By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

The school shooter in DeKalb County, GA allegedly gained entry to the heavily secured school by “piggy-backing”, following someone with controlled access through the door. Does your school have a policy to prevent this potential risk? Do you tell your employees not to hold the door open for others? How are visitors managed on a day to day basis? Most schools try to steer visitors to one controlled entry point, the “front door”. Reconfiguring school entrances to direct all traffic here is good. However, many schools may then develop tunnel vision and only focus on the security of that front entrance. It is important toRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Success

Another great interview!   This time Rick speaks with Scott Schumacher, Principal of St. Peters Lutheran School in Columbus, Indiana.  Scott is a true leader who is dedicated to building trust and forming strong relationships with his students and staff in order to keep his school safe. Below is a quick excerpt from the interview.  To listen to the full conversation and learn some valuable insights from Scott click here!   Why did your school see a need for an anonymous incident reporting system? Over the years, we know that our school like every school has had some instances where students have bullied others.  We areRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, School Safety, Success

Rick recently sat down with Ankeny Community School’s Safety and Security Manager, Chad Bentzinger, to learn more about their school safety efforts and use of TIPS.  We are definitely impressed with Ankeny’s leadership and their dedication to keeping their students safe! Below is a quick excerpt from the interview.  Click here to listen to the rest of Chad’s experiences.   Why did you see a need for the TIPS prevention platform? For us it was a two-pronged approach.  Understanding the districts in our area have had to deal with students who have committed suicide and the post effects, we looked at what we can doRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Risk Management, School Safety

  Frogs, Excuses and Budgets   Most everyone has heard of the Boiling Frog Syndrome…. When a frog is dropped in boiling water it will jump out…but when a frog is placed in cold water that is gradually heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be ‘cooked to death’. The same is true for Schools and Colleges (and other organizations too) failing to recognize the impact of a gradual rise in risks, threats, incidents, headlines, settlements and tragedies. As student safety incidents and tragedies become more common in the headlines, several common excuses from School Officials and College Officials indicate many may notRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Questions Reveal Answers   IF old school advice and hundreds and hundreds of stop bullying programs/curriculums were the solution – why would the CDC cite bullying and suicide as a significant public health problem? http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-suicide-translation-final-a.pdf   IF old school advice and stop bullying programs/curriculums were the solution, why would a 2013 Student Survey of nearly 4,500 students in schools across 19 states reveal that 85% of students witness/experience bullying in their schools? https://www.awareity.com/public/StudentSafetyReport.asp   IF millions and millions of dollars spent on security products was the solution – shouldn’t campus and community violence prevention be millions of times better? Do school/college leaders believe theyRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Uncategorized

  The Prevention Gapidemic and Connecting the Dots Shootings:  Twenty-eight innocent students and staff members were killed in 44 U.S.A. school shootings in the 14 months following the tragedy at Sandy Hook. Stabbings: Multiple stabbings in Canada, China and USA, including 16-year-old student in PA who stabbed 21 students and an adult — leaving four seriously injured.   In a 2013 Student Safety Survey – 37% of students said they were aware of an individual that poses a potential risk to their school.  (scary by itself and even scarier since most school officials don’t know) https://www.awareity.com/public/StudentSafetyReport.asp Bullying & Suicide:  The CDC (Centers for Disease ControlRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, School Safety

  Earlier this month, an elementary school in Buncombe County, N.C., banned 9-year-old Grayson Bruce from carrying his My Little Pony backpack, saying it triggered bullying. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/03/18/my-little-pony-backpack-banned-school-north-carolina/6565425/ According to the student’s mother, one of the school counselor’s suggestions was to hide it. “If you have something like this you’re asking for trouble.” Think about it…BANNING is actually teaching and reinforcing intolerance, BANNING is not helping youth learn how to be tolerant and inclusive. If a school bans My Little Pony backpacks because it might lead to bullying, what’s next?  Banning students with red hair, banning students who are overweight, banning students in wheel chairs andRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety, Uncategorized

  Earlier this month, Awareity released our 2013 Student Safety Report – What Students Know and School Administrators Don’t. To request the full report click here. The findings outlined in the report provide administrators with the validations and evidence they need to justify immediate action. Just think how much safer every school would be if all students were equipped with the right tools to report incidents and concerning behaviors. Just think what a difference it would make if School Officials were equipped with the right tools to collect information, connect all the right dots, investigate, perform threat assessments, intervene, monitor, and proactively prevent reports fromRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, Risk Management

  Albert Einstein said: “Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.”    I definitely agree with Albert Einstein on this quote.  When it comes to preventing incidents and tragedies in schools, colleges and organizations of all types, evidence clearly reveals our planet is in need of more geniuses. Are you ready to be a genius? Lots of people and experts have opinions on solving problems and let’s be honest…it is fairly easy to look at a problem and make suggestions that people need to do this or that or add more of this or more of that or do it this way or that. With soRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, School Safety

  After a very cold and very early start on Sunday morning with a 3 hour delay due to frozen airplane systems and frozen lines (meaning no hot coffee on a very cold plane!), I finally made it to the 25th annual National Youth At-Risk (NYAR) Conference in Savannah, GA. http://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar/ The NYAR conference started with a very motivating and uplifting keynote from Keith Brown – Mr. I’m Possible.   http://www.keithlbrown.com/ Mr. Brown reminded everyone that we can make a difference – a huge difference for all youth if we do that little bit extra and if we do not let negativity discourage us from doingRead More →