School Security Part 1

School officials are now presented with the formidable task of developing security and crisis preparedness guidelines at the building level. Along with the "traditional" security threats, recent shifts in school violence and new state and national regulations for crisis management planning are forcing school officials in even the safest of schools and communities to realize that a crisis "could happen here.” Additionally, teachers, students, parents, politicians, lawyers, and the media want to know what each school is doing or has done to prevent a crisis from happening and how the school will react in cases of student injury. The sad reality is that no one individual can offer a 100 percent guarantee that a violent or serious accident will not occur in his or her school. But proactive planning can take specific steps designed to reduce the risks of student injury by preparing to manage a crisis should one occur. Unfortunately, the safety of the students and staff members might very well depend upon the school’s ability to design, plan, and implement a comprehensive school safety, and crisis management program.
This process will involve assessing the overall security of the school, developing policies that regulate safe practices, and planning in advance for a crisis. Section one will present those security, crisis procedures and policies needed for assessing a school’s present protective conditions, establishing a crisis management plan, and developing safe practices when assisting students and staff.