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4 key elements of a successful Emergency Operations Plan include:
1. crisis prevention and mitigation plan,
2. a detailed preparedness section,
3. response plans that make it possible to implement the preparedness plan under extreme stress,
4. and creating an effective strategy for the aftermath of an emergency.
For more tips, check out our Emergency Operations Planning: Building the Plan course.
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 Coming Soon! Active Shooter Courses
Following the tragedy at Sandy Hook, many districts are reassessing their emergency response plans, including reviewing their protocols on what to do if an armed intruder is on campus.
 | Michael Dorn
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To help districts with this challenge, SafeSchools is working with Michael and Chris Dorn, co-founders of Safe Havens International, to create two new SafeSchools Training Active Shooter courses, one for Administrators, the other for All Staff. Michael Dorn is one of the most highly respected and sought after school safety experts in the nation. Chris Dorn, Michael's son, has followed in his father's footsteps, consulting with districts on school terrorism, weapon concealment, and emergency preparedness.
 | Chris Dorn
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When you're training staff on how to respond to an active shooter, it's essential to trust the content that you're providing. It could mean the difference between life and death. That's why we're proud to bring you courses from such highly-credentialed authors as the Dorns who are currently working with our government at the highest level to develop national Active Shooter resources.
Our new courses will provide research-based methodologies for active shooters in a school setting that are proven to reduce loss of life. The courses will be available for Back-to-School as part of a SafeSchools Training subscription.
You'll find the new Active Shooter courses in our Emergency Management section, along with these expert-authored titles: - Crisis Response and Recovery
- Emergency Operations Planning: Building the Plan
- Emergency Operations Planning: Implementing the Plan
- Family Reunification
- Incident Command Systems
- Managing the Aftermath of Tragedy: Administrators
- Managing the Aftermath of Tragedy: Staff
- Tactical Site Surveys
For more information on SafeSchools Training and how we can help make your district an even safer place to work and learn, please call 1-800-434-0154 or email info@safeschools.com.
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Summer Safety Tips for Custodial Staff
Summer is a great time for custodial and maintenance staff to prepare your campus for the new school year. Here are a few items you may want to put on your Summer Safety Checklist: - Take an inventory of hazardous substances.
- Review and update your Material Safety Data Sheets.
- Check all locks on external doors and windows.
- Check to make sure exterior walkways and entrances are passable.
- Check all playground equipment.
- Check the functionality of HVAC systems.
- Check to make sure all emergency exits are functional.
- Ensure that all smoke alarms and alarm systems are working properly.
- Make sure your Integrated Pest Management plan is being implemented properly.
- Review your Emergency Response Plan and building lock down procedures.
- Perform a tactical site survey.
- Review and update your Asbestos Awareness plan.
Summer is also a good time for custodial and maintenance staff to complete safety training. SafeSchools Training offers 50 Environmental courses, many with Job-specific, Spanish, and Refresher versions. Titles include Asbestos Awareness, Back Injury & Lifting: Custodial, Integrated Pest Management, and Slips, Trips & Falls: Custodians, Maintenance & Facilities. Most courses are 20 minutes or less which makes it convenient for your team.
For more information on how SafeSchools Training can help train your custodial and maintenance staff, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or info@safeschools.com.
