Blog Archives

Simultaneous active shooter drills test school, police preparedness

Posted by on March 26, 2012

Many school crisis plans are on paper and sitting on shelves. Some schools and police conduct tabletop exercises to take plans closer to reality. Last Friday, schools and police in the Greater Cleveland area put their plans to the full blown test in simultaneous active shooter drills in multiple suburban communities. The Brecksville-Broadview Heights School District, Brecksville and […]

Categories: Crisis - Emergency Planning for Schools School Resource Officers (SROs) School Safety and Crisis Training School Safety Funding | 1 Comment »

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Top 10 school safety headlines for 2012

Posted by on January 2, 2012

Here are the top 10 school safety news headlines we could see, or probably should see, in 2012 based upon my assessment of school safety trends: 10.  Educators discover paying for reasonable security measures at school athletic events is more important than turning a profit at the gate.   9.  School districts cave to common sense by […]

Categories: School Safety Issues | No Comments »

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Origin & rejection of ALICE Training: Kids fighting armed gunmen

Posted by on December 27, 2011

Most school leaders probably don’t know that the component of ALICE training in which children are taught to attack armed intruders in schools was actually rejected by the school district in which the model originated in 2006. A.L.I.C.E. (Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate) Training is a program being advocated in a small but noticeable number of school-communities.  Along with others in education and […]

Categories: Crisis - Emergency Planning for Schools School Law and Liability School Resource Officers (SROs) School Safety and Crisis Training | 6 Comments »

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Why adequate supervision is critical to good school safety

Posted by on December 26, 2011

A female is allegedly raped in a gym restroom.  A student is assaulted in a hallway during class change.  A stranger is found in an elementary school restroom. The first question raised by parents, the media and perhaps eventually lawyers is: “Was supervision adequate?” The answer to that question must be assessed on a case-by-case […]

Categories: School Resource Officers (SROs) School Safety Issues School Security Officers / Security Departments Students and School Safety | No Comments »

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What Christmas 2011 and school safety have in common

Posted by on December 26, 2011

What does school safety have in common with The Muppets, Pac Man, Space Invaders, Rock’em Sock’em Robots, and other Christmas 2011 sightings? Simple: What is old is new again. I was intrigued upon seeing the return of The Muppets in their latest movie.  Then came the plug-and-play Pac Man, Space Invaders, and other first generation video games Christmas presents. Next, […]

Categories: Reflections - Personal and Societal School Safety Issues | No Comments »

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How the anti-bullying movement is setting kids up to fail

Posted by on December 19, 2011

The world will be a perfect place if we just pass anti-bullying laws that outlaw bullying, incivility, intolerance, dirty looks, disagreements that are not pleasant, and just about anything else that is not Kumbaya.  At least that seems to be the perspective of anti-bullying activists who have jumped on the bullying bandwagon the past few years. […]

Categories: Bullying Legislation and School Safety | 2 Comments »

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Parent questions: ALICE Training & teaching kids to fight gunmen

Posted by on November 28, 2011

  Most of us who are parents agree that safety is more important than academics at our schools.  We entrust educators with our children for a good chunk of time each school day.  We demand that they take reasonable steps to protect our kids, and expect that they use good common sense in doing so. Yet […]

Categories: Crisis - Emergency Planning for Schools Parents and School Safety School Law and Liability School Resource Officers (SROs) School Safety and Crisis Training School Security Officers / Security Departments Students and School Safety | 22 Comments »

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Bringing pencils & books to a gun fight; ALICE Training raises questions

Posted by on October 30, 2011

  “While he’s busy ducking and covering his head from our air assault, we must now begin the ground assault.” This quote from a staff training booklet on the A.L.I.C.E. (Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate) plan struck me when it was shared by a client school district.   The quote was included in a section called, “OK, I made him mad. Now What!?” And […]

Categories: Crisis - Emergency Planning for Schools Parents and School Safety School Resource Officers (SROs) School Safety and Crisis Training School Safety Issues Students and School Safety | 6 Comments »

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Bringing a purse to a gun fight: Training to attack armed intruders?

Posted by on October 28, 2011

Typically I ignore snark and snipe attacks made against me on the Internet. As a higher-profile figure with over 25 years experience in the school safety field, they come with the territory.  And typically they come from people who are jealous and/or insecure anyway. But every now and then one occurs that is just too […]

Categories: Crisis - Emergency Planning for Schools School Safety Issues Shootings - School Nonfatal Students and School Safety | 1 Comment »

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Why legislation won’t stop bullying, online or otherwise

Posted by on September 29, 2011

State and federal anti-bullying laws are unnecessary and ineffective. This doesn’t set well with many anti-bullying, civil rights, and other political activists and advocates lobbying for state and federal laws.  But what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular. A recent Plain Dealer newspaper article (CSU symposium attendees seek […]

Categories: Bullying Legislation and School Safety | No Comments »

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