President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan released their education blueprint on Saturday.  It will serve as one focal point for discussion as Congress approaches the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The education blueprint has already created a lot of buzz in the education community. The bulk of the conversation has been on academic achievement issues.

Federal School Safety Program

Pages 33 and 34 of the blueprint document present the Administration’s proposed approach for school safety.  Their proposed ”Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students” program will replace the ”Safe and Drug Free Schools Program” eliminated by the Administration and Congress.

The full text describing this program is replicated below for easy access and review.  A few key initial observations I have made include:

• There is a strong emphasis on school climate surveys.  The initial description of what this would include is listed in paragraph one below.
• The limited grants will be competitively awarded on a national basis. This is different from the federal-to-state pass through of Safe and Drug Free Schools Program grant money previously given to school districts in a non-competitive basis.
• Schools will be required to document need.  In short, schools cannot claim there are no problems or issues, but still ask for money. 
• Need (at least in the form of the school climate surveys) must be publicly posted.
• Community partnerships with non-profit organizations, community-based organizations, and others will get priority consideration for funding.

This is the initial sketched out approach in the Administration’s blueprint. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details.  Those details will actually be written into the draft bill by Congress.

My Take

It is well documented that I was long opposed to elimination of the Safe and Drug Free Schools state grant program.  I believed, and still believe, federal and state funds for local schools should not have been eliminated, especially during today’s trying financial times in local school districts.  I also believe that contrary to what some claimed about Safe and Drug Free Schools program dollars being spread too thin to be effective, that most dollars were used effectively in local schools and that even a smaller amount goes a long way in districts that otherwise would have no school safety funding at all.

But the political realities prevailed and, as the saying goes, “It is what it is.” The focus now must be encouraging Congress and the Administration to craft well-defined, effective federal school safety policy and funding.

I commend the Administration for proposing in its budget for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools the continuation of the existing stand-alone programs entitled, “Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS), and the “Safe Schools, Healthy Students” grant programs.  I strongly believe appropriations funding levels need to be increased for both of these programs.  REMS should be increased by no less than $15 million from its current level.

Some specific areas to build upon the Administration’s blueprint for school safety and proposed FY2011 budget for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools must include:

1. In additon to expulsion, suspension, and discipline data, as well as school climate surveys, federal data requirements must include incident-based law enforcement data for crimes on K-12 campuses.
2. Activities for which the Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students funds may be used must reflect a balanced and comprehensive approach to school safety which includes prevention, intervention, security, and preparedness activities.
3. Priority attention for grant awards should include, but not be limited to, school districts partnering with non-profit and community-based organizations.  Partnerships must also include other community and governmental agency partners including public safety (police, fire, emergency medical services) departments, emergency management agencies, public mental health departments, public health agencies, children and family services agencies,  juvenile court systems, juvenile corrections systems, and related organizations.

Your Comments Count

The House Committee on Education and Labor is accepting comments on the ESEA reauthorization.  Groups and education stakeholders can submit ESEA comments by emailing the House Committee at eseacomments@mail.house.gov.  Their website that contains information about their process and deadline.

I encourage stakeholders (educators, school safety professionals, parents, etc.) to email the above address with your thoughts, suggestions, and concerns about federal school safety policy and funding levels.

School Safety Section of the  Blueprint Document

Below is the full text from pages 33-34 of the blueprint document:

Ken Trump

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

School Security Visitor Welcome Sign: Friendly, But Safe

A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, and the words on the sign pictured here say it all:  Our children and staff are important to us, we value them, and we want to keep them safe. 

“Greetings.  Because we value our children and staff all visitors are required to report to the school office upon entering the campus”

This should catch the eyes, minds, and hearts of parents and other legitimate visitors who appreciate their school leaders taking reasonable steps to reduce risks and to protect everyone on campus. 

Does your school communicate the importance of school safety and security in a clear and firm, but welcoming and supportive manner?

Ken Trump

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

Photo Credit:  Taken by Ken Trump during an exterior school grounds observation as a part of a school safety assessment for a public school campus in the United States.

