Dr Klinger in Emergency Management Magazine

Lost in the sensational reporting about bulletproof bookbags and whiteboards, the articles about slick-marketed, self-proclaimed experts, is the very important discussion of how do we place active shooter response in the larger context of an evidence-based, all-hazards, comprehensive approach to school safety.

Klinger said that in more than 75 percent of school shootings, three or more adults were concerned about the individual prior to the shooting, and threat assessments and appropriate training are ways to connect the dots. “But it also is predicting kids at risk for suicide, self-mutilation, substance abuse or running away. So it’s exactly what we need to be doing because it’s an all-hazards approach to preventing these events.”....

The emphasis on an active shooter scenario detracts from other important trainings like tornado drills, CPR and shelter in place, Dorn and Lavarello said. And school districts, deluged with quick fixes from vendors, are investing in things they don’t necessarily need.

Check out the rest of the article here: http://www.emergencymgmt.com/training/Are-Schools-Focusing-Too-Much-Active-Shooter.html?page=2

 

Dr Klinger advocating for threat assessment management in the wake of PA school stabbing

“Threat assessment management is a very powerful tool that pulls from all aspects of a student's life — teachers, coaches, parents and others in the community — and uses trained teams to connect the dots,” Klinger said.

“For the same cost of a single door buzzer, we can train five threat assessment teams. We've heard of shootings, suicides, fights, all kinds of things that have been prevented,” she said.

 

You can read the full article here: http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/5919429-74/security-detectors-metal#axzz2z1QmAu7N

Dr Amy Klinger interviewed in Security Management magazine Sandy Hook article

Klinger emphasizes that training personnel should be part of any security plan. “The important thing going through the Sandy Hook report is the notion of buzzer systems. We have a lot of schools that have purchased a buzzer system and say, ‘Oh good, now we’re safe.’ Well you saw in the photos and in the report how easily [Lanza] breached that buzzer system. So if you don’t have a second and third line of defense, the buzzer system is essentially worthless,” she notes.

Klinger says the second line of defense is adequately training staff in how to screen individuals coming through the building. “We see thousands of times where you walk up, push the button and they let you in. They don’t screen to ask a visitor, ‘what can I help you with,’ or ‘what are you doing here,’ or even to find out what your demeanor is like, if you’re acting suspiciously, so there your first line is getting people who are trained to screen visitors.”

You can read the full article here:

http://www.securitymanagement.com/print/13193

ESSN consultants featured on KAAL tv in Rochester, MN

“There’s a lot of school districts in this country that are playing catch-up,” said Amanda Klinger, director of operations with the Educator’s School Safety Network. “Our calendar is very full in the coming months of districts that are panicking."

Amanda, along her mother Amy, helped Rochester Public Schools develop new emergency procedures, and on Wednesday night they spoke to a few dozen parents at John Marshall High School about how they can help keep their kids safe.

You can watch the video here.

ESSN consultants featured in Rochester Post-Bulletin article

Their nonprofit has a unique family twist in that the consultants form a mother-daughter team. Amy Klinger, Amanda's mother, has more than 28 years of experience as an educator and administrator, their website says. Amanda Klinger has experience as both a teacher and attorney and is an expert in cyberbullying and school safety.

"We work very hard to make sure that the things we talk about are grounded in good solid research," Amy Klinger said.

Unlike many in the school safety field, which is primarily populated from the ranks of law enforcement, their perspective comes from the classroom and brings a "research-oriented" rigor to their conclusions, they say.

 

Read the rest of the article here.

Dr Amy Klinger quoted in Facilities.net article

Staff members should know to watch for and engage visitors in the facility, as this forms a second line of defense, says Amy Klinger, director of programs with Educator's School Safety Network. Simply walking up to the visitor and saying something like, "Good morning, how can we help you?" not only helps legitimate visitors feel welcome, but lets those who aren't supposed to be in the building know that their presence has been noted.

 

Click here for the full article

Dr Amy Klinger quoted in Business Insider article about GA school.

“If schools put more focus on early detection of warning signs and [the creation of] threat assessment teams, that would be doing more to prevent school shootings than putting more guns in schools. [The latter is] not prevention, that’s emergency response,”

“In the vast majority of the schools we assessed, our professional intruder was easily able to access the building without interference,” Klinger said in a press release.



Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/1001/Georgia-school-district-mulls-buying-assault-rifles-Could-it-be-a-good-idea#ixzz2hFVfL2wk

Dr Klinger interviewed by "Canadian Family" magazine

“We see a lot of schools where their reaction is to buy stuff. Those things are great, but we push really hard to get institutions to think about training their people. Buying a piece of hardware is not going to increase the capabilities of people to respond to an event. Training is really critical to the whole discussion.”

 

You can see the rest of the article by clicking here.

Dr Amy Klinger quoted in Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“The thing is, we're running a school, not a prison,” said Amy Klinger, assistant professor of educational administration at Ohio's Ashland University. “We strive for safety that makes sense, security that isn't oppressive. The odds of an active shooter incident are low, so it's just as important that we plan for and prepare and train for things other than the worst-case scenario.”

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/4562271-74/safety-parents-district#ixzz2hFXWOhoM 

CTV News interview with Dr. Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger

 

 

"This week, Amy and Amanda Klinger, with the U.S. non-profit “Educator's School Safety Network” in the U.S. led a symposium with the Ontario College of Teachers. They suggested that teachers need to be able to make informed decisions about how to react in crisis situations, armed with the best knowledge about works and what doesn’t"


Watch the interview at by clicking on the link below:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/school-lockdowns-need-to-be-rethought-u-s-safety-experts-advise-1.1293320

Educator's School Safety Network Consultants add to the discussion in Ontario.

Dr Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger, Esq. are proud to work with the Ontario College of Teachers to help launch their new Professional Advisory "Safety in Learning Environments: A Shared Responsibility."

They've been asked to share research and findings to contribute to the conversation about lockdown enhancements and what Ontario schools can do to keep students safe. 

While Canada has not experienced school violence of the same magnitude as the United States, the leadership in Ontario is to be commended for their proactive, not reactive stance.

It is imperative that educators, law enforcements and other stakeholders think critically about all prevention and response practices that increase student safety, even the actions taken to prepare for less frequent events.

 

Dr. Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger help to launch the Ontario College of Teachers advisories on school safety

“But if you look at past events — Columbine, Virginia Tech — events in the U.S. and internationally, a lot of the times they happen so quick that law enforcement can’t get there in time,” she said, adding that “when schools do something more proactive, a significant number of lives are saved.”

 

Check out the rest of the article here.

More news coverage of the ESSN consultants in Canada

"I need you to be able to evacuate in a way that takes you away from the danger," said Amy Klinger, even "if that means an exterior exit, going out a first-floor window."

The Klingers say teachers should consider moving students, or making barricades out of furniture.

School policy in Ontario says teachers should keep children inside the classroom — but the Klingers argue teachers should have more options

 

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Dr. Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger are now in Ottawa, Ontario

In most incidents, there are cases where people barricade themselves or evacuate anyway during a lockdown situation, said Klinger.

“We’re trying to say let’s get training into people’s hands” so that they can do it in the safest way possible, she said.

Klinger and her mother Amy (who is with the same organization) are to speak to teachers, school board representatives and emergency officials at Notre Dame Catholic High School on Thursday during a symposium held by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Read the rest of the article here.

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