School Safety

A BRIEF OVERVIEW

School Safety

• Begins with Emergency Operation Plans or Safety Plans
• Required for Each IRN
• 85 -100 pages long

Ohio School Safety Center

• Dictates what MUST be included
• Sample plans
• Plans required to be reviewed yearly
• Plans required to be resubmitted every 3 years
• Plans must be reviewed and accepted or declined by the OSSC
• Compliance with the State

What’s included in the plans?

• Plan Activation -
• who
• what - After-hours, Off-site, planning assumptions and known vulnerabilities
• where
• Prevention - Training
• Response - 38 different sections - Weather to a Lost Child

Who’s involved in making decisions about the plan?

• District Administration - includes Superintendent, Director of Business, Business Office Manager, Directors of Student Services, Building Principals
• Local First Responders
• Fairfield County EMA

About Safety

• Safety is never done.
• Sometimes there will be disagreements about best practices.
• With each incident, we learn new things and adjust accordingly.
• Interesting fact about safety plans

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What’s Next?

• Training Staff
• Three types of Drills
• Table Top - “The body won’t go, where the mind hasn’t been.”
• Functional Drill
• Full Scale Drill
• After a Drill

State Requirements

District Requirements

• Requires 1 of each drill must be conducted every 3 years
• EMT (Emergency Management Test) Form

• Requires 1 of each drill to be completed yearly
• EMT (Emergency Management Test) Form completed for each one

Working With Staff As An Administrator On School Safety

• Communication is most important in general as an administrator. The climate of your building will directly correlate to your communication or lack of communication with staff. Be thorough, consistent, and transparent when communicating with staff in regards to school safety
• Collaborate with staff- They will have good ideas or raise concerns that will lead to adjustments in safety protocols. Let them have a voice!
• Be Compassionate- You will have staff members who will have anxiety and express concern about discussions of school safety or upcoming safety drills. Listen to them and support them. It’s a predictable event so plan ahead.
• Be Firm and Consistent in the safety protocols for your building. Whether it’s visitor policy, doors, or supervising areas. You have to inspect what you expect! (The standard is the standard)

Working With Students & Parents As An Administrator On School Safety

• You will find that students take school safety seriously. At the secondary level they have been exposed to school safety discussions and drills for their entire school career. No question asked by a student is a dumb question. Even the craziest scenario they may mention allows a teachable moment.
• Use your communication platforms to communicate with parents and families. Be sure to send advance notice of drills within two weeks of the drill, the day of, and a recap of the drill.

School Safety Considerations for Administrators

• Interior/Exterior Doors- Locked, Not Propped, Shut
• Cover Glass As Needed- Doors, Windows
• Visitor Policy- Develop Procedures & Communicate These
• Student Hats/Hoods/Head Coverings- Policy
• Communication During Drills/Events- Parent Square, PA, Walkies (This is a Drill)
• Go Bags
• Go Drive LHS Go Drive
• Drills Procedures & Recommendations