There were 246 educators online for the live edWeb presentation and many more will watch the recording of School Safety in a Post-Pandemic America: The Critical Need for an All-Hazards Approach.
October is National Principal's Month - Here are some safety tips for principals!
It’s National Principal’s Month! Building administrators are crucial in keeping schools safe. Download our October calendar with a daily safety tip for educators. Share it with your favorite administrator!
Educators Need to Disown School Shootings
This week we have become increasingly frustrated with the erroneous assumption that schools somehow “own” the problem of gun violence. In the name of “centering the national debate on gun violence”, this past week the public has been treated to a gut wrenching back to school video from Sandy Hook Promise that graphically illustrates the trauma inflicted on our children by the constant, unremitting assertion to kids that at any minute they will die in a school shooting, when in reality research indicates a greater likelihood that a child will be killed on their way to school or playing a school sport then in an active shooter incident at school. Days before the video’s release, during New York fashion week, sullen looking models paraded down the runway wearing school shooting sweatshirts that featured Columbine, Sandy Hook, and yes, Parkland. These “fashion statements” were supposedly designed to impact the national conversation on gun violence, complete with bullet holes. Then finally late last week, the Onion came under fire for publishing a fake school shooting story that was supposed to “satirize” our national gun debate.
We’re unsure how exploiting, glamorizing, or satirizing school shootings somehow solves a weighty political, constitutional, and moral problem that extends far beyond the statistically rare event of a school shooting. Based on the public outcry over these three incidents, apparently most people don’t either. If we really want to talk about gun violence, let’s examine it in the context of where it happens most often – in our neighborhoods and our homes.
Clearly there have been horrific acts of murder perpetrated in schools over the 20 years since Columbine created a cultural touchpoint that has been appropriated by gun control and gun right advocates ever since. But the nature of schools themselves is not the cause, or the solution, to gun violence. Student aren’t shooting up schools because they can’t remember the date of the Magna Carte or because this week’s spelling words are too hard. They aren’t committing gun violence because the cafeteria lunch has too many (or too few) vegetables. They aren’t engaging in acts of mass murder because they have too long of a ride on the school bus, or they don’t have a date to the prom. School shootings occur because of mental health issues, emotional instability, and environmental factors that begin and reside in homes and communities – not just within the school.
As educators, we need to stop owning the problem of school shootings and gun violence. First off, a school shooting is a statistically rare event that doesn’t necessarily warrant the time, attention, resources, and trauma that is devoted to it. My research on violent incidents in schools for the 2018-2019 school year indicates that less than 6% of all violence that occurs in schools involves a shooting. (www.eSchoolSafety.org/violence). Perhaps even more troubling, when training and preparation focuses solely on the least likely event, schools become less, not more, safe and supportive environments.
As John Dewey put it, schools are a reflection of society. It is not the job of schools to solve all of society’s ills, in particular one this divisive and complex. More importantly, schools should not be the battle ground for the politically motivated agendas and attacks that created the current stalemate on gun violence. Teachers and students (as well as the victims of school massacres that have occurred) are not pawns to be used to score points in an unwinnable war.
We don’t much care what your stance on gun rights or gun control is. Stop beating schools over the head with it. As educators, we have better things to do – like protecting students from the myriad of other safety concerns that are more likely to happen than a school shooting. Or maybe even doing the thing we’re really supposed to be doing –educating kids.
Politicians, advocates, artists, and provocateurs on both sides of the gun issue need to stop dragging educators into the center of this debate or furthering the fiction that the only gun violence that occurs (or matters) is in the halls of America’s schools. Let’s take this conversation into the venue where it belongs, the community square and the halls of government. Leave educators alone – we’ve got important work to do.
"Programs that rely on scare tactics to prevent problems are not only ineffective, but may have damaging effects."
The recent controversy over an ill-advised active shooter training for teachers in Indiana raises a number of important issues from the need for educator training that incorporates more than just active shooter response, to the inappropriate use of teachers as "props" in exercises and drills. While these (and more) are relevant concerns, let's consider whether subjecting teachers to a simulation of their worst nightmares is an effective training strategy. Not surprisingly - it isn't.
