Given today’s active shooters may very well come heavily armed, and perhaps better equipped, than the typical school-based police officer who may encounter them in a school hallway, some local law enforcement agencies are looking at leveling the playing field. Aim for transparency When police departments propose storing in schools some higher-powered weapons than the […]
School Safety: The Importance of the 4th R – Relationships
Numerous school shootings could have been prevented if students who knew about violent plans had shared that information with adults. Surveys have found that as much of 75% of the incidence of bullying at school are not brought to the attention of adults. Why kids won’t talk with adults about safety concerns Why don’t students […]
Can your principals and security staff access surveillance camera systems?
Can your principals access the surveillance camera systems they are supposed to be able to access from their desktop computers, laptops, or other monitoring consoles? This may seem like an odd question. After all, who would install camera systems with the capability for principals, security staff, and School Resource Officers (SROs) to access and retrieve […]
Independent, private school security assessments: Creating a culture of safety
Independent, parochial, and other private school heads are often concerned that assessments of their security and emergency preparedness might conflict with their unique school cultures. We believe, however, that part of their unique cultures can, and should, include a culture of safety. No schools are immune from a security incident or emergency situation. Higher tuition […]
School visitation programs beef up police presence, but not budgets
Police departments across the nation are beefing up police presence at schools, but not increasing their budgets or those of their local schools. Having a full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to a school, especially on a regular basis at secondary schools, has long been a best practice. But following the Sandy Hook Elementary School […]
Getting to the Heart of Education- Listening to the Whole At-Risk Student
My long-time friend, colleague, and former co-worker, Dr. Steve Sroka, shares how to retain, engage, challenge, support, and educate all students: Getting to the Heart of Education- Listening to the Whole At-Risk Student By Stephen Sroka Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all…… Aristotle Many at-risk students in schools are crying […]
Training office staff critical to school entrance access control
Many schools are using various door entry systems to aid in visitor screening. Strong access control and visitor management is one important component of a comprehensive school safety strategy. One weakness we consistently see in our security assessment consultations nationwide is in the training of main office and other staff who use the security technology […]
Schools face new wave of violent threats sent by social media and other electronic means, study says
More than one-third of violent threats to schools since the beginning of this school year were delivered by social media, email, text messaging, and other electronic forms, according to a new study by our national school safety consulting firm. “The cost of these threats in taxpayer dollars for police response, lost instruction time, and anxiety […]
Are schools the targets for new hoax shooting and bomb threats?
Our research has identified a disturbing emerging trend of hoax shooting and bomb threats targeting preK-12 schools. These threats are drawing heavy law enforcement responses to schools and creating anxiety among students, educators, and parents. Recent examples include: A 12-year-old middle school student called in a false report of a shooting at a Florida high […]