PrintNow more than ever good school security and emergency planning are essential to protecting students and staff. The threat of crime, violence and theft have become a way of life for many school employees. Special education classroom staff have some of the highest rates of work-related assaults; they have the same risks of assaults as mental health care providers.
Crime, violence and theft not only threaten the well-being of staff and students, they threaten to compromise or destroy the business of schools--providing quality education to children.
Our schools are not always prepared for other critical emergencies from fires, to severe weather or even terrorist attacks. The American Federation of Teachers has identified school violence and security as a priority national issue. AFT has established a union-wide task force that has developed recommendations to be presented to the 1994 convention delegates for approval. At the same time, AFT continues to actively lobby for national safe school legislation and assist locals in developing contract language on schools safety.
The AFT encourages its locals to be involved in a comprehensive planning process from the district level down to the school level. Planning should involve:
• All school staff
• Identification of all potential hazards in the school and community--weather, fires, crime etc.
• Evaluation of the building structure, activities and school grounds to identify structural changes that might make the school safer
• Contingency and lock-down plans
• Cooperating with other emergency responders in the community--fire department, police department, public health department among others
• Adequate training for staff and opportunities for practicing drills
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What you can do: While overall solutions to emergency preparedness and the problems of crime and violence in our schools will come from legislation and community efforts to provide better security, there are efforts you can take to limit your risk. • Ask to review any written security and emergency –preparedness plans in your school; if you have concerns about the plans, discuss them with your building representative or your local leader • Keep your eyes open for potentially violent students and growing crowds of students. • Mark your property with an engraving tool or an indelible marker. • Organize a special day at your school for marking personal items and tagging and registering bicycles. • If you or your colleagues are working late or need to walk to a distant parking place, set up a volunteer escort service. • Always have the phone number for school security, the local police and other important emergency numbers posted next to every phone. • Accept opportunities to work on school safety and emergency preparedness committees that are working on comprehensive school safety plans • Participate in training programs on your school safety plan. • Make a personal plan with your family members in the event of an attack or severe weather. Understand how you will communicate with one another or chose designated locations to meet. |
