Category Archive: Parents and School Safety

School safety post-Sandy Hook: Proven, tested strategies prevail

Posted by on September 29, 2013

For the past nine months, our team of school security and communications consultants have maintained a steady approach and methodical voice of reason while serving as an anchor to superintendents, boards and principals who are facing a tidal wave of school-community emotion on safety issues. We have focused on proven prevention, preparedness, response and communications […]

School safety post-Sandy Hook: Focus on “How?,” not on “Wow!”

Posted by on September 28, 2013

More than nine months have passed since the December 14, 2012, school shooting attack upon Sandy Hook Elementary School in the Newtown, Connecticut, school district where 20 children and 6 school staff members were left dead. The horrific nature of the attack upon our youngest and most vulnerable children — elementary students — served as […]

School board, superintendent reject ALICE student training to attack armed intruders

Posted by on December 9, 2012

The Canton (MA) school board and superintendent on Thursday rejected moving forward with training students to attack armed intruders under what a Boston Globe article called a “controversial new security protocol” known as A.L.I.C.E. training. “We are not ready to go beyond the point of training staff,” the Globe quoted Superintendent Jeffrey Granatino as saying […]

Do schools, police mislead parents on ALICE training? Students attack armed gunmen

Posted by on November 13, 2012

Some schools and police are teaching students to attack armed gunmen. But are they soft-pedaling the program and misleading parents in the process? A.L.I.C.E. stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. The “counter” component of teaching school students to throw objects at armed intruders and to physically attack them is being question by many experienced educators […]

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 […]

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 […]

Should Police & Schools Keep Parents in Dark on Sex Assault?

Posted by on March 23, 2011

How would you feel if a stranger abducted and sexually assaulted a female during lunchtime and in the same block as your daughter’s school?  And how would you feel if your school administrators and police officials never told you, other parents, and students about the incident for 12 days? This happened near David Douglas High […]

3 Simple Tips for Parents on Keeping Your Kids Safe

Posted by on October 3, 2010

   Parents:    Talk with, not at, your kids. Give them, not your smart phone, your full attention. Work to live, don’t live to work.   Build a relationship with your kids today! Ken Trump Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com

How to Teach Kids to be Safe to and from School

Posted by on September 27, 2010

A parent’s worst nightmare: A 17-year-old girl is abducted and raped on the way to school.  What advice should parents give their children? A brutal sexual assault on a Cleveland girl last week captured media attention.  Our local ABC affiliate, WEWS, asked me to provide safety tips for children to and from school. My primary […]

What Parents Expect After a Shooting & Pipe Bombs at School

Posted by on September 24, 2010

  A 14-year-old South Carolina high school student shoots at a school resource officer (SRO).  He has two pipe bombs in his backpack.  A search of the student’s home finds a wide array of items including shotgun and handgun shells, multiple cigarette lighters, exploded bomb pieces, 14 carbon dioxide cartridges, and the list goes on. Authorities later find […]