Highlights of school safety, security, and crisis incidents and issues around the nation for the week of March 8-12, 2010:

Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN: St. Paul and Minneapolis police working with FBI, Interpol after school lockdowns in both cities  Local and federal law enforcement worked on a threat posted on a social networking site about a possible school shooting. The threats appeared to come from Australia and the warning came from the Netherlands. Partial lockdowns were put into place in city schools.

Memphis, TN: Memphis School board considers plan to add security workers, take police out of schools. School board member Patrice Robinson presents a resolution asking Supt. Kriner Cash to study the feasibility of replacing Memphis Police Department officers currently assigned to the city schools with district security personnel.

Brooklyn, NY: Police Kill Man Carrying a Fake Gun at a School.  A 22-year-old man was fatally shot by the police outside a Brooklyn elementary school on Monday afternoon after he pointed a fake gun at an officer.

Littleton, CO:  Deer Creek parents are promised a review of shooting response  School and law enforcement officials told parents the reaction to a shooting at Deer Creek Middle School went according to plan but things will be done better if the situation arises again. Parents of students at nearby Stony Creek Elementary were upset their children were sent home as Deer Creek students fled to their campus.

Centerville, OH: 6 Centerville students accused of trafficking prescription drugs at school  Six students were charged with drug possession and drug trafficking offenses.

New York City, NY:  High school students stabbed in attacks at two separate NYC high schools.  According to school and police officials, a 14-year-old Manhattan high school student stabbed his longtime tormenter 16 times during a wild hallway attack Friday, police and education sources said.  Just 20 minutes later, a 17-year-old student at Newtown High School in Queens was jumped in a third-floor hallway and knifed at 11:20 a.m.

Portland, ME:  Portland School Lockdowns Raise Safety Concerns.  Protocol for school lockdowns reviewed after multiple lockdowns at city schools.

Reed Point, MT:  Superintendent accidentally fires gun during class.  The superintendent of a rural Montana school district says he was showing students his black powder muzzleloader when he accidentally fired the weapon into a classroom wall during a history lesson.

Rochester, NY: 20 students charged after brawl at NY school  Police say 20 students have been charged after a fight broke out at a Rochester high school that had been evacuated when a fire alarm went off. Rochester police say two of the students assaulted a school resource officer who tried to break up the altercation, with one of the students punching the officer in the back of the head and the other hitting him with a trash can.

Ken Trump

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

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 partnership can be mutually beneficial.

Emergency management agencies are, from a school perspective, still hidden treasures in many communities.  While a growing number of school districts are working more closely with their emergency management officials, these agencies are untapped resources in far too many school communities nationwide.

I encourage school leaders to reach out to their county emergency management agency.  If you are in a large city, there may also be a city emergency manager or management department.  Make the initial call, introduce yourself, ask to learn more about their operations, find out about joint planning and training opportunities, and ask for a seat for your school district in their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for when it is activated in community-wide emergencies.

Likewise, if you are a county or city emergency manager, take the first step and reach out to your school district if they have not first come to you.

My thanks to Joe Wainscott for his time, insights, and sustained leadership in school safety and emergency preparedness.  At the time of our interview at his office, I also had the opportunity to take a look at his department’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  Not surprisingly knowing Joe, the state-of-the-art upgrades and progress made under his leadership are extremely impressive.  Indiana is fortunate to have Joe leading the state’s emergency management and homeland security operations!

Ken Trump

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

When I ask many school administrators if they are working with their county emergency management agency on their school crisis planning, I often get a common response:  “Who? What do they do?”

We also like to ask school transportation directors if their district’s school buses are part of the county emergency management agency’s plan for mass transportation in a community-wide emergency.  Most directors do not know.  In fact, our interaction is often the first time they have heard of this process, often later to find out their buses had long been written into the county plan.

There are exceptions.  Roanoke City Public Schools in Virginia work exceptionally close with their city emergency manager.  And in Waterloo, Iowa, the Waterloo Community Schools has a very strong relationship with their county emergency management office.

