Do you have a game plan for school athletic event security? Shootings and other violence at high school games are not new, but they are far too common and intense
Last night, a 14-year-old boy was killed in a school shooting as police were dispersing a crowd following a Chicago-area high school football game. Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Kansas, shots were fired during a high school football game and the school officer returned fire until the suspects fled. These are the latest in a spate […]
A lesson for superintendents, school boards, and principals on being wise school safety and security consumers: People don’t buy products. They buy solutions to their problems.
“People don’t buy products. They buy solutions to their problems.” This insightful observation, along with a humorous video to illustrate the point, is floating around social media. While some may focus on the video, marketing gurus are using it to impart a bit of wisdom that school leaders must consider when tackling school security challenges […]
Communicating school safety to parents: Superintendents and principals need strategic support on what to say, how to say it, and when to say it
If we don’t better support superintendents and principals in becoming strategic school safety leaders and communicators, they will lose the trust and confidence of parents, students, staff, and their school communities. They might also lose their jobs. Yesteryear’s school safety communications spin no longer works During the first couple of decades of my school security […]
School safety assessments: A career-saving action for new and experienced superintendents
Recently I was speaking with a superintendent who is a client and a good friend. She mentioned that one of the best things she did in her first year as superintendent was have a safety and security assessment performed. Placing school safety at the top of the superintendent’s priority list The assessment was not on […]
Why Caring About School Safety Just Isn’t Good Enough
Does your principal and superintendent really care about school safety? Chances are good the answer is, “Yes.” The problem is that caring alone is just not enough today. Educators are on overload with academic, budget, facility, and other urgent day-to-day issues. They care about school safety, but it is increasingly challenging for them to find the time […]
Why School Safety Initiatives Fail
New York Times writer, Crystal Yednak, and I spoke at length for her article published this past Sunday entitled, “Seeking to Assure Students’ Safety Outside School.” The article highlights stimulus-funded efforts in Chicago to create safer streets for students walking to and from school following a shocking number of kids killed and injured in recent […]