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 […]
Category Archive: School Safety and Crisis Training
School administrators must revisit traditional school safety, security, and emergency crisis plans – not just COVID safety plans.
Students and teachers are back to in-person learning in most schools across the nation. Unfortunately, instances of school shootings, gun confiscations, stabbings, and other violence have also returned to our nation’s schools. In the past week alone, there have been at least four school shootings around the U.S., the most recent on Wednesday at a […]
Balancing school board meeting security and school administrator safety with parental engagement and First Amendment rights
A growing number of parents are frustrated and angry, in particular over school COVID-19 mask policies and hot topics such as discussions around “critical race theory” and school curriculum. Political dynamics from the federal level down to local school communities are exacerbating these tensions in some school communities. What used to be routine, mundane school […]
How to do school safety drills while not colliding with COVID-19 safeguards
Quick takeaways: Many educators have yet to tackle how they will conduct school safety drills which conflict with COVID-19 social distancing and related best practices State department of education have yet to provide any guidance to school leaders for active shooter, lockdown, fire, tornado, and other drills State-mandated drill requirements have yet to be temporarily […]
Applying Continuous Improvement models to school safety: Strengthening school security and emergency preparedness to move from “good” to “great”
As educators, especially those with graduate and doctoral degrees, you have been exposed to “continuous improvement” and “improvement science” models as a foundation for strengthening curriculum, instruction, and school leadership. But are you applying continuous improvement models to school safety, security, and emergency preparedness, as well? Continuous improvement models and school safety In Learning to […]
Federal Commission on School Safety report rehashes decades-old best practices, adds a few political twists
Statement by school security expert Kenneth S. Trump, President of National School Safety and Security Services, on the Federal Commission on School Safety’s final report: The Federal Commission on School Safety’s final report largely rehashes school safety, security, and emergency preparedness best practices that have been recognized since the Columbine era nearly 20 years ago. […]
Advocates, activists, experts, and opportunists: Do you know the differences among those giving school safety advice?
“I don’t know what to believe and who to listen to,” one principal told us several months ago. As school safety issues remain in the forefront of school-community conversations following recent school shootings, the number of voices, viewpoints, and vendors continue to grow. School safety has been politically-hijacked by both gun control and gun rights […]
How President Trump can “Make federal school safety policy great again”: Advice from Ken Trump to President Donald Trump
President Donald J. Trump takes office today as the 45th President of the United States. As he and his nominated Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, begin working to “Make America Great Again,” they also have the opportunity to “Make Federal School Safety Policy Great Again.” Obama, Congress eliminated critical school safety programs prior to the […]
School safety preparation tips for back-to-school
Back-to-school means it is time for curriculum and scheduling tweaks, faculty meetings, parent communications and many other academic preparations. It also is time to review school security, emergency preparedness, supervision and other school safety fundamentals that should be included in your district and/or building safety to-do lists at the start of each year. A few […]