I recently sat down with a long time colleague and friend, Joe Wainscott, Executive Director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), to talk about school preparedness and emergency management agency relationships.  Joe  is responsible for the state’s emergency management and homeland security efforts.  He is Indiana’s emergency management director and homeland security advisor to the governor, and serves as the director of the Counter Terrorism and Security Council (CTASC), which is chaired by Indiana’s lieutenant governor.

In this interview, Joe shares his insights into:

• Emergency Management Agency as a coordination and communication hub for emergency planning and disaster recovery
• Training and exercise involvement by schools
• Schools as a community shelter
• Schools sheltering in place
• Red Cross expertise that could benefit schools
• What schools should consider having in place for a community emergency
• and more…

In Part 2 of my interview with Joe tomorrow, we will discuss the potential role of school transportation in a community emergency response, and the benefits of school and emergency management agency officials proactively working together.

Additional biographical information for Joe Wainscott:  Joe was the IDHS director of training before his promotion to executive director. He was directly responsible for managing and coordinating training, exercise and certification programs and oversaw the development of the Indiana Firefighter Training System.  For three years before joining IDHS, Wainscott was the law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Southern District of Indiana. He also is a retired veteran of the Indiana State Police (ISP) where he served 23 years including as assistant district commander in Indianapolis, and as team leader of the Emergency Response Team (SWAT) for 12 of his 19 years on the team.  Joe also served as a member of the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police Memorial Team.

In these various capacities, Joe has been a long-time active trainer, planner, and coordinator with Indiana schools and education agencies on school safety and emergency preparedness efforts.  He served on the original curriculum design team and advisory board a decade ago for the Indiana Department of Education’s School Safety Specialist Academy.  Joe continues to work closely with the Indiana Department of Education in his current capacity leading IDHS.

Ken Trump

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

High school basketball game rivalries used to be fun and safe for students, parents, and other spectators.  Most of them still are safe and enjoyable today.

But many of today’s school athletic event games also require a new level of security planning by school administrators and safety officials.

In the latest of video-captured basketball game brawls, Newsday reports that the Long Island Class B title game between Malverne and Wyandanch was delayed for about 20 minutes with 1.03 minutes left in the game when a fight among spectators spilled over into the court:

The video shows what appears to be a good adult supervisory presence, a quick response by adults, efforts to contain the situation, and verbal directions over the public address system to direct spectators out of the gym. 

What security measures do you see needed? What pre-planning could be done by police and school officials to reduce risks and effectively respond to incidents like these which may occur at your school games?

I have some practical, cost-effective tips on my web site on school athletic event security which may be of interest.

Ken Trump

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

The news headline: “Adults’ missteps detailed in S. Phila. High violence”

The story goes on to read:

“On Dec. 3, as Asian students endured a daylong series of attacks at South Philadelphia High, the adults responsible for their safety were often confused or unsure how to respond.

The principal ordered a midmorning lockdown – designed to restrict student movement and move staffers to security posts – but some teachers weren’t notified.”

I have experienced more than my fair share of school crisis situations in over 25-years in the school safety profession. In my early days working in the security division of Cleveland Public Schools, I was on the front-lines at schools, outside at the bus drop-off or in the front hallway as gang-related riots erupted as students arrived at school. Years later, while supervising the district’s Youth Gang Unit, I lead a team responsible for preventing and responding to school gang riots, weapons incidents, drive-by shooting threats, and other crises throughout the 127-school district.

So I understand first-hand that when a riot or other major conflict erupts at a school, it takes some time to get the combatants isolated and secured in separate areas. School safety officials and administrators have to contain the conflict which just erupted, monitor to prevent further immediate escalating events, and begin anticipating what else might jump off during the remainder of the day.

Communications Plan Along with Crisis Plan

School security has come a long way in the past decade. A lot of lessons have been learned in school emergency planning. One of the major lessons is that communications is one of, if not the, most important elements to have in place before an actual incident erupts.

