Good theory, perhaps, but clueless in understanding School Resource Officers (SROs), school security, and so-called “zero tolerance.” This is my take on America’s real school-safety problem, an article posted Sunday on salon.com. The article is mostly a Q&A with Aaron Kupchick, author of “Homeroom Security: School Discipline in an Age of Fear.” He spent two years researching “zero […]
Category Archive: Crisis – Emergency Planning for Schools
Pipe Bombs & Shooting Threats: Violence or Incivil Behavior?
High-profile school security incidents this week included: A pipe bomb disabled at a Los Angeles school. A teen arrested for a mass schooting plot at a school. Texas schools on the Mexican border preparing for stray bullets from Mexican drug cartel wars. Is this violence? Or is it a manifestation of bullying, harassment, and “incivil” […]
Schools Are Under-Funded & Under-Prepared for Disasters, Feds Say
Schools and communities are neglecting children due to a lack of funding and lack of a national strategy to address the needs of children in disaster planning, according to a report by The National Commission on Children and Disasters, a commission created in 2007 by the President and Congress. “Children are 25 percent of our […]
REMS School Emergency Planning Grant Lessons Learned
Good school safety consultants learn from every project and client school district. If not, they’re not very good consultants. My colleagues and I have consistently received positive feedback from our work with school districts receiving federal Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grants. We have provided training for crisis teams and administrators, emergency planning assessments, […]
Engaging Support Staff in School Emergency Planning
School bus drivers, secretaries, food service staff, and custodians are on the front-lines in schools. But are they on the front lines in school emergency preparedness training and planning? School bus drivers are the first and last school employees to see many students each school day, and face the challenges of managing the behavior and […]
How to Protect Elementary Students from Harm
An unusual student disappearance, unexcused student walk-away, or a stranger on an elementary school campus creates anxiety, fear, and often panic in a school-community. The case of Kyron Horman, a second-grade Oregon student who has been missing since June 4th, 2010, has generated intense attention and discussion on elementary school security issues. The seven-year-old never […]
School Safety Leader: Marie Waldrop
A school principal is often referred to as the “captain” of his or her ship. When a principal is new, sometimes you hear it said, “There is a new sheriff in town.” But rarely do you find the principal (new or a veteran administrator) actually is also really a deputy sheriff. Unless, of course, Marie Waldrop […]
Pop Quiz on School Safety: School Transportation Needs During a Crisis
If your school transportation director, superintendent, or principal is asked these three questions about school transportation crisis preparedness issues, could they immediately answer each one? If you had to mobilize school buses at 10:45am to simultaneously evacuate your three largest schools, what is the response time from when the request is made until the first bus shows up […]
Protecting Children During Disasters: America Unprepared
“The most vulnerable Americans in the most vulnerable settings are made more vulnerable because of government inaction.” Mark Shriver, Senior Vice President, U.S. Programs, Save the Children This quote from a recently released document entitled, “A National Report Card on Protecting Children During Disasters,” pretty much says it all. In fairness, the report reflects movement […]
Are School Security Plans Ready for School Board Meeting Disruptions?
The Wake County (NC) school district spent $20,960 since December for increased security at school board meetings because of concerns about protesters. The conflicts involve protesters opposing the elimination of the district’s socioeconomic diversity policy involving student assignments. Large crowds lead the district to hire off-duty Raleigh police and private security officers. Previously, the district had no armed security at board […]