Why Blocked Access Fire Drills are so Helpful in Improving School Emergency Preparedness

July 13, 2012 by

I will never forget the first time I observed a blocked access drill.  We were working with a school corporation in Indiana and the principal of an elementary school we were assessing asked if we would observe a fire drill to see if we could provide any suggestions for improvement.  When the fire alarm sounded, students began to file out of a classroom close to where we were positioned.  The principal had taped off the area where our group was standing and blocked the main entry way to the school.  The first student to emerge from the classroom immediately stated in a loud clear voice “our access is blocked, we need to seek an alternate route” whereupon he turned and led his class to another exit door. 

I was and remain to this day most impressed with how the students moved quickly, in an orderly fashion without being spread out or too closely clumped together.  I was even more impressed to learn that the school conducted blocked access drills routinely to teach students and staff to think on their feet.  The research on how the human brain functions under stress indicates that the thoughtful approach to fire drills adopted by the school’s principal many years ago has better prepared her students and employees to face almost any type of crisis not only at her school but in any setting.  By teaching students and staff to quickly adapt and change direction for a blocked access during a fire, she has provided a valuable lesson for any emergency they may encounter – there are times when we must deviate from our normal emergency procedures to save human life.

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Documenting Student Supervision Measures

July 12, 2012 by

One issue that arises in many school safety incidents is student supervision.  Whether or not school officials were providing effective student supervision is often a key question in school safety litigation, media coverage and more importantly, in our efforts to find better ways to protect students and staff from harm for the future. 

Hour per hour and dollar for dollar, few school safety strategies are as effective as simple yet proven concepts to improve student supervision like presence, positioning, pairing, pacing and spacing.  These and other techniques can dramatically improve the ability of staff to supervise students more effectively and preventing as well as responding school crisis situations.

Another important aspect involves appropriate and reasonable efforts to document student supervision efforts.  For example, documenting training provided to staff on student supervision, documenting staff assignments and taking the time to document that staff members have been provided policies relating to student supervision are all ways to improve student supervision while affording your legal counsel and any expert witnesses they retain a clearer picture of what has been done to improve student safety. 

Taking the time not only to implement effective student supervision strategies but to document them can improve efficiency, reduce risk, build public trust, reduce risk exposure and most importantly, can save lives.

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School Safety Incidents can Have a Dramatic Impact on School System Budgets

July 11, 2012 by

While we often think of the fiscal cost of school safety incidents in terms of workers compensation claims, litigation and higher insurance premium increases, there are many other ways that they impact the cost of operating schools.  For example, while performing a school safety, security, climate, culture and emergency preparedness assessment for a large urban school system, I had occasion to interview a variety of central office personnel.  I asked each person I interviewed if the security incidents in the district were having a budget impact on their operation.  Staff repeatedly gave examples of a wide range of direct costs to their operation that quickly added up to millions of dollars each year.  Even for a district of this size, the numbers provided were substantial.  Since the district was facing massive budget shortfalls, several million dollars each year was really making a difference in the ability of the district to deliver quality educational services.

Taking the time to properly tabulate the true costs of school safety and security incidents can be most revealing and can be a worthwhile activity.

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