Since the 1960's research has established that using fear to change behaviors simply doesn't work and in many cases actually increases the problem. There is a great deal of research showing that the use of scare tactics to make a point, modify a behavior, or instill a sense of importance is ineffective at best, and traumatizing at worst. Teachers being shot "execution-style" with pellet guns by law enforcement officials checks all the boxes. The teachers already understood (and were concerned about) the possibility of being victimized by an active shooter as they had made it a priority to attend a training that was supposed to show them how to respond to a shooting. The end result of subjecting teachers to trauma in the name of training is that the problems associated with educators not being empowered to respond to violence were actually increased - not decreased.
In 2004, the National Institute of Health took the position that "Programs that rely on scare tactics to prevent problems are not only ineffective, but may have damaging effects." Then there's common sense - if scare tactics and intimidation really worked, there be no smoking, drunk driving, teen pregnancy, or drug abuse.
Perhaps most tragically, we already know what works to increase safety in schools: research-based, all hazards violence prevention and crisis response training incorporating an educational perspective. In other words, training that is by educators, for educators.
It's always just a bomb threat, right?
The fall of 2018 saw four detonations of explosive devices in schools. All of them were relatively minor incidents, but they all caused a significant amount of chaos and anxiety. These detonations fell into two specific categories.
Half of the incidents involved students with firecrackers. In the first incident, a student set off a firecracker in the auditorium the day after another student threatened to shoot up the school. (https://bangordailynews.com/2018/10/15/news/hancock/the-day-after-a-gun-threat-at-a-maine-school-another-student-set-off-a-firecracker-in-the-building/). The second incident involved firecrackers set off in a bathroom that filled the hallway with smoke and caused the evacuation of the school. (https://katc.com/news/around-acadiana/st-landry-parish/2018/11/27/opelousas-high-evacuated-after-unknown-device-set-off-in-the-restroom/). In both cases, students at the school believed they were in the middle of a crisis event (a shooting or a fire).
Perhaps more troubling is the face that the other two incidents were perpetrated by individuals outside of the school community. In one case, a construction worker detonated an explosion at the football that was under construction with students in class nearby. By his own admission, he indicated he was “making a bomb”. (https://www.ksl.com/article/46391069/man-charged-with-igniting-explosive-at-new-high-school). The other incident involved a volunteer firefighter who detonated an explosive device behind an elementary school outside of school hours. (https://wjla.com/news/local/volunteer-firefighter-arrested-in-explosive-device-investigation).
It doesn’t take much to imagine the anxiety and fear of those involved in all of these incidents, even though in hindsight we can see they were not catastrophic events… but they could have been. It’s critical that schools engage in appropriate planning, prevention, and response related to bomb threat and incidents.
How many more of these blog posts will we have to write?
Five Ways to Fix Our School Safety Problem
The horrific tragedy that took place in Parkland Florida is just the most recent in a long line of terrible events that have occurred in our schools. Despite the shocking carnage and overwhelming sadness, students will return to schools that are fundamentally unsafe. Apparently, as a society, we are OK with that. It would appear that we are willing to defer substantive change in favor of arguments about guns, funding, and priorities. We delude ourselves that violence doesn’t happen that often, or that nothing bad will happen in our kid’s schools, and as a result, there will be more needless tragedies.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Despite wildly divergent opinions on politics, guns, or education, there are a few simple measures on which we can all agree, that would help to fix our school safety problems:
- Stop arguing about gun control and start providing educators with the training the critically need. Let’s start at a place we can all agree: no one should be dying in our schools. It’s time to implement a common sense approach to school safety that is led by our educators.
- Stop buying stuff. Let’s spend the flurry of money that will be allocated in the wake of today’s tragedy by investing in people rather than buying stuff. Metal detectors, apps, and fencing won’t stop the next school shooter. Training in violence prevention, threat assessment, and crisis response might.
- Train everyone (not just administrators). Training and expertise in preventing and responding to crisis events needs to be de-centralized. Every person in every school – teachers, staff, students, parents – needs to have adequate, appropriate training in what to do when a crisis occurs.
- Prepare for all hazards. While active shooter situations are tragic and garner lots of media attention, the truth is that violence and crisis situations occur EVERY DAY in our schools. Planning, preparation, training, and response is required that focuses not just on active shooter (the least likely of events), but on all the other man-made and natural hazards that schools face each day.
- More law enforcement is not the answer. In a school crisis, educators ARE the first responders and should be trained as such. Yet most conversations, decisions, and trainings about school safety are centered on and driven by a law enforcement perspective.
