As a new school year begins across the country, it’s imperative that school administrators take the necessary steps to ensure safe and secure facilities. Recent tragic events underscore the need to protect students and staff to advance the learning process.
These are the best school security practices school administrators should follow:
Invest in training and education.
School administrators should provide opportunities for the faculty to practice drills, ask questions, and make suggestions based on their experiences. The faculty must be equipped with the skills and knowledge to confidently lead during an emergency while still maintaining the freedom to make decisions that best suit each situation.
Establish an ID entrance policy.
The best school safety precaution is to end a threat before it can begin. Threats can be lessened and even eliminated at the door with an ID entrance policy. A policy such as this requires that only those who have a school ID will be allowed inside the facility. This process secures the main entrance and creates a strategic step toward school safety.
Encourage students to be proactive.
Keeping the students engaged with the faculty and their studies is a key component of school safety. All students are helpers when it comes to school safety. They may see and know things that faculty members are not privy to and can alert the proper staff members to the possibility of a threat. A student is more likely to help in this area if they feel the faculty is approachable and has a positive and helpful attitude toward all the students.
Secure doors and windows.
An obvious mechanism for safety and security are locks on doors and windows. Since these can keep out threats and secure a room of students and faculty, it is important that locks should be easy to reach and use. Instruct staff to never leave doors propped open.
Communicate the importance of security.
School faculty should be shown how important the security of their school is, as well as how important they are to gaining and keeping that security. Impress on them the importance of drilling and knowing how to secure the students if there is an incident. The Education Market Team at Sonitrol Great Lakes sends our best wishes for a successful and safe school year.