By Bret Rachlin on 8/28/2009 2:46 PM

Schools in Southern Maryland plan to launch a new safety and security program this year called “Secure your gear.” Designed to encourage students to store personal items and valuables properly to avoid theft, the initiative should also make students think twice before stealing devices, such as iPods and cell phones (Source: Southern Maryland Newspapers, August 26, 2009, Priority put on school safety and security initiatives).

With more and more students using electronic devices, including those that provide new ways to enhance their learning, there are more opportunities for other students to steal or damage the devices. Since many of these items can be used for educational purposes or students’ parents demand that they have them, such as cell phones, banning the items is not a reasonable option. While they may create more work for school resource officers ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 8/21/2009 2:37 PM

As schools open for the 2009-2010 year this month and next, many face budget challenges that impact their ability to meet not only educational needs, but also security needs. With this in mind the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, which provides information on planning, designing, funding, building, improving, and maintaining safe, healthy, high performance schools, has developed a list of “Low-Cost Security Measures for School Facilities.”

Here’s a sampling of the recommended security measures that you can implement with little cost and without the use of complex technology.

Outside the Building
- Trim shrubbery and trees and relocate other obstacles such as trash containers to eliminate hiding places a ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 8/14/2009 1:38 PM

When school incidents occur, communication among school administrators and first responders is critical. With that in mind, the “Pueblo County School District 70 in Colorado has launched a training program for all staff that will enable them to use two-way radios with first responders (Source: THE Journal, August 11, 2009, Colorado District Trains Principals on 2-Way Radios).” Additionally, the district has implemented technology that allows a communication network to “be activated that connects the high-end radios used by professional responders with the lower-end radios used more typically in the county’s schools.”

Overall, this district exemplifies the kind of emergency preparedness that all schools should practice. Not only has the district done the research to purchase the technology to enable its radios to work with fi ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 8/7/2009 1:17 PM

This week brings good news on school security from Knoxville, Tennessee (Source: WBIR Knoxville, August 4, 2009, School security training first of its kind). For the first time Knox County Schools, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Knoxville police law enforcement have joined together to conduct school security training.

While last year’s shooting at Central High School prompted the joint training, the groups are covering much more than school shooting incidents. “There are always new things we need to learn. Different things change through the school year,” said School Resource Officer Lisa Montgomery. For example, in addition to new drugs being introduced into schools, social networking and Internet crimes have also become more prevalent. The group training enables these groups to work together more effectively, keeping them aware of new crime tren ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 7/31/2009 2:56 PM

A few weeks ago I wrote about The Value of a Security Assessment, specifically highlighting how it can help guide school districts in spending their security budgets appropriately, so that they focus on the areas that keep their schools as safe as possible. In that spirit Elgin Area School District U-46 in Illinois faces a similar problem (Source: Daily Herald, July 17, 2009, More $$ for school safety won’t bring back liaison officers to Elgin schools).

While the district has received a large safety grant, $459,000, it cannot be used to provide for additional police liaison officers in Elgin middle schools. The Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools provides the federal grant, but it must be applied for specific purposes, such as e ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 7/24/2009 1:40 PM

School security at a Western Pennsylvania school district made headlines this week when the Highlands district “school board voted unanimously to force older students to buy school-issued mesh backpacks, as an attempt to curb students from bringing illegal or dangerous items to school (Source: Valley News Dispatch, July 24, 2009, New school security rules put in place at Highlands).” Since the district has installed metal detectors, which are new this year, school officials believe the see-through backpacks will make it easier for staff to monitor students’ belongings to ensure they do not bring weapons or other contraband into the school.

According to the article, school board members justify their decision in an attempt to be proactive, recognizing the need to do as much as possible to prevent unnecessary incidents that may put students and staff in danger ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 7/17/2009 3:53 PM

Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Education awarded more than $724,000 to Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colorado, as part of its “readiness and emergency management” (REMS) grant program (Source: ColoradoDaily.com, July 16, 2009, Boulder Valley: Risks warrant security upgrades). The grant is the largest awarded in the nation.

While a total of 108 school districts across the country received funding this summer as part of this grant program, I thought it was interesting to read about the statistics listed in Boulder Valley’s grant application that earned the district the funding. According to the application, Boulder Valley’s security vulnerability includes the following:

22 “threat incidents” prompted lockouts, evacuations or school closures in the 2007-2008 school year. ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 7/10/2009 3:19 PM

With the new school year a month or two away depending on where you live, how does the new H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination plans impact your emergency planning and communication (Source: The New York Times, July 9, 2009, Obama Warns of Return of Swine Flu in the Fall)? Earlier this week the federal government announced a plan to have a vaccination ready by October. According to the New York Times, “Vaccinations will begin in October only if tests scheduled to begin in August prove that the vaccine is safe and effective.”

While school children will likely be among the first in line to receive the vaccination, it’s also likely that not all of them will receive it, meaning many student absences. Of course, absences are not the only concern. What about students who come to school while ill? Do you have a p ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 7/2/2009 1:57 PM

Earlier this week I attended the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) annual conference in Baltimore, MD. While the conference focused on providing training for NASRO members (approximately 700 school resource officers attended from across the country), it was also a celebration of the important work school resource officers (SROs) do on a daily basis. Many SROs brought their families to the conference, so that they could enjoy a little vacation while attending training sessions (SROs often have strict schedules during the school year and many of them also work as community police officers during the summer), and they thoroughly enjoyed interacting with other SROs, discussing their similar and different approaches to school security.

Schools that employ SROs empower them to keep the schools safe and secure, so teachers can focus on teaching. However, most SROs are not bu ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 6/26/2009 3:56 PM

Is your school district prepared for a mercury contamination? (Source: The Arizona Republic, June 19, 2009, Teachers sounded mercury alarm 2 years before spill). Unfortunately, this article doesn’t say whether or not Agua Fria High School in Arizona was prepared when “a student stole elemental mercury from a classroom at the Avondale school, closing it for three days, contaminating three classrooms, the boys locker room and two buses. Off-site, two homes were evacuated while the area was decontaminated.”

The article, however, highlights the state of confusion that exists at the school between a couple of science teachers and school administrators. Apparently, science teachers informed administrators about the need to dispose of the mercury up to two years prior to the theft, but obviously the chemicals remained on campus. Schoo ... Read More »