Visit the REMS TA Center Calendar to find trainings, Web chats, conferences, and other stakeholder activities and events for K-12 and higher ed practitioners on comprehensive school safety topics. All events featured are FREE to participate in and range from virtual to in-person opportunities for engagement and professional development.
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Timeless School Safety Strategies Series
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Faculty and staff turnover in the education and public safety professions can be common, which is why it is essential to have tools to educate school and school district administrators, educators, and staff on some of the key tenets that can help schools and school districts improve their emergency preparedness posture. The REMS TA Center can help! Follow along as we share one timeless school safety strategy each month from our newly released fact sheet. Share these strategies with individuals starting in the education field who may be part of a school safety planning team or a new School Resource Officer. These strategies may also be valuable to someone who may need a brief overview of important and timeless safe school strategies they can employ.
This month, we’re kicking off our series with the key strategy of Creating a Culture of Safety. Using the timeless school safety strategies mentioned within the fact sheet could help with creating a culture of safety. If students feel connected to their school and safe in their school environment, then they are more likely to be successful academically and socially (School Culture and Climate Assessments Fact Sheet). Since all schools are unique, each school or school district should create its own narrative regarding safety based on its individual structure or challenges. If all staff complete training, feel empowered and supported by leadership, and truly embrace the safety and emergency preparedness strategies of their school or school district, then students and parents will likely feel more confident that school staff can handle emergencies. This confidence will positively impact the school environment as the perception of the school environment would seem safer and more secure by the students and the larger school community (Student Perceptions of Safety and Their Impact on Creating a Safe School Environment Fact Sheet).
Learn more about creating a culture of safety and the other nine timeless school safety strategies by visiting our Website and downloading the fact sheet below.
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SITE ASSESS Mobile Application
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Monday, December 11 is National App Day! Celebrate by downloading the REMS TA Center’s free SITE ASSESS mobile app on your phone or tablet. It is compatible with mobile devices that run the latest supported versions of Android and iOS operating systems.
SITE ASSESS is designed for K-12 or institution of higher education (IHE) site assessment teams to evaluate the safety, security, accessibility, and emergency preparedness of their school or campus grounds. The app creates a customized list of questions based on the setting and allows users to
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- Edit, delete, and create questions specific to their school or campus facilities;
- Take pictures within and upload images directly into the app;
- Export the data into a Word document or an Excel worksheet; and
- Learn more relevant information about potential threats and hazards.
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Based on feedback from current users, the REMS TA Center has introduced a NEW merge feature allowing two team members to combine the data from each of their individual site assessments into one. The goal is to make it easier for members of multidisciplinary site assessment teams to collaborate and contribute to this important activity.
For more information on the REMS TA Center’s SITE ASSESS app, share this flyer with colleagues, request a Virtual or Live Training by Request for your education agency, watch an archived Webinar, take an online course, and/or download training materials.
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National Special Education Day and Neurodivergence
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National Special Education Day, celebrated on December 2, marks the anniversary of the 1975 signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA ensures that every student with a disability receives an appropriate education, which includes safe emergency practices. As you work with community partners to create and enhance emergency operations plans (EOPs) that address the needs of the whole school community, cross-check your EOP annexes to ensure they account for students and staff with access and functional needs, including those with neurodivergences. While some neurodivergences do not fall into the category of disability, many do (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and some forms of ADHD). It is also important to consider that many neurodivergent students are high functioning and adept at masking natural behaviors. As you update your EOP and conduct exercises, drills, and assessments, make sure to consider the scope of your school’s neurodivergent population, including students, staff, and parents/guardians.
The REMS TA Center offers resources and trainings to support students with unique challenges. Here are two resources to help get you started:
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We look forward to producing more neurodivergent-specific resources in the future. If you have case studies or best practices that would help other schools or school districts, consider submitting them to the REMS TA Center’s Tool Box for consideration.
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The winter season brings a variety of threats and hazards that schools and IHEs must consider and plan for to ensure the safety of students and staff within all settings and at all times. Some common threats and hazards include power outages and infectious diseases. Additionally, winter precipitation can impact transportation while students travel to and from school. All these winter-related problems can impact and disrupt learning.
Create or Update the Power Failure Annex in Your EOP
Extreme cold, ice, high wind, and falling trees can cause power outages during the winter season. A Power Failure Annex can help education agencies prepare to have alternative sources of power in place and a communication plan to inform parents, students, and staff about any disruptions or changes to operations. The REMS TA Center’s Power Outage Tabletop Exercise can be utilized as a hypothetical power outage scenario. It includes guiding questions and supplemental resources to conduct a tabletop exercise and practice a Power Failure Annex.
Meet With Your School Transportation Director and Team
Snow-covered roads, icy conditions, and reduced visibility can make traveling to and from school hazardous. It is imperative that transportation directors and school administrators work together to monitor weather conditions and communicate delays or cancellations in a timely manner. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio can assist with monitoring weather conditions around the clock and improve preparedness and response efforts. The Role of K-12 Transportation Directors in School Safety Efforts Webinar is a useful resource as well; it provides an overview of how transportation directors serve as key stewards in planning for all settings and all times and continuity of operations.
Review and Update the Infectious Disease Annex in Your EOP
The flu, cold, and COVID-19 disease can be highly contagious among students and staff, causing widespread absenteeism and disruption in daily operations in winter months. Develop or enhance an Infectious Disease Annex within an EOP to minimize the spread of diseases. Being proactive in planning for threats and hazards that may arise during the winter can ensure continuity of learning.
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Resources to Support SEA School Safety Efforts
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State education agencies (SEAs) play an important role in helping schools and school districts create and revise high-quality school EOPs that protect the whole school community. SEAs can support local education agencies (LEAs) in a variety of important ways, such as by providing LEA training opportunities and by collaborating with other state-level partners.
The REMS TA Center has created three NEW resources to support SEAs in their school safety and emergency management activities:
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