School systems and police departments are community partners, and ensuring student, faculty, and officer safety is a high priority for both. In Pennsylvania, police departments are being both innovative and proactive by using wireless technology to handle school safety. If there's an emergency, local police departments can increase situational…

Much has been written about the use of threat assessment. Schools are encouraged to have threat assessment teams and a threat assessment process as part of a comprehensive safe schools effort. Encouraging and enabling members of the school community to report possible threats in a timely manner is an essential component of an effective threat…

In this article, the author, a principal of Buckeye Valley High School, Delaware, Ohio, focuses on how to generate a building readiness plan. He suggests that school administrators should have a readily available notebook of emergency response procedures to ensure students' safety. Among other things, he recommends creation of a building…

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, prompted federal officials to step up campaigns to make schools safe. After visiting Ground Zero at New York City's World Trade Center, Education Secretary Rodney Paige sent each chief state school officer suggestions for managing school crises. Many states also have school safety plans in place. New…

For many administrators, the task of providing meaningful and timely inservice training for classroom and school safety is difficult. Staff development time is a scarce commodity in today's education environment; therefore, most inservice activities for faculty members center on academic issues. But during an emergency or crisis, a lack of…

The word "terrorism" has become commonplace in the headlines, workplaces, and homes since September 11, 2001. In the past, school crisis plans commonly addressed how to evacuate in the event of a gas leak or fire. Today, schools must be prepared to address biological, chemical, and radiological attacks, as well as car bombings, suicide attacks,…

Most colleges and universities are poorly prepared to efficiently address and manage crises. That is the finding of a survey, the results of which were in the January/February issue of the publication, "Change." The authors point to Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks as wake-up calls to higher education and maintain both that campus…

An environment of safety in the school seldom comes down to any one particular component or plan; it is a combination of strategies and ideas that makes a school safe and secure for everyone. In this article, the authors provide practical information to educators who are already working to capacity in terms of time allocation and monetary…