By Bret Rachlin on 1/29/2009 12:08 PM

Brian Ney, superintendent of Howard-Winneshiek Community School District in Iowa understands the value of new security technology (Source: Cresco Times-Plain Dealer, 1/27/2009, New cameras, locks improve school security). His district recently implemented new digital surveillance cameras and electronic door locks at Crestwood High School. Then it moved the older digital video surveillance system from the high school to an elementary school, which was still using a videotape recorder system.

According to Ney, “Our current doors and locks at the high school are old and we have had problems keeping them functioning properly. Just like a car with 200,000 miles on it, repairs can be made, but it is more cost-efficient and time-efficient to replace.”

While schools are tasked often to do more with less, security is ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 1/21/2009 4:47 PM

An Oklahoma task force recommends that higher education institutions increase security spending from $37 per student to $100 per student, “an extra $16 million in money from the state (Source: KOCO.com, 1/14/2009, Task Force Seeks Funding From State Homeland Security Office).”

According to the article, “The panel said Oklahoma schools are making some progress to keep the campus safe but more money needs to be spent on security and mental health counseling services.”

The task force asked Oklahoma’s Department of Homeland Security to fund state colleges, universities and technology centers on an as-needed basis.

This is good news for Oklahoma colleges, as they not only will be able to fund much needed security upgrades, but they also will have the confidence to make appropriate security decisions without fear that their fun ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 1/14/2009 5:06 PM

Police are searching for two suspects after a vandalism incident at Thomas Johnson High School late last month in Maryland. (Source: Gazette.net – Maryland Community Newspapers, 1/8/2009, Frederick police seeking two suspects in TJ break-in). The head custodian discovered the vandalism on the morning of Dec. 29 when he noticed “about an inch of water on the floors of the school kitchen, hallways and some of the band and art rooms.”

Video surveillance shows that two suspects were involved and police are utilizing the recording in their investigation. According to the police, the incident did not trigger any alarms.

Overall, the school appears to have been fortunate that the damage was not worse and that the custodian discovered the vandalism when he did. Had he not been there the following morning during the holiday, the water ma ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 1/7/2009 5:18 PM

A Colorado school district has requested $30,000 to pay for a school security project manager to assist the district in creating emergency information guides tailored to each school. An editorial article in the local newspaper, The Steamboat Pilot & Today, opposes the request and has asked the Education Fund Board to reject it (Source: The Steamboat Pilot & Today, 12/31/2008, Our View: Handle school security internally). The article explains that individual schools should develop these guides themselves and not offload the work “to a costly, short-term project manager.” Doing the work with existing resources shows the community, according to the paper, that important tasks can be done even with tight budgets.

Many schools probably deal with this same issue. How can they afford to meet security requirements on limited ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 12/30/2008 11:28 AM

Gene Deisinger, the deputy chief of police at Iowa State University and an expert on Threat Assessment Management (TAM), has released a new book, The Handbook for Campus Threat Assessment and Management Teams (Source: Security Director News, 12/23/2008, Manual provides guidance but ‘there’s no one size fits all’). The book guides colleges and universities in setting up and implementing an effective TAM team.

A key component of the book is the focus on the involvement of multiple departments. Deisinger explained, "We learned along the way the power and value of a multi-disciplinary perspective in our TAM to increase communication, and enhance collaboration and coordination across departments. What we saw early on, was that individual departments were doing a good job [addressing issues], but they were doing it well in isolation. When we ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 12/22/2008 9:20 AM

Moffat County School District in Northwest Colorado plans to add a visitor management system to bolster its comprehensive security solutions (Source: Craig Daily Press, 12/17/2008, District to add screening system). Raptor, a Web-based software program, will “check visitors’ proof of identification against state, national and local databases.”

The new visitor management process requires visitors to present a valid driver’s license or other form of identification, so that the school secretary can scan it through the Raptor system and print a visitor badge to be worn while in the school. The visitors’ identification cards also will be checked against state and national sex offender registries, alerting school officials of any matches, so they can investigate the visitors prior to giving them access to the school. The school district admits that ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 12/15/2008 8:44 AM

Teachers in Columbia, Missouri, Public Schools have been given instructions to search their classrooms for evidence of potential bombs when bomb threats are made (Source: SecuritySolutions.com, 12/9/2008, Missouri Teachers Responsible for Bomb Detection).

According to the article, “the district’s emergency response plan calls for teachers to sweep their classrooms for potential explosives and listen for ticking noises. If a suspicious item is located, teachers are instructed not to touch it and to report it immediately to building administration.” The Missouri National Education Association does not have a problem with teachers being first response observers, as long as they are trained properly.

Overall, providing teachers training to be first responders in emergencies, such as bomb threats is appropriate. Teachers know their classrooms ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 12/8/2008 12:40 PM

Schools in New Jersey will likely conduct monthly security drills after legislation approved by the New Jersey Assembly gets passed in the state Senate (Source: Newsday, 11/23/2008, Security drills may come to NJ schools). According to the article, if the bill “becomes law, the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness would be charged with developing curriculum for school districts to use to help them conduct security drills.”

Of course, the state Education Department had encouraged schools to conduct security drills, but since no law existed, many schools hadn’t practiced their security plans. Obviously, school districts should be working to improve their security programs in the same fashion that they conduct fire drills to ensure safety in the event of a fire.

Overall, once New Jersey s ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 12/1/2008 9:50 AM

The author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, has written a new book, The Leader in Me, which highlights how several principals across the U.S. applied his 7 Habits to their struggling schools (Source: Time, 11/21/2008, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Schools).

According to this interview in Time Magazine, Covey explains how one school increased its percentage of students reading on their grade level by 32% in one year, while simultaneously increasing its percentage of student understanding of Math from 77% to 100%. Covey stresses the importance for teachers to focus on the whole child, including teaching them social and character skills.

Covey goes onto explain that schools should, “Nurture a partnership between schools and families that will focus upon social skills and character as well as academic rigor ... Read More »

By Bret Rachlin on 11/24/2008 2:11 PM

The school community of Aurora, Ohio, clearly understands that it takes a team approach to keep their schools safe (Source: Aurora Advocate, 11/19/2008, Administrators and police team up on school security). According to the article a community forum was to be held on November 20th to address school security issues. District officials partnered with local police officers to host the forum for parents and other residents, so they could address the state of security across the schools in the district.

New district security initiatives include adding video surveillance to school buildings under construction, an enhanced visitor management system that requires visitors to request entrance to buildings via an intercom and to register at the office, and an increased presence of local police. The district also bought a radio system that will allow officials to communicate distr ... Read More »