We advise our school principal and superintendent clients to have an emergency/crisis response plan which addresses responses to potential threatening incidents.  But we also advise them to have a crisis communications plan ready to kick in gear almost simultaneously with their emergency response plan.

For example, schools which go on an extended lockdown may subsequently make a public address announcement directing classroom teachers to check their classroom email messages for details and directions. They may also activate their mass parent notification system to quickly get out information to parents about what is occurring and what parents need to do next to help school and safety officials efficiently manage the incident at hand.

Rumors have always spread like wildfire in schools. But in today’s world of cell phones, text messaging, and social media, rumors that used to spread in hours and days now spread in seconds and minutes.  School administrators must be ready to kick their crisis communications plan into gear almost immediately after an incident occurs.

Don’t Overlook School Staff

In the growing number of schools where the communications plan is being beefed up, the focus tends to be on parent and media communications. This is good, because parent and media crisis communications tend to be under-estimated and underdeveloped. 

But far too often in our school emergency plan assessments we find well-intended school administrators forget they must also provide timely and updated information within the building to their school staff.  This is especially true when a school has an ongoing issue, such as circumstances requiring the school to be on extended lockdown for hours into the school day.

The Philadelphia article highlighted a chaotic situation which appeared to lack plans for crisis communications, especially communications with school staff.  While it is important for administrators and safety officers to get a situation under control as soon as possible, they can often prevent spin-off incidents, staff anxiety, and accelerated rumors by building into their plans a process to update staff members so they know what to be alert for as the day evolves.

A solid crisis communications plan probably will not eliminate chaos, but it will help to more efficiently and effectively manage that chaos which has occurred.

Does your school have crisis communications plans for staff, parents, and the media, in addition to their traditional school emergency/crisis incident response guidelines?

Ken Trump

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

Asia Jones, Executive Director for Student Services, Roanoke City Public Schools

You would not expect to find a school administrator responsible for the challenging areas of school safety, student health, discipline, truancy prevention/intervention, and alternative education to be smiling and upbeat every day. Of course, it is also not every day you meet someone like Asia Jones.

Asia is the Executive Director for Student Services in Roanoke City Public Schools in Roanoke, Virginia. She has served in this position for three years. Asia also has eight years experience as an elementary and a middle school principal, prior to which time she was a high school teacher for nine years. She has also served three years in higher education as an adjunct professor.

I had the pleasure of working with Asia on a Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) federal grant, for which she was the district’s project director. She is an exceptionally bright, dynamic, and talented education professional.

Climate, Time, and Communication are Priorities

Asia has no fear of tackling the challenges which come with leading school safety efforts. She identifies three important challenges as ones which school leaders must focus on for safer schools:

1. Maintaining a safe and welcoming environment:

“A healthy school climate facilitates student learning. Teachers are most effective when they feel empowered and supported by their administration. Similarly, students become engaged in the school community when they feel safe, respected by and connected to their teachers,” Asia says. 

Asia believes there are many tools that can be used to build the foundation for a welcoming environment.  She stresses it is important to ensure tools that include, but are not limited to; threat assessments, conflict mediation and resolution, progressive discipline, anonymous reporting, and student perception surveys are a part of the routine practice.

“Finding creative opportunities for parental involvement and awareness of safety practices and procedures go a long way with building community support and trust,” according to Asia.

  2. Finding time to practice the plan:

Educators have a seemingly insurmountable task of educating all students to meet all state and federal academic expectations and benchmarks. 

Asia strongly believes, “As instructional leaders, principals must protect instructional time to ensure that teaching and learning take place. Finding a balance of time to ensure the learning environment is safe is a priority and must be communicated as such. Principals must ensure the emergency management plan is accessible, understood and practiced routinely within their school community.”

  3.  Communicating safety as a priority:

Asia believes it is important that everyone within the school community understands their role in maintaining a safe environment.

