American Time School Blog

(Part 4 of a 4 part blog series)

Part 1: Enterprise Risk Management for Schools
Part 2: Serving Those with Access and Functional Needs in an Emergency
Part 3: Emergency Communications: The Deciding Factor in Almost Any Crisis

As we assess schools around the county, one of the most interesting commonalities that I have noted is the challenge in protecting special programs. This includes those facilities that serve students with access and functional needs (AFN), but also for any program that does not follow the traditional K-12 feeder structure. For example, many vocational tech high schools have a higher rate of risk due to the programs and materials used, such as welding, auto shop or medical programs. These campuses are also often the last to receive security upgrades. 

As part of ongoing capital improvements, a district may decide to upgrade the schools to include a Single Point of Entry (SPE) or an updated intercom system. This upgrade might be phased in first with the high schools, then the middle and elementary schools. This makes sense from a fiscal sense and from an organizational standpoint. But for a variety of reasons special programs are usually not included in these first rounds and may not even make a second or third round of improvements. Eventually the next round of capital improvements comes along and the process starts again, until the facility is lucky enough to require demolition and replacement. 

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(Part 3 of a 4 part blog series)

Part 1: Enterprise Risk Management for Schools
Part 2: Serving Those with Access and Functional Needs in an Emergency
Part 4: Are your Special Programs Protected?

Many people assume that the most important thing during a crisis is responding to the event - for example evacuating during a fire or deciding how to respond to an active shooter in the building. But the real challenge during any school crisis is even more basic: How do we warn others nearby and protect the rest of the building?

While close analysis of almost any crisis event will typically reveal communications challenges – or even errors – that contribute to the difficulty of response, there are a few key examples from our nation’s history that can be illustrative to this point.

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(Part 2 of a 4 part blog series)

Part 1: Enterprise Risk Management for Schools
Part 3: Emergency Communication: The Deciding Factor in Almost Any Crisis
Part 4: Are your Special Programs Protected?

Schools have come a long way in terms of safety and security since Columbine, Sandy Hook and even the most recent high-profile attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. But one area that is still frequently overlooked is the challenge of serving those with Access and Functional Needs.

Traditionally referred to as Special Education, emergency planning in this area has broadened to include not only students with obvious special needs, but others that may need special assistance due to language barriers or other challenges. This also extends to staff members and visitors, such as the teacher who is 7 months pregnant or the grandfather who comes to pick up his child but only speaks broken English.

There are a variety of challenges faced by special programs ranging from vocational programs to campuses that serve those with Access and Functional Needs. Because of this, the same approach to site planning should be used so that these types of considerations are taken into account when creating emergency plans for the organization as a whole. (Learn more about these challenges in the blog “Are your Special Programs Protected”).

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(Part 1 of a 4 part blog series)

Part 2: Serving Those with Access and Functional Needs in an Emergency
Part 3: Emergency Communications: The Deciding Factor in Almost any Crisis
Part 4: Are Your Special Programs Protected?

One of the most exciting new developments we have seen in school safety in the last few years is not any new technology, but rather a conceptual approach that is relatively new to education. The concept of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is the result of the evolution of insurance and risk management over time. The ERM model is broader than traditional risk management, however, and attempts to unify risk management efforts across the entire organization. 

One challenge many school organizations have is the coordination of safety and security resources. Typically, these have been spread across various departments. For example, the purchase of a security camera might require input and approval from the security department, facilities, finance, human resources, legal, and the teacher’s union. This is just one aspect of the challenge of coordinating resources across departments. Hiring, chain of command, and a number of other factors come into play as well. These problems only intensify as the size of the organization grows. This can be a challenge even in a small school district with just a few schools. When that number increases to dozens or hundreds of school sites, it can be a challenge just to quantify the problem. 

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