Guidelines for School Safety
The days for public school security have arrived, and we, as educators, must take every precaution to protect the health, security, and wellbeing of every member who enters the school’s environment. Providing a safe and healthy environment for all students and employees begins with an increased awareness of school security, safety, and health issues. All individuals within the school should know that security and health are the school’s main priorities. Additionally, school leaders must communicate to every individual within the school that each school employee also bears a personal responsibility for maintaining a safe and healthy school environment.
School administrators are now presented with the formidable task of developing security and crisis preparedness guidelines at the building level. Along with the “traditional” security threats, recent shifts in school violence and new state and national regulations for crisis management planning are forcing administrators in even the safest of schools and communities to realize that a crisis “could happen here.” Additionally, teachers, students, parents, politicians, lawyers, and the media want to know what each school is doing or has done to prevent a crisis from happening and how the school will react in cases of student injury. The sad reality is that no principal can offer a 100 percent guarantee that a violent or serious accident will not occur in his or her school. But proactive administrators can take specific steps designed to reduce the risks of student injury by preparing to manage a crisis should one occur. Unfortunately, the safety of the students and staff members might very well depend upon the principal’s ability to design, plan, and implement a comprehensive school health, safety, and crisis management program.
This process will involve assessing the overall security of the school, developing policies that regulate healthy practices, bully proofing the campus and planning in advance for a crisis.
Download Video: Posted by kingismike at TeacherTube.com.
Filed under: School Safety Guidelines
