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.

Barron’s, one of the nation’s most respected book publishers, has requested that Safe Havens develop a concept for a sequel to Staying Alive – How to Act Fast and Survive Deadly Encounters.  Designated as a top four publisher’s pick from the 160 titles to be published by Barron’s this year, Staying Alive is a heavily researched book.  The seven subject matter expert reviews of Staying Alive have been positive and the editorial and project management teams at Barron’s have expressed that to us that they have been extremely impressed with the quality of our research, authoring, editing ,and project management.  The five person team that has worked on Staying Alive has met every deadline during the project.  Staying Alive will be released in bookstores this April.  A powerful free web viewable companion video will be released on the Safe Havens website in March.

We feel honored that this distinguished publisher has expressed interest in a sequel when for a book that is not yet been published.  I have been published by a number of other reputable publishers including Jane’s and Prentice Hall and feel truly blessed to be able to work with such high caliber publishers.

During a series of interviews with the producer for the Today Show, I was asked to provide a list of high end school access control practices.  While truly effective school access control can be a bit more complicated than a bullet list of concepts, I thought the observations we have had from thousands of school security assessments we have assisted with might prove to be helpful to many readers. 

While it is critical to note that school access control concepts should be tailored to fit local conditions, the following concepts can often help to improve school access control.  Our analysts also hasten to point out that school access control is often only as reliable as the weakest link.  For example, superb front entryway design, technologies and staffing can become often easily be defeated if staff prop side doors open with rocks and other objects.  This aspect of school access control also makes it even more important to use a layered approach to school security. 

With these cautions in mind, the following practices can improve the reliability of access control in most K12 schools:

1.  A thoughtfully developed and properly communicated policy on school access control

2.  Keeping all exterior doors locked during the school day

3.  Providing quality staff development on school access control, visitor screening and visitor management practices

4.  Providing effective training in pattern matching and recognition techniques to help school employees quickly spot and react to potentially dangerous people

5.  100% wear of photo identification cards by all staff and time sensitive visitor badges for all visitors

6.  Remote buzzer access with camera and audio to screen visitors before they are admitted

7.  Security film on perimeter doors and windows

8.  Requiring visitors who staff do not know by full name on sight to show photo identification or be personally identified by another staff member before being admitted beyond the office area

9.  Any visitor who will be in proximity to students or who is going to be allowed to leave with a child must be checked against sexual predator database and outstanding court orders

10.  Teaching students to report any adult in the building who is now wearing a staff identification card or visitor badge

While this list is not intended to be a comprehensive approach to school access control, the concepts listed above can make it less likely that school access control will be defeated while increasing the chances that someone who is able to breach perimeter security is quickly detected and reported.

Safe Havens is pleased to announce that we have just ordered the ninth printing of Weakfish – Bullying Through the Eyes of a Child.  This book has been helpful to many school safety practitioners over the years because it helps them see the connection between what research says and the story of an actual child.

 We are excited that demand for the book is still strong after more than a decade.  There are many excellent books on bullying out there and as an author I am thankful that so many people still read Weakfish.   Though my first book to be stocked by bookstores Staying Alive – How to Act Fast and Survive Deadly Encounters is expected to sell far more copies, Weakfish is a very personal book to me. 

As a child who struggled to be able to read, I dreamed of writing a book someday.  Being able to publish multiple books is beyond my wildest childhood dreams.   Being a diagnosed Dyslexic, I can vividly recall not being able to read.  Thanks to a dedicated teacher and an amazing program for Dyslexic children, I am able to read and write today.  Each time a new printing of Weakfish comes out, I feel blessed that I received this critical assistance.

I felt honored to be allowed to serve as the closing keynote for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction at their awesome Building the Heart of successful Schools Conference in Wisconsin Dells last Friday.  The department had an amazing line up of amazing speakers including Dr. William Steele and Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade.  This was my second keynote in Wisconsin in the past four weeks and I feel blessed to have been able to present there on a regular basis over the past decade. 

Wisconsin has been a very progressive state in terms of school safety and has licensed our school crisis planning templates for every K12 school in the state through the Wisconsin Homeland Security Council.   I had a well-attended breakout session on Pattern Matching and Recognition followed by an energized and passionate group for the closing keynote session. 

It has been a very busy week and a half with a school security assessment for an independent school, the first day of a school security assessment for a public school system in North Carolina, several interviews with the Today Show and last Friday’s conference in Wisconsin.  I am tired, but it is that good type of tired that comes from meaningful hard work.  If you truly love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.  I must say that I have been fortunate to love what I do throughout my adult life.

 As I have said many times, I feel truly blessed to be allowed to interact with so many dedicated educators, mental health professionals, public safety officials, architects and other advocates for the children each month. 

While the media may focus intently on mass casualty school shootings, the typical school weapons assault bears little resemblance to these catastrophic and tragic incidents.   And while it is important for us to work diligently to try to prevent and prepare for mass casualty school shootings, we must also work to address the far more common forms of school violence.  Leading school violence experts recognize that the majority of school weapons assaults do not involve fatalities and do not result in mass casualties.  In fact, the majority of school violence incidents involving weapons are carried out with edged weapons and blunt objects rather than with guns.  In fact, most of the school weapons attacks we have worked involve box cutters, razor blades, and relatively small knives.

Evaluating hundreds of these incidents reveals some noticeable and important patterns.  For example, we have noted that the most common denominator for school weapons assaults is the common schoolyard fight.  While the incidents are typically not mass casualty events reported in the national news, most school violence incidents involving weapons occur just before, during or immediately after a fight.  One means to reduce the chances that a school violence incident involving weapons will occur is to work to reduce the number of fights at schools and school events.  If twenty-five fights per year occur at a middle school, the chances that a school violence incident involving a gun, knife, or other weapon will occur increase.  If staff at the school can reduce the number of fights by 80%, the chances of weapons being used in a school violence incident decline markedly.

We feel that it is also very important to remember the negative effect of fights on school climate and culture.  Fights degrade the learning environment by causing distraction and tying up considerable staff time.  While no single strategy will eliminate the threat of school violence, the reduction of triggering behaviors such as fights is one effective part of a comprehensive approach to school violence prevention.