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Students today face ongoing challenges with bullying, weapons, drugs/alcohol, violence and more. Often, disconnects between youth and school administrators cause many of these issues to slip through the cracks. Twin Rivers School District in Broseley, MO is focusing on prevention and giving their students a secure way to share their concerns. Twin Rivers has implemented Awareity’s proven and multi-award-winning TIPS (Threat assessment, Incident management & Prevention Services) prevention platform to help improve student/staff communications and improve overall school safety. TIPS is an innovative solution equipping students, teachers, staff, parents and community members to anonymously report bullying, cyber bullying, weapons, abuse, vandalism, suicide risks and otherRead More →

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Lincoln Lutheran Schools are committed to student safety and understand that in order for students to achieve academically, they must feel secure and comfortable in their learning environment. To proactively prepare for the 2014 fall school year, Lincoln Lutheran implemented Awareity’s TIPS (Threat Assessment, Incident Management and Prevention Services). TIPS is an innovative web-based platform that empowers school administration to improve ongoing awareness and proactively connect the dots with teachers, staff, students, parents, and community members. How it works: if you witness bullying on the school bus, on line, at school, observe a student making threats, or have concerns about friends, students or others, simplyRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

An article by Guy Bliesner and Brian Armes was brought to my attention…and in full disclosure I know both Guy and Brian, and I think they do great work with school security assessments and more. Their article was called: There Is No Such Thing as Plausible Deniability in School Safety http://www.campussafetymagazine.com/article/there_is_no_such_thing_as_plausible_deniability_in_school_safety1 Their article explained a “commonly held and deeply disturbing issue of concern” involving campus and district administrators: “If we do an assessment, we will be at a greater risk liability”. The article goes on to point out how the legal doctrine of in loco parentis assigns responsibility to educators for student safety and securityRead More →

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In: Research

Post-incident reports and overwhelming evidence-base data validate most incidents (from data breaches to policy violations to violence) and tragedies were PREVENTABLE. However, even with all these lessons learned, the same common gaps and disconnects lead to more and more failed prevention efforts. Failure to “collect, assess and connect the dots” across multiple locations, departments, silos and individuals make it difficult for organizations to proactively and predictively prevent incidents, lawsuits and tragedies. Whether you are just starting your risk management planning process or reviewing your current capabilities, Awareity’s experienced team can provide the expertise and advice to improve your prevention efforts and protect your reputation andRead More →

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Next Generation Challenges are Not Going Away… Click here to download Awareity’s Next Generation Survival Guide for Superintendents, School Board Members and Educators to learn how you can take action today! Every day more children’s lives are ruined and lost. Sweeping and pervasive media coverage of bullying, cyber bullying, suicides, sexual violence, human trafficking, gangs, stabbings, shootings and other violence in schools and colleges provide a constant reminder of the need for solutions. After nearly every school related incident, lawsuit or tragedy, post-incident reports are released to explain what happened, what went wrong and suggestions on how to prevent the incident or tragedy from happeningRead More →

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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 →

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In: Success

Rick recently sat down with Homer Public School’s Secondary Principal Randy Pirner to learn more about their school safety efforts and use of TIPS. As a small rural school in Nebraska, we are definitely impressed with Homer’s leadership and their innovative efforts to keep their students safe! Below is a quick excerpt. Click here to listen to full interview. Why did your school see the need for a proactive prevention program like TIPS? Principal Pirner: We found that we had an issue with bullying; not a significant number, but we had a total disconnect from the younger child having an issue with bullying to theRead More →

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The 2013 Student Safety Report helps explain why so many incidents and tragedies in schools are not prevented. Students see and hear about things most school administrators don’t. Students are talking about concerning behaviors (hurting others, self-harm/cutting themselves, suicidal ideations, bringing weapons to school, drugs/alcohol and other risks) among themselves, but unfortunately this information is not being shared with the right people. Click here to request your copy of the report “Students want help and students want to help other students, but too many gaps and silos exist” said Rick Shaw, CEO of Awareity. “This survey provides important insights into why so many students andRead More →

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In: Success, Uncategorized

TIPS Connects Yuma County Anti‐Bullying and Violence Prevention Task Force Task Force launching a community school safety effort The Yuma County Anti‐Bullying Task Force was formed in 2008 in an effort to raise awareness regarding such a sensitive and difficult issue in rural Yuma County, Arizona. The Regional Center for Border Health, Inc. (RCBH), along with the Yuma County Task Force is launching a reporting website to help improve student safety efforts. Through the use of Awareity’s TIPS, a web‐based incident management and prevention platform, the Community Action Group is encouraging students, parents, staff, and community members to report incidents of bullying, threats of violence,Read More →