We don’t need more political rhetoric or recriminations. We don’t need to turn our schools into prisons. We don’t need to arm teachers or have cops in every classroom. We just need to have the will to plan, prepare, prevent, and train our educators NOW.
Another tragedy in an Elementary School...
Another tragedy in an elementary school – what will be our response? Shock, dismay, sadness? How long until we start politicizing? Let’s try another approach. Instead of pointing fingers, let’s look in the mirror. What can be done TODAY to move towards what we all want – to keep kids safe in schools? It starts with taking an educational, not law enforcement view of school safety. Let’s bring educators into the conversation and give them the tools and resources they need to respond to horrific events like today. It starts with education-based, all hazards training for the real first responders – the school staff. As a non-profit training organization staffed by educators, we’re ready to get started.
Bulletproof Backpacks or Bang for the Buck?
Image courtesy of: Seattle Municipal Archives
Several media outlets reported this week about a Florida school that is selling bulletproof backpack inserts to their students for $120 each. Let that sink in a minute - we are now at a point in our society where bullet proof gear is considered a school necessity. There is so much that could be discussed here – from the societal ills that result in mass shootings on a regular basis, to the potentially exploitive practice of preying on a parent’s worst fears to sell products. Oh, and then there’s the possibility that these inserts most likely will not keep students any safer, regardless of the motivation for selling them.
Instead, let’s talk about the allocation of financial resources in this direction (forgiving the insensitive pun), what gives the biggest bang for the buck to keep a classroom full of kids safe? First, we need to do the math: 25 students at $120 per bulletproof insert = $3,000 available for classroom safety.
The bulletproof insert is specifically designed for one possible event – an active shooter – and is limited (to say the least) in its application. The student needs to be able to access their backpack in the event and must know how to use the backpack as a shield. So, for $3,000 we have a marginal solution to a single statistically unlikely problem.
For that same $3,000 we could provide training – and lots of it. We could directly train every person in the classroom in the five FEMA recommended response protocols – evacuation, reverse evacuation, lockdown, shelter in place, and drop, cover, hold. These five protocols can be employed in virtually every possible crisis event from an earthquake to a non-custodial parent to an active shooter.
But there’s still money left. Then we could provide more direct training to the teacher and aide in this classroom. First aid, CPR, and AED training would give these adults the lifesaving skills necessary to treat the variety of injuries and medical events that schools face almost daily.
But wait, there’s more - our money buys us still more training. Students, staff, and parents can be trained in lockdown enhancements and options, including active shooter training, that will give them the capacity to employ the recommended FEMA/DHS protocol of “run, hide, fight”. The ability to rapidly evacuate and/or barricade to deny the gunman access is crucial to surviving an active shooter event.
Finally, we’ll use the balance of our $3,000 to prevent, not just respond to violence. Threat assessment management training allows schools to identify, assess, and manage individuals who may pose a threat of violence to themselves or others BEFORE an incident occurs. Strategic supervision practices provide teachers with the means to identify, prevent, and remediate potential violence or misbehavior. Assessing and improving school climate and culture has a proven track record of preventing violence AND increasing academic achievement.
Education is a people business – let’s stop buying stuff and invest in people to keep our students safe. I bet your bullet-proof insert can’t do that…
An Awful Day for School Safety
October 31 was an awful day for school safety. Not one, but two significant events occurred today that underscored the need for a comprehensive, all-hazards approach to school safety. Schools on both coasts unexpectedly found themselves implementing multiple emergency procedures such as lockdown, evacuation, student accountability, and parent reunification in rapid succession.
In New York, a terrorist attack involved a bus crash as well as multiple fatalities in the full view of horrified students. Not one, but two schools found themselves in both lockdown and sheltering modes. On the west coast, a Riverside, California first grade teacher was held hostage by an enraged parent until SWAT intervened. The school was evacuated and the children removed off site to be reunified with their parents.
The take-away? There is no substitute for appropriate planning, preparation and training – and it needs to happen now. These two schools had no way of knowing today would be the day their plans and preparation would be tested. How would your school have fared if you were in their shoes today?
For more information and free resources to assist you in planning, preparation, and training, head to www.eSchoolSafety.org.