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 Tactical Site Surveys
The safest schools are those that anticipate for and prevent dangers. A safe school is the result of analysis, not luck. In the safest schools, most accidents never occur because the sources of danger are identified and addressed. When an emergency does occur, these schools have a clear, precise, and practiced plan in place. The following tools can help districts effectively identify, evaluate, and address their risks:
- Community hazard assessment
- Reported incident data
- Student, staff, and parent surveys
- Preparedness plan evacuation checklists
- Drills and exercises
- Tactical site surveys
A tactical site survey should be done at least once a year. A multidisciplinary team, including several school departments and local emergency response organizations, conducts a thorough assessment and evaluation of school buildings and the surrounding grounds. An effective tactical site survey not only finds and fixes hazards, but creates a safety-centric culture in schools. Preventative measures stop crime, violence, accidents, and crisis situations from ever happening. The tactical site survey is a vital part of your school's emergency operations planning (EOP) and can help identify weaknesses in your EOP. These surveys should not be viewed as a "pass/fail" but rather a proactive prevention and crisis pre-planning activity with enormous benefits. Any school that has not conducted a tactical site survey in the past year is:
- Less safe than it could be
- More likely to experience serious injury, death, or disruption
- Harder to defend in the event of litigation
- A less pleasant work environment for all staff
- Not as effective at educating students
For a Tactical Site Survey Checklist, visit www.safehavensinternational.org.
SafeSchools Training offers Emergency Management courses that can help you with these important activities. - Emergency Operations Planning: Building the Plan
- Emergency Operations Planning: Implementing the Plan
- Incident Command Systems
- Tactical Site Surveys
For more information, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or info@safeschools.com.
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New SafeSchools Accident Tracking System
Managing school-related accidents and injuries can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. That's why we developed our new SafeSchools Accident Tracking & First Report of Injury system that lets you automate workflows, streamline data entry, and save valuable time and money.
- Record, investigate, and manage accidents and injuries anywhere on your campus, through any web-enabled device.
- Use one system for any type of injury or accident including student, student-athlete, employee, or visitor.
- Save time by automating workflows:
- Automatically create district, state, and federal (OSHA 300) reports.
- Employees can self-populate key information.
- Supervisors are notified and reminded to review and submit reports.
- Administrative dashboards and reports deliver key metrics for easy trend analysis.
Call 1-800-434-0154 to schedule a demonstration today.
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SafeSchools Addresses GHS Changes
Over the next few years, your district will be impacted by the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The first deadline is December 1, 2013 and relates to staff training on the GHS system, including SDSs. By June 1, 2015, districts should have a majority of their MSDSs switched to SDSs, and by June 1, 2016, districts must be fully compliant with the HCS 2012 chemical guidelines.
How does your district plan to address these changes? That's where SafeSchools can help!
SafeSchools Training offers 2 new courses that can be used to meet the December 1, 2013 training requirement:
- Hazard Communications: Right to Understand
- Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
SafeSchools MSDS is our online MSDS management system that lets you:
- Organize, update, and store chemical lists and MSDSs in virtual binders that are accessible from any computer.
- Print out the virtual binders in just a few clicks.
- Find a specific MSDS quickly in case of an emergency.
- Protect your school community with a well-organized and easily-accessible MSDS system.
Our product development team is currently integrating the GHS and SDS changes into SafeSchools MSDS and it will be fully compliant with GHS mandates.
If you have any additional questions or would like to preview our Training or MSDS system, please call 1-800-434-0154.
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 Meet Our Team-
Donna McMullin
Donna McMullin is the Director of Marketing at SafeSchools and has been with the company for over three years. She oversees all marketing activities, including tradeshows, emarketing campaigns, and the newsletter we hope you're enjoying now.
 Donna has been fortunate to work in the education industry for almost 20 years and she loves that her work helps teachers and students. In fact, nothing is more rewarding to her. When she's not working, Donna enjoys spending time with her husband, David, and two enthusiastic goldendoodles, Piper and Finn.
Say "Hello" to Donna at dmcmullin@safeschools.com.
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Visit SafeSchools in Person!
Throughout the year, you can find SafeSchools at various trade shows, conferences, and education-related events across the country. Look for us this month at the following events:
Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA)
6/2-6/5, Tampa, FL, Booth 705
New York State Association of School Business Officials (NYSASBO)
6/2-6/5, Saratoga Springs, NY, Booth 19
Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS)
6/23-6/26, Mobile, AL
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© 2013 SafeSchools LLC. SafeSchools is a registered trademark of SafeSchools LLC. All rights reserved.
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