“School officials must maintain open lines of communication with first responders. The partnership between school officials and first responders can be nurtured by routine team meetings/summits and practice drills.  Everyone in the school community must understand the importance of safety drills, as well as the importance of reporting concerns,” according to Asia.

She notes that once concerns are reported, parents and students must trust that the teacher/administrator will listen and respond accordingly.  

Proactive School Emergency Planning

Roanoke City Public Schools was recently awarded the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grant, a competitive federal school emergency planning grant program from the U.S. Department of Education. 

As the project manager, Asia had the opportunity to work closely with experts in the field of school safety and security to enhance the school district’s ability to respond to critical incidents. 

“Among the most valuable and substantial REMS initiatives were training workshops and modified tabletop drills facilitated by National School Safety and Security Services. Ken and his team’s workshops were all inclusive to include the Superintendent’s cabinet, central office administrators as well as staff members from transportation, custodial services, school cafeterias, parents and school-based safety teams. 

Our school administrators had not experienced such professional development prior to these safety and crisis preparedness exercises. As a result, school teams can implement the emergency response plan with confidence when responding to a crisis,” Asia shared.

What was the most important lesson from the REMS project?

“Most importantly, we’ve learned that a well trained and highly alert faculty and staff are essential for keeping the school community safe,” Asia said.

Priority Advice for School Administrators

Based upon her experience as a school district and building level administrator, Asia has three pieces of advice on school safety for her counterparts:

• Have an emergency management plan that is a “living document”. As a “living document”, it is reviewed, updated and practiced routinely. 
• Communicate school safety as a priority.  As the instructional leader, the principal routinely reviews discipline data and concerns identified by the school safety team.  These concerns may include issues surrounding hallway supervision, visitor passes or sign-in/out procedures or even referrals to the office.
• Build and nurture positive relationships with students.  Be intentional when identifying ways to connect the disconnected student.

In recognition of her commitment, dedication, and leadership on school safety and emergency planning initiatives, I am pleased to recognize Asia Jones as a “School Safety Leader”!

Ken Trump

[“School Safety Leaders” are individuals on the “front lines” of education who have demonstrated proactive leadership in addressing school safety, security, and/or crisis preparedness. ]

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

When we hear of a school shooting or other high-profile school safety incident, it is normal for people to look to see what the school could have done to prevent it from occurring. 

But there is also a more subtle tendency in some people to believe there must be “something wrong” with the victimized school.  After all, these things don’t happen to “good schools,” now do they?

Yes, they do.

Bad things happen to good people and good schools.

I lead our post-crisis advising for a school district struck by a bladed weapons attack on students in a classroom.  My colleague and I advised a small school district after a student fired an AK-47  in the hallway during class change and then completed suicide.  Our team advised a school district after  hundreds of parents flocked to the school after rumors of a retaliation following a gang-related murder the night before in the community.

One common thread: They were all good school districts and good school-communities, with very good people.

If there is one lesson I have learned from all of our post-crisis consulting, it is that bad things happen to good people. 

Smart educators and safety officials recognize that “it can happen here” and they plan accordingly. 

Are you and your colleagues good people? Are you in a good school-community?  Are you prepared?

Ken Trump 

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com 

The principal of a large high school candidly described to us her thinking process when she responded in two very different ways to two very similar emergency situations in the same week:

“Cognitively, I knew what I should do, but emotionally…”

In my 25-years helping educators gain peace of mind and control over their school safety planning, I know firsthand they are very, very caring people. This is great on a day-to-day basis in their interactions with students.

I am increasingly concerned, though, that without solid crisis plans and training, this caring nature could lead to more emotional, than cognitive, responses in a crisis.

A well developed crisis plan in the hands of a trained school employee can go a long way in guiding them to make cognitive, rational decisions instead of knee-jerk, emotional decisions off the top of their head during a critical incident.  And it is rational thinking which gives us the greatest chance to save lives in a real emergency!

Are your school crisis team members making cognitive or emotional decisions in drills and actual crises?

Ken Trump 

Visit School Security Blog at:  http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com