20 Troubling Days in September
The 2017-2018 school year is off to a rocky start…
In the 20 school days in September 2017, we’ve had:
- 188 threats or incidents of violence in schools in 43 different states
- 62 bomb threats impacted more than 84 schools
- 3 guns were found on school property
- 57 school shooting threats impacted more than 160 schools
- 7 shootings occurred on school campuses in Ohio, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, California, Kentucky, and Massachusetts. There were also 2 serious shooting plots thwarted.
- A student was stabbed to death on campus, while another committed suicide in a school restroom.
There were an additional 45 threats where the nature of the threat was not revealed.
In just the 20 school days in September, the top 5 states for incidents or threats:
1. Pennsylvania – 20 threat or incidents
2. California – 16 threats or incidents
3. Ohio and Illinois – 9 threats or incidents each
4. Washington, Tennessee, Texas, and North Carolina – 8 threats or incidents each
5. New York – 7 threats or incidents
Wondering if this is just an unusual September? Check out our States of Concern report which analyzes threats and incidents of violence during the 2016-2017 school year.
Another Textbook Tragedy
Yesterday’s school shooting in Spokane is all too familiar not just because it was a shooting in a school (25% of all mass shootings happen in schools), but because the pre-attack behaviors of the perpetrator are almost exactly like those of the many school attackers that preceded him. In many ways, it’s a textbook case:
- The attacker shares social media images of himself with a gun or simulating shootings. In this case the shooter was known for his “antics” on his violent YouTube channel.
- The attacker tells people in advance that he is on a path to violence. The Spokane shooter passed notes to other students tell them he was going to do “something stupid”.
According to the Safe School Initiative Study of school shootings, 81% of the time attackers warn someone overtly before the attack. 93% of the time there is specific evidence of planning and preparation for the shooting. More than half of all school shootings are over before police arrive, with civilians (like the student and the custodian) intervening 2/3 of the time. That is exactly what happened at Freeman High School yesterday.
Research and bitter experience tells us how the next school shooter is already behaving. We can make fairly accurate predictions about what will happen and what the response will look like. The only question that remains is- Why don’t we do something about it?
Through threat assessment management, violence can be prevented by intervening with individuals who are exhibiting behaviors of concern – they are begging us to stop them. And while we cannot prevent every act of violence, adequate, appropriate training for educators and students can help to minimize the damage and save lives.
Let’s stop watching these tragedies unfold and do something to stop them.
For more information, go to www.eSchoolSafety.org
It’s the first three weeks of a new school year – and it doesn’t look good.
While the first weeks of school certainly don’t always predict what will happen in a given school year, a quick analysis and comparison of violent threats and incidents in schools during this same period last year reveals some unsettling results:
The good news and the bad news…
So far this year, the rate of threats has increased from last year at this time. In addition to threats, there have been at least two shooting plots that were foiled before implementation. On the positive side, last year at this time, we had already experienced a school shooting, five gun related incidents, and a bomb detonation.
Learn more about the rate of violent threats and incidents in our States of Concern report at www.eSchoolSafety.org/concern.
Remember all those bomb threats last year?
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Many of you may well remember that dramatic increase in bomb threats that occurred in U.S. schools during the 2016-2017 school year. Particularly troubling was the rash of bomb threats that targeted Jewish schools and community centers in early 2017. Fast forward to this summer, when an investigation and arrest revealed the culprit behind many of those threats.
Police arrested Michael Kadar, an 18 year old American Israeli teenager and charged him with making more than 245 threatening calls to Jewish Community Centers and schools. But here’s where it gets weirder.
Kadar advertised a “School Email Bomb Threat Service” on AlphaBay, a now-shuttered online dark web marketplace. For $30 Kadar emailed a bomb threat to a single school, for $60 to multiple schools or a school district. Buyers had the option to frame someone for the threat if they paid an addition $15 surcharge. It is believed that Kadar made more than $240,000 in Bitcoin for his efforts. Satisfied customers wrote reviews that the threats were “Amazing on time and on target. We got evacuated and got the day cut short.”
Clearly not every bomb threat that occurred last year was a result of this bizarre service, but it does illustrate several important problems with bomb threats. First off, they are frequent, disruptive, and increasingly lull us into a false sense of security thinking that bomb-related incidents are always “just threats”. Secondly, bomb threats work when they can cause disruption and panic. The vast majority of school administrators have little training or expertise in how to manage bomb incidents and most often they are working with outdated or non-existent bomb incident response protocols.
