One monthly security drill and one fire drill will be mandatory for New Jersey schools effective November 1, 2010. This law was passed back in January of this year. The New Jersey Department of Education issued guidance July 14 according to the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. Schools must work with local emergency responders to […]
Category Archive: Crisis – Emergency Planning for Schools
Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS): MSD Wayne Township
Tight school budgets and decreasing school safety grants are making school emergency planning more challenging today. The Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Wayne Township in Indianapolis, Indiana, has a solid record of being a leader of Indiana school corporations in school emergency/crisis planning. Under the leadership of Dr. Terry Thompson, Superintendent, and a proactive school board, […]
5 Ways to Diversify School Crisis Drills
Train school staff, not just students, to be prepared for emergencies. One of the major objectives for diversifying school crisis drills is to train school staff to think on their feet just as much, if not more, than it is to train the students. But far too often, school administrators schedule fire, lockdown, and other […]
The NY City Terror Plot Connection to School Security
There is a direct connection between the New York City Times Square terror bomb plot and the security of your child’s school. I talked about schools as terror targets in my April 28th post entitled, “Is Your Child’s School a Soft Target for Terrorism?,” Ironically, that post was published just a few days before the New York City […]
Is Your Child’s School a Soft Target for Terrorism?
The 1999 Columbine High School attack has been referred to by many as an act of terrorism. Domestic terrorism, obviously, but still terrorism. Did the act fit the definition of terrorism? If not the formal definition, it certainly fits the concept. In my first book (Practical School Security), written back in 1998, I identified terrorism as one […]
Sometimes We All Neglect Our “Children”
A participant in one of my workshops once referred to me as a “school safety evangelist.” It’s a pretty intriguing title and very complimentary as this person recognized my passion for keeping schools safe. But the “school safety evangelist” title can be a hard one to live up to when you’re also self-employed, middle-aged with your […]
What Does a Fireman Know About Being A School Board Member?
If the fireman is Reno Contipelli, he knows a lot about school boards. And he never stops learning about school safety and taking those lessons back to his school-community. Reno is a professional firefighter and dedicated 17-year school board member for Cuyahoga Heights Schools in Northeast Ohio. He also heads up the board’s school safety committee. Reno […]
School Board Members Speak Out on School Safety – Part 3
School board members Maria Starks from Dyersville, Tennessee, knows what is going on with school safety in her district. She particularly knows and appreciates the role of her School Resource Officer. She also shares information on cell phones in schools and her personal advice for board members. Listen to Maria Starks’ insights on school safety […]
Are You Prepared For The Perfect Storm?
A “perfect storm” is an expression that, “…describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically,” according to Wikipedia’s definition. Perfect Storms Strike Us Personally We all have personal “perfect storms” from time to time. I’ve had a couple in the past few weeks. Just last week, my office Internet […]
Emergency Management Agencies: Hidden Treasures for School Preparedness – Part 2
Part 1 of my interview with Joe Wainscott, Executive Director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), addressed school preparedness and emergency management agency relationships. Today, the conversation continues with a look at potential school transportation needs during a community disaster. We also discuss partnering benefits including pre-planning and pre-training activities. During tough financial times, a good […]