I just returned from a weeklong trip to conduct a school security assessment at a Christian school in Kenya.  Two parents who have children at the school were killed in the terrorist attack at Westgate Mall.   One student was trapped in a car with his father’s body for an extended period of time before being rescued.  Another student was badly burned in the explosion that claimed his mother’s life.  A group of students and a teacher were trapped in the mall during the attack and were thankfully rescued through the efforts of the school and a courageous U.S. government official.  Naturally, school leaders wanted to revisit school security in light of the increased risk of terrorism evidenced by the bold and deadly attack.  It is important to understand that the mall was frequented by the ex-patriot community.

Sharon Fisher from Human Technology (HT) assisted with the assessment.  We worked with Mrs. Fisher on the White House school safety initiative and she has worked with U.S. embassies across the globe.  Mrs. Fisher has also authored 140 courses for FEMA.  Her assistance on this high-stakes assessment was invaluable. 

I have always found it to be extremely insightful to conduct site visits at schools in other countries.  Whether the school is located in South America, Europe, Asia or Africa, site visits in other countries are always incredibly revealing.  The school has already had site visits by security officials from a number of foreign government agencies and had extensive security measures in place.  For example, the school is protected by a number of highly visible Kenyan Diplomatic police officers armed with selective fire rifles while security officers with K-9s secure perimeter posts.    

In spite of the previous work, we were able to develop dozens of new recommendations to enhance school safety, security and emergency preparedness.  While a number of these would rarely be considered in American K12 schools, a number of them were very similar to the types of opportunities for improvement that we find in the U.S.  The school began to immediately implement quite a few of our recommendations while we were onsite and will be implementing others shortly.

During the assessment, we visited the still closed Westgate Mall to gain a deeper understanding of the attack and how it impacts the appropriate security posture of the school.  A reported attempted terrorist attack on the airport on the morning of my departing flight enhanced my understanding of these dynamics.

Sharon and I, and the SHI team who provided offsite assistance, all feel truly honored to be able to participate in this project.  I am also grateful to the kindness and generosity shown to me by the citizens of Kenya that I had the chance to interact with.    

From time to time, we work with school districts and independent schools that must raise significant revenues for major capital projects with safety implications.  Often, improvements in safety, security, climate, culture, and emergency preparedness are key issues and occasionally, primary issues for these projects. We recently worked with a school district that wanted us to review their plans to upgrade every school in their district from a school safety, security, and emergency preparedness standpoint.  They also wanted our assistance in communicating the rationale behind the proposed upgrades. 

I had worked with the district on multiple previous occasions and knew they had incorporated many of the upgrades after we had advised them of the opportunities for improvement.  Just as importantly, I knew that local law enforcement, fire service, and emergency management officials had been intensively involved with shaping the approaches being used to plan the renovations.  We planned an intensive 14-hour day which included meetings to review the proposed renovations and upgrades, no-cost and low-cost improvements that have and could be made to complement improvements that are proposed in the bond referendum, and videotaped interviews between me and a variety of district and public safety officials to explain specific critical concepts to the public.

We had a truly productive day and I was extremely impressed with the work of the superintendent, public information officer, facilities and business personnel, and public safety personnel.  The district will be producing a series of online video spots and working in a variety of other ways to clearly and openly communicate why the project is so critical and why so much of the overall project is focused on improving school safety, security, climate, culture, and emergency preparedness.

Having been involved with many efforts to try to acquire funding to address school safety issues, I have always felt that even in tough economic times, the average citizen is more likely to vote yes when a clear, honest and demonstrably well-thought out approach has been effectively communicated to them.  In my experience, most people do care about school safety and are more likely to put their “money where their mouth is” if we take the time to properly educate them and to prove that money is being spent logically and effectively.  Though challenging to achieve, the opportunities to improve funding are often there if we evaluate, document, and communicate the need to prevent tragedies in our schools.

A dangerous message has been repeated numerous times since the Sandy Hook School shooting occurred last year.   In story after story, it has been reported that the school did “everything right” but 26 people died at the school anyway.  Our analysts have noticed a dangerous pattern with some school employees that likely derive from this narrative.  While conducting controlled school crisis simulations with school employees in a one-on-one setting, we have had a number of test subjects make comments along the lines of – “it is my job to die, the Sandy Hook shooting taught me that even if we do everything right, a lot of people will die if an attacker picks our school.” 

Law enforcement administrators, fire commanders, and military leaders would be quite alarmed to hear their personnel make these types of statements.  Professionals in all of these fields are taught that while some personnel in their field will surely be killed in their service to others, there are numerous things that can be done to dramatically reduce the risks of death in these high stakes arenas.  When we interviewed former Delta Force Special Operator Tom Satterly for Staying Alive – How to Act Fast and Survive Deadly Encounters, he emphasized that he survived many long hours of intensive combat as part of Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu by believing that he would survive if he did his part and that his fellow soldiers would do their part.  Having earned six Bronze Stars in service to the United States Army, Tom speaks with authority when he tells us that an important point to survival in desperate situations is confidence.  Satterly carefully points out that while arrogance can kill, confidence is instrumental in surviving tough situations.

I am distressed that a sometimes pervasive message is sometimes being disseminated in the media, at professional conferences, in school safety training programs, drills and exercises, and in school security assessments where physical features are purported to be the primary means to protect people from violence.  While dangers must be identified and addressed, preaching gloom is in direct conflict with what considerable research teaches us about preparing people and organizations to survive deadly encounters.