Mr. Kadar made a great deal of money because his threats succeeded in disrupting schools, consuming the time and resources of emergency responders, creating anxiety among parents, and most dangerously creating a “boy who cried wolf” situation where explosives in schools are concerned.
The current school year isn’t starting off much better. So far in the first three weeks of August (when many schools aren’t even in session yet), more than 1/3 of all school safety incidents have been bomb related, with 14 threats and one detonation already.
Click to read more about this particular case and bomb threats in general.
School Safety Free Period Podcast Launch - AND GIVEAWAY!!
Attention Educators:
Want to win a $50 Amazon.com gift card?
Want to listen to a "professional" podcast that won't put you to sleep? Join mother/daughter school safety experts and educators Dr. Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger, Esq. for a series of irreverent and highly engaging discussions dealing with incredible, but true school safety incidents.
In the first three episodes we cover: a student who was suspended for 10 days for ‘liking’ an Instagram post, a case of helicopter parenting gone criminally wrong, and a teacher who usurped safety protocols partly due to the ‘risk of an ear infection’. You’ll have to listen to some of these stories to believe them!
The Educator’s School Safety Network (ESSN) would like to invite you to participate in the launch of the School Safety Free Period podcast and provide your feedback.
Three lucky winners will get Amazon gift cards for their efforts!
1. DOWNLOAD and SUBSCRIBE: to the podcast wherever you typically get your podcasts – iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, RSS feed, etc., or access the podcasts directly on this website by clicking here.
2. LISTEN: Check out one of the episodes (they’re short!) before September 1, 2017 and provide some feedback to ESSN. What did you like? Not like? What are your suggestions for future episodes?
- Email your informal review to feedback@eschoolsafety.org and your name will be entered into a drawing for one of three $50 Amazon.com gift cards.
3. SHARE: If you found the podcast to be worthwhile, share it with others:
- Like the Educator’s School Safety Network Facebook page
- Follow ESSN on Twitter
- Share the podcast with your networks in a Facebook post or tweet. Don’t forget the link www.eschoolsafety.org/school-safety-free-period and be sure to include the hashtag #SchoolSafetyFreePeriod (be sure your post is public, so we can find and count your entry!).
You can earn a drawing entry for each social network (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)
How Concerned Should We Be About School Safety?
A new Gallup poll indicates that 24% of parents fear for their children's safety when they are at school. This is down 9 percentage points since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, but still above the historical low point of concern of 15% in 2008. The average percent of concern since 1977 has been 29%.
So what does all of this mean? The poll concerns the "physical safety" of children, so a variety of potential fears come into play, from an active shooter to bullying to a physical assault. Pollsters believe a lack of recent school shootings and greater safety measures might be factors in the decrease in concern.
While this may be good news on all fronts, we cannot become complacent as a new school year begins. Just because parents aren't highly anxious or demanding rigorous safety measures, doesn't mean that we can ignore the continual presence of threats of violence in our schools. As educators, our responsibility is to maximize the safety of our students every day, regardless of what has, or has not occurred.
View the detailed data at:
End of the year facepalm
Well the teaching profession has another black eye today thanks to the shockingly poor judgement of a 7th grade teacher in Texas.
In the time-honored tradition of end of the year awards, teacher Stacey Lockett gave what can only be described as ridiculously offensive mock certificates to two of her students. One student received a “Most Likely to Become a Terrorist” award, while another received a “Most Likely to Blend in With White People” certificate.
Yes, you read that right. A professional educator in 2017 thought that labeling adolescent students with racial and/or ethnic slurs would be a light hearted way to end the school year. The principal of Anthony Aguirre Junior High in Houston said that the awards in question were not representative of the vision and mission of the school. No kidding.
While clearly this teacher’s actions are not indicative of the vast majority of educators, it is a bitter reminder of how a lack (or lapse) of judgement can have far-reaching consequences for a teacher, and sadly, also for her students.
School year in review: threats from outside the school
Not every threat to a school comes from within the school. There were numerous instances this past school year where threats or incidents perpetrated by someone outside of the school caused a crisis within the school.
