundation, Inc., during their 2016 Champion in Life Gala, bestowed a $20,000 endowment award to Safe and Sound Schools in recognition of its ongoing efforts to educate communities about proactive school safety measures.

With this endowment award, Safe and Sound Schools will establish a School Safety Series exclusively for Maryland school districts. During this education initiative, Safe and Sound will be able to impart important lessons about better planning, management and recovery strategies to improve a community’s resiliency during a school-based emergency.

“The Safe and Sound Schools team has courageously shared the lessons learned from the tragic Newtown shooting and created a growing movement focused on improving school safety,” said Michael O. Brooks, Chairman and CEO of BFG Community Foundation. “Bringing this wisdom and expertise to Maryland schools will help create a stronger, safer learning environment for our students and their educators and families.”

Safe and Sound Schools will unveil specific plans for the School Safety Series over the coming months, but aims to reach a minimum of five districts and 500 educators, with the power to impact thousands of Maryland students.

“Support from philanthropic leaders like the BFG Community Foundation will have a lasting impact on schools by making is possible for us to bring vital assessments, tools and resources to local communities,” said Michele Gay, executive director and co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools. “I am so grateful for BFG Community Foundation’s endowment award, not only for the impact it will have on Maryland communities, but for the organization’s commitment to improving school safety.”

For more information about Safe and Sound Schools, including free assessment tools, tool kits and resources, visit safeandsoundschools.org.

About Safe and Sound Schools

Safe and Sound Schools is a non-profit organization founded by Sandy Hook parents who lost their children during the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. Winner of the 2015 SBANE New England Innovation Award for nonprofits, Safe and Sound Schools is dedicated to empowering communities to improve school safety through discussion, collaboration, planning, and sharing of information, tools, and resources. To get involved, visit safeandsoundschools.org.

 

images

Tomorrow it will be three years since our daughters’ deaths at Sandy Hook School. Three years since Emilie, Joey, eighteen of their classmates, and six of their teachers, were killed. Three years since our lives, and countless others, were forever changed.

An intruder shot out a window beside the front door of our school; and stepped through, intent on destroying us all. In many ways, he succeeded.

Yet, here we stand—with so many others beside us. Family, friends, community members, survivors and families who also lost loved ones that day. We have been joined by others—across the country and throughout the world—in support of one another and in search of a better way.

We lost our daughters that day. Yet, somehow, we continue to find them every day—in the memories our families share, in the healing relationships we’ve formed, and in our mission to empower a nation of safer school communities. Our children light the way.

What started as a small group, gathered around the Parker family’s kitchen table, has grown into a national network of stakeholders: school communities and organizations, parents, students, educators, and professionals in the fields of mental health, law enforcement, safety, security, and fire safety—all working together to make schools safer. Our practical tools, resources, and programs are making their way to school communities across the country, guiding administrators, educators and parents as they rethink school safety.

Our children are making a difference.

We look with pride upon the work they have inspired at Safe & Sound Schools. We look forward to sharing much more in the New Year.

We remember our children today, tomorrow, and every day—as we work in their honor for a nation of safer schools. They continue to guide us, teach us, and inspire us. We are grateful that they are loved, honored, and remembered by so many.

Thank you for opening your hearts to our families and our mission—and for your continued thoughts and prayers. Together, we can light the way.

Alissa and Michele

Alissa Parker, Co-Founder & Director, Safe and Sound: A Sandy Hook Initiative
Michele Gay, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Safe and Sound: A Sandy Hook Initiative

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost three years have passed since the Sandy Hook tragedy. Since then, as a country, we’ve witnessed dozens more school shootings and continuing incidences of bullying, violence, and even natural disaster. Although the Sandy Hook Tragedy caused many schools to reassess their safety and preparedness, these continuing incidents remind us that school safety needs to remain at the forefront –for both K-12 and college campuses.

This fall, we gathered local and national school safety stakeholders with the goal of better preparing schools and students for safety and beyond. We held a panel discussion at Boston University –“From Tragedy to a Safer Tomorrow.” Panelists included our Executive Director and Co-founder, Michele Gay, mother of Josephine, Scott Pare of Boston University Police Department, Virginia Tech survivor Kristina Anderson of the Koshka Foundation, Mo Canady of the National Association of School Resource Officers and Andre Ravenelle, Superintendent of Fitchburg Public Schools and President of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

Click here to view the event video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttk_lNUH2V8&feature=youtu.be

Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 3.53.33 PM

 

Thanks to an engaged audience, asking questions at the mic and on Twitter using the hashtag #ASaferTomorrow, the discussion covered a range of topics. One of the topics of interests for many students in attendance was social media. We examined both the dangers and values of social media in in the school community. In times of crisis, social media has the advantage of getting information out instantaneously, but it can also be a cause for concern, as miscommunication and sensationalism can quickly lead to confusion, panic, and inaccurate information.

Scott Pare and his team at Boston University Police Department have had great success using social media to monitor potential violent threats. “We have software [to help us] monitor that information and stay current,” said Scott. While prevention is a huge component of school safety, the panel reminded our audience that having a plan in place to help staff address and respond to potential threats is essential. Likewise, it is critical to ensure that parents and community members receive accurate and timely information when a crisis occurs.

Mo Canady discussed the importance of School Resource Officers (SROs) and how they are becoming more common and valued in K-12 schools, particularly elementary schools. SROs are trained to build relationships with students and are more likely to control and calm a crisis situation. “The issue of deterrence cannot be overlooked,” said Mo. “There have been very, very few school shootings that have happened when an SRO is present.”

