Instead, each school and district must engage in a continuous process of assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating its safety and security measures in collaboration with local law enforcement and other stakeholders.
This process can generate a lot of unanswered questions, especially as new technologies, products, and strategies emerge in the market and salespeople bombard your email with new products and services.
How do we decide what to invest in, what to prioritize, and what to avoid? How do we balance the need for safety and security with the need for a positive and welcoming learning environment? How do we follow our safety and security policies and practices and make sure that they are consistent, equitable, and effective across all campuses and situations?
In this column, I will explore some of these unanswered questions and provide some general suggestions on how to approach them in a variety of circumstances.
What Products Should We Buy?
There is no shortage of products that claim to enhance school safety and security, such as access control systems, cameras, sound detectors, metal detectors, panic buttons, lockdown devices, bullet-resistant glass, and more. Some of these products may indeed offer some benefits, whereas others may be ineffective, expensive, or even counterproductive.
How can we make informed decisions about what to purchase and implement? Well, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, nor do we need to feel lost and alone in this never-ending quest as there are countless resources we can rely on.
One possible resource is the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), which is a coalition of school security experts, educators, law enforcement officials, and industry representatives. PASS has developed a set of recommendations for the selection and deployment of security equipment for schools, based on four layers of protection: perimeter, building, classroom, and emergency communication. For each layer, PASS has identified some essential, recommended, and advanced components, as well as the associated costs and challenges. The group provides training and presentations, guidelines, a checklist, device resources, and white papers offering various tips and support for school professionals. PASS also provides a road map for implementing the security equipment in phases, which can help with planning and budgeting.
The PASS guidelines provide a systematic and comprehensive way of evaluating our current security equipment and identifying the gaps and opportunities for improvement. Using an established foundation can help give us a realistic and transparent way of communicating our needs and priorities to our stakeholders, including staff members, students, parents, and our board.
How Do We Balance Safety and Security with a Positive School Climate?
Another common dilemma for school leaders is how to balance the need for safety and security with the need for a positive and welcoming school climate.
How can we prevent the unintended consequences of our security efforts and promote a culture of care and respect?
Some security measures—such as metal detectors, armed guards, or frequent lockdown drills—may create a sense of fear, distrust, or alienation among the school community. I know of at least one lawsuit regarding the alleged mental harm a student suffered by unannounced drills.
Some security measures may also have negative effects on the academic achievement, socioemotional development, and mental health of the students, especially those who are already marginalized or traumatized by violence. How can we prevent the unintended consequences of our security efforts and promote a culture of care and respect?
One possible approach would be to adopt a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) for school safety and security, which is a framework that integrates academic, behavioral, and socioemotional interventions for all students. An MTSS consists of three tiers of support: universal, targeted, and intensive. In theory, each student’s needs should be addressed by one of those tiers.
- Universal support refers to the preventive and proactive strategies that apply to all studentsand staff, such as establishing clear and consistent rules and expectations, providing positive reinforcement and feedback, building trusting and collaborative relationships, and teaching socioemotional skills and conflict resolution.
- Targeted support refers to the additional and specific interventions that apply to some studentsand staff members who are at risk or need more assistance, such as mentoring, counseling, peer mediation, or restorative practices.
- Intensive support refers to the individualized and intensive interventions that apply to a fewstudents and staff members who have severe or chronic needs, such as threat assessment, crisis intervention, or referral to external services.
By using an established and widely accepted framework, we can have a more holistic and balanced way of addressing the root causes and contributing factors of school violence rather than relying solely on reactive and punitive measures.
This framework requires support and buy-in from school site leaders, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders. By working together, we can have a more inclusive and responsive way of meeting diverse and complex needs of students and staff, while fostering a sense of belonging and well-being throughout our schools.
How Do We Provide Consistency and Equity in Our Safety and Security Policies and Practices?
Some schools and districts may have diverse levels of resources, training, coordination, or oversight for their security programs, which can lead to variations in the quality and effectiveness of security measures. Additionally, private schools, charter schools, colleges, and universities located in or around our schools may have different protocols that make some of our stakeholders ask questions and bring recommendations related to these other organizations they may be familiar with.
Some students and staff members may also experience various levels of exposure, involvement, or impact from the security policies and practices, which can lead to disparities in the outcomes and consequences of our safety and security actions. How can we minimize the inconsistencies and inequities in their security systems and maximize the fairness and accountability of our safety and security operations?
One possible approach is to adopt a data-driven and evidence-based process for monitoring and evaluating our safety and security performance and outcomes. This process involves collecting, analyzing, and reporting several types of data related to the security activities, incidents, and results, such as the frequency, type, location, and severity of security events, the response time, actions, and outcomes of security personnel, the satisfaction, feedback, and suggestions of the security stakeholders, and the costs, benefits, and impacts of the security investments.
One such platform that can collect these data is our student information system or SIS. If our SIS can log incidents, discipline, and other activities, we can use the data collection feature to track events and related circumstances.
By using a data collection system, we can have a more objective and transparent way to assess and improve our safety and security practices and policies.
Another example is a visitor management system that goes beyond printing passes to log data and information. These data can be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the safety and security program, trends and patterns, and gaps, and ultimately present opportunities for improvement. These data can also be used to compare and contrast outcomes across different schools, districts, or regions, and to identify and address any potential sources of bias, discrimination, or injustice.
By using a data collection system, we can have a more objective and transparent way to assess and improve our safety and security practices and policies. It can also provide a more accountable and ethical way of justifying our security decisions and actions if we base them on the best available information and align them with the best interests of students and staff.
How Do We Know whether We Are Doing the Right Thing?
Implementing safety and security practices that are constantly getting pushback can be challenging and frustrating. Creating something that disrupts routines, frequency, old practices, and procedures, can sometimes come back to us as being unreasonable and unjustified. How can we feel confident in our decisions and actions?
One approach is to lean on our colleagues. ASBO International provides a way to use resources, knowledge, and communication from a group of professionals who share similar titles and responsibilities, but each comes with a diverse background, experience, and education.
Gatherings like the Annual Conference & Expo, the Leadership Forum, the Eagle Institute, and more provide members opportunities to network and learn. The association’s website not only provides current information, guidance, resources, and other valuable tools, but also provides archives as a tool to learn, network, and grow.
Doing It Right A data-driven and evidence-based process for school safety and security can help us all make informed and effective decisions that protect and support our learning communities. It can also help us communicate and demonstrate our commitment and accountability to the public and our stakeholders.
By applying these processes, we can enhance our capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from various security challenges and emergencies. We can also help create a safer, more positive school climate and culture that foster trust, respect, and collaboration among the school community.