Let's take a look at the impact of outside forces on the safety of our schools:
- Perhaps the most tragic example of an outside influence coming into the school with devastating consequences is the April 10 shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernadino California. A teacher's estranged husband entered the building and attacked the classroom resulting in the death of the teacher and a student. It's critical for schools to be informed of and act upon restraining or protection orders, as well as other circumstances where domestic violence has the potential to spill over into the school. Parents, staff, and other stakeholders need to keep the school informed about concerns and potential threats of an individual trying to access someone who is at the school. It's equally important for the school to stay current and vigilant when screening visitors.
- Some times an incident at a school is a diversion for a crime to be committed elsewhere. Several bomb threats targeting schools this year were later found to be a diversion, such as a series of bomb threats in Rock County Wisconsin that impacted more than 26 schools to distract from the robbery of a local gun shop.
- In other situations, the poor judgement or even malicious intent of parents can impact the school. A rumor started by a parent on Facebook in Eugene Oregon lead to a school shooting scare. An irate parent in Middletown New York threatened to blow up his son's elementary school, causing the school to evacuate. When a parent in Rhode Island attempted to cover up her son's theft of the principal's nameplate, the anonymous package in which she mailed back the nameplate resulted in bomb scare.
- A tragedy was narrowly averted at an elementary school in Florida in March. During the parent-pick up line at dismissal, a 3 year old child found a gun in the glove box of his mother's car and discharged the weapon out of the car's window at the school. Luckily no one was hurt. School safety planning needs to consider threats and incidents that originate from circumstances that can be far outside of the school's control.
For more information about the Educator's School Safety Network's ongoing research about school-based violent incidents and threats, head to: http://eschoolsafety.org/bir/
School year in review: Nothing funny about threats
Let's take a minute and talk about the most common excuse that follows a threat of violence in a school - "Oh I was just kidding". It's interesting to note that "I was just joking about that bomb" doesn't seem to fly with TSA agents and airport officials (pardon the awful pun!).
We need to have some serious conversations about how not-funny threatening to shoot up the school really is. Given the tragic history of school violence in America, no one should be able to hide behind the excuse that a threat of violence is a laughing matter.
For more information about training for threat assessment and management, head to: http://eschoolsafety.org/tam/
School year in review: The tragic legacy of Columbine continues.
The tragic legacy of Columbine continues.
During the month of April this year, there were more than 220 incidents or threats of violence in U.S. schools. More than 10% of these threats directly referenced Columbine either as an inspiration, or as a motivation. While we need to be concerned about safety every day, anniversaries of events such as Columbine create a need for extra vigilance.
For more information on the Educator's School Safety Network's ongoing research into school-based violent incidents and threats (formerly a bomb report), head to: http://eschoolsafety.org/bir/
It's the end of the year, but...
As all educators and parents are well aware, it’s almost the end of the school year, and frankly, we’re all just tired. The months of May and June are particularly chaotic and tiring in schools. There are an almost overwhelming amount of social, academic, and athletic events going on - prom, award dinners, field day, championship games - the list goes on and on. Combine this frantic level of activity with the tiredness and complacency that can develop and you have a a potential for disaster.
So, as we wind up the year, here are some tips to remember…
Big events in schools create unstable situations - there are lots of visitors in the building, schedules are changed, students are excited and moving around more freely and unsupervised - meaning that sometimes safety is the last thing on anyone’s mind. It’s always a good idea to take a minute to help everyone re-focus on safely enjoying these events.
As the days wind down, we become more complacent. The threat of violence or the potential for accidents doesn’t go away just because there are only a few days of school left. If a safety procedure is a good idea on the first day of school, it’s still a good one on the last day of school.
Supervision is not seasonal - When people get busy they tend to prioritize, and supervision is one of the first things to get bumped down the list. Even on a good day, schools tend to have too little supervision in critical areas - cafeterias, bus lanes, hallways, locker rooms, etc. Don’t allow the demands of the end of the year to become an excuse for skimping on this most critical of duties.
Being outside can be hazardous. As the weather improves, school settings are increasingly shifted outside. Gym classes are on the field, extra recess is happening, classes are meeting in courtyards, multiple games and practices are occurring. Be sure that any communication that occurs within the building can also be heard outside - whether it’s by PA, radio, or cell phone - and that there’s a procedure to make sure it’s done. If those in the building went into lockdown or severe weather sheltering, how would those outside be notified? Conversely, if an injury or incident occurs outside, how will they call for help?