The issue of mental health and combating stigma attached with psychological counseling was also brought up during the discussion thanks to a question from an audience member. The panel of experts stressed that the need for mental health professionals at schools is just as important as increasing the presence and participation of SROs and other first responders.

With the evening coming to an end, our panel closed the discussion reminding all that as community members, each of us has a responsibility to ask difficult questions, keep the conversation alive, get involved, and realize that we all play a role toward a safer tomorrow.

Photo from Campus Safety Magazine reporter, Zach Winn 

 

 

Blog - Begging the question - Optional 3

The Edvocate recently posted an article, School Security: Just Smoke and Mirrors?, that begs the question, “Does school security really increase safety?”

As the mother of a child killed at Sandy Hook, and a national school safety advocate, I believe that whether it does or not, depends upon a few more considerations.

Hardware, technology, and programs alone cannot improve safety and security.

It’s more than installing cameras and door locks. These pieces of hardware and technology are examples of valuable security tools available today. Security is actually a practice that requires not only tools, but education, plans, procedures and human involvement. As school security consultant Paul Timm, PSP teaches, “…products and systems play a complementary role to the real star of the show: people driven-solutions.” (School Security, How to Build and Strengthen a School Safety Program, 2015)

A locked front door combined with a buzz-in system can greatly restrict public access to vulnerable school occupants. But tools like this require a trained staff member on the other end to ensure that the door is securely locked, and to require identification and clearance of a visitor before granting access.

Just the same, cameras can serve as deterrents for negative behavior and even criminal activity in some communities, as Nancy La Vigne and her team found in a study with the Urban Institute. For many would-be perpetrators, a camera signals the risk of being caught or detected, either in the act, or in preparation; and it’s enough to change their behavior. In a recent article in Scientific American, Sander ban der Linden chronicles several scientific studies on the positive affect of merely perceived surveillance upon human behavior.

But cameras are undoubtedly more powerful with human involvement. A trained staff member to ensure the working order of cameras, monitor the live feed (or at least review it periodically), and report or address harmful or suspicious activity, can turn a camera into a tool of prevention rather than one of forensics.Blog-MicheleQuote-Option2

Programs, Staff Development, and Curricula can make all the difference.

Beyond hardware and technology are a wealth of tools in the form of safety programming, training, guidance and curricula. These tools support school safety and security through developing a mindset for safety and preparedness in the school community.

Just as hardware and tools require support to be effective, so do programs and curricula. The best reporting and threat assessment protocols cannot address harmful actions or circumstances without adults trained to monitor, respond, and provide intervention. Just like the best anti-bullying, social emotional learning, and emergency preparedness curricula carry little weight without support and reinforcement in the school community.

Below are a several school safety programs and curricula to explore.

School Safety Resources

For truly safer schools, we have to ask tough questions like the ones The Edvocate poses in order to find a way to work together toward thoughtful answers and use the tools available to us wisely. Otherwise, school security and safety really is just smoke, mirrors, and very expensive window dressing.

To view the chart above with hyperlinks to each resource click  this link: https://magic.piktochart.com/output/7223104-school-safety-resources. For more information and resources on school safety and security, visit safeandsoundschools.org.

Michele Gay, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Safe and Sound Schools

 

 

 

 

 

ravenwood-high-school-brentwood-tn

The following is part of an interview conducted by high school student “Melanie” with Co-Founder and Executive Director, Michele Gay.  We’ll post subsequent questions and answers from the interview as part of our continuing School Safety Q & A Blog Series.  We are very proud of Melanie’s contribution to the national school safety conversation!

Melanie: On your [Safe and Sound] website, there are many ideas that can be implemented [in] schools to make them safer. What are your opinions on the [use] of bulletproof glass? Is this affordable for schools?

Michele:  The idea of protecting and reinforcing glass has been recommended by school safety experts for quite a while.  This simple measure can deter, delay, or completely prevent unauthorized entrance to school buildings through glass windows and doors. It’s in use today in banks, government buildings, and stores.

What’s most commonly used to protect glass windows and doors today is not “bullet proof glass” though. It’s something called “ballistic film” or “glazing,” an application to existing windows that’s designed to prevent shattering and reinforce integrity. Bullets or other small projectiles can still pass through treated windows; however, the glass can better withstand impact. The treated window is no longer an easy entry point, and broken glass pieces cannot become dangerous projectiles (as they might in an impact, explosion, or high wind event). Windows can be manufactured with this technology at the factory level now too, allowing schools to install already reinforced windows during building construction.

schools

The cost of installing protective film, and the necessary anchoring system (to keep the glass attached to the window frame upon impact) runs an average of $15-25 per square foot. Not cheap–but not out of reach for most school communities willing to budget, fundraise, or work for bonds and grants. Many communities across the country are “phasing in” their installation, with focus on high priority areas first.  In addition to costs, proper installation of the film requires consideration of time and environmental factors too, so schools must plan ahead and do their homework for this project!

Another option for protecting glass windows and doors is something called a ballistic shield. Ballistic shields are aluminum, plates installed over glass to prevent access.  Although not “bullet proof,” these shields can withstand gunfire and impact,  preventing access and protecting from danger outside.  The shields are not transparent, like ballistic film, but may provide a more affordable and immediately available solution for schools.  According to Rob Couturier, who manufactures and installs ballistic shields, the shields cost $48-142 per window or door, and can be installed a day or less. Rob’s company customizes the plates with school names and logos “to make them part of the school” and provide openings for visual surveillance from inside the building.

As always, it is critically important for schools to include local police and fire officials when considering any safety enhancements.  Approaching school safety decisions as a team, represented by many stakeholders and perspectives, can build strong community support and engagement in school safety.

-Michele Gay, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Safe and Sound Schools