Search

Your search for: "" revealed the following:

Search...
nSide™
  • Home
    • Log In
  • Why nSide?
    • Success Stories
      • Colbert County Schools
    • Meet the Leadership Team
    • Channel Partners Program
    • Careers
  • Safety Solutions
    • nSide School Safety Platform™
    • nSide|Assess™
    • nSide|Boost™
    • nSide|Edge™
    • nSide|Fleet™
    • nSide|Live™
    • nSide|Lockdown™
    • nSide|Training™
    • nSide|Views™
    • Site Security Assessment
  • Marketplace
  • Resources
    • Alyssa’s Law
    • Blog
    • Community Articles
    • Educator Resources
    • Free Resources
      • CPTED For Schools
      • Dynamic Mapping Guide
      • Safer Schools Checklist
      • Safety Through Collaboration
    • Mapping Process
    • nSide Press
    • Training Archives
  • Funding
  • Safety Summit
nSide™
nSide|AcademySubmit A TipLog InSearch
  • Home
    • Log In
  • Why nSide?
    • Success Stories
      • Colbert County Schools
    • Meet the Leadership Team
    • Channel Partners Program
    • Careers
  • Safety Solutions
    • nSide School Safety Platform™
    • nSide|Assess™
    • nSide|Boost™
    • nSide|Edge™
    • nSide|Fleet™
    • nSide|Live™
    • nSide|Lockdown™
    • nSide|Training™
    • nSide|Views™
    • Site Security Assessment
  • Marketplace
  • Resources
    • Alyssa’s Law
    • Blog
    • Community Articles
    • Educator Resources
    • Free Resources
      • CPTED For Schools
      • Dynamic Mapping Guide
      • Safer Schools Checklist
      • Safety Through Collaboration
    • Mapping Process
    • nSide Press
    • Training Archives
  • Funding
  • Safety Summit
VIEW OUR BROCHURE
REQUEST A FREE DEMO
  • Home
    • Log In
  • Why nSide?
    • Success Stories
      • Colbert County Schools
    • Meet the Leadership Team
    • Channel Partners Program
    • Careers
  • Safety Solutions
    • nSide School Safety Platform™
    • nSide|Assess™
    • nSide|Boost™
    • nSide|Edge™
    • nSide|Fleet™
    • nSide|Live™
    • nSide|Lockdown™
    • nSide|Training™
    • nSide|Views™
    • Site Security Assessment
  • Marketplace
  • Resources
    • Alyssa’s Law
    • Blog
    • Community Articles
    • Educator Resources
    • Free Resources
      • CPTED For Schools
      • Dynamic Mapping Guide
      • Safer Schools Checklist
      • Safety Through Collaboration
    • Mapping Process
    • nSide Press
    • Training Archives
  • Funding
  • Safety Summit
  • nSide|Academy
  • SUBMIT A TIP
REQUEST A DEMO
nSide™
nSide™
  • Home
    • Log In
  • Why nSide?
    • Success Stories
      • Colbert County Schools
    • Meet the Leadership Team
    • Channel Partners Program
    • Careers
  • Safety Solutions
    • nSide School Safety Platform™
    • nSide|Assess™
    • nSide|Boost™
    • nSide|Edge™
    • nSide|Fleet™
    • nSide|Live™
    • nSide|Lockdown™
    • nSide|Training™
    • nSide|Views™
    • Site Security Assessment
  • Marketplace
  • Resources
    • Alyssa’s Law
    • Blog
    • Community Articles
    • Educator Resources
    • Free Resources
      • CPTED For Schools
      • Dynamic Mapping Guide
      • Safer Schools Checklist
      • Safety Through Collaboration
    • Mapping Process
    • nSide Press
    • Training Archives
  • Funding
  • Safety Summit

Your search for: "" revealed the following:

Search...

2021

Home2021

nSide’s 2021 Safety Summit Agenda is Here!

We have been working hard to prepare for our 2021 Annual School Safety Summit in Alabama! Due to COVID-19, we were unable to host our this event in 2020, but we are thrilled to be back this year with a full schedule of learning opportunities, nSide updates, and fantastic speakers! 

Today, we are sharing our full detailed agenda with everything we have in store. If you have not already registered, don’t wait too long! With this line up of content, spots are going to fill up quickly, so head over to the nSide website and get registered today! 

Join us at The Lodge at Gulf State Park, December 6 & 7! 

Make sure you are following us on social media! We are going to be announcing our line up of speakers and presenters in the coming weeks and by following, you will be the first to know. You can also find more information and register for the Safety Summit at our website conferences.nside.io!

Also, don’t forget to book your stay at the Lodge or one of the other partner hotels! We’ve got great rates for you to have a relaxing stay during our conference. 

Register Now!
Sarah Ann McCain
October 13, 2021
0
Share:

Reduce Fragmentation and Increase School Security

WHAT IS FRAGMENTATION IN SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS?
In order to keep schools truly safe, not only is it critical that a school have a good plan in place for emergencies, but also that each member of the school community knows what their role is in the event of an emergency and they are able to easily access and manage the technology needed to prevent or end an emergency. Schools often have different pieces of the puzzle to approach school safety, but rarely do the pieces talk to each other. This is a fragmented safety plan. Each piece of a fragmented safety plan requires different skill sets, and often different people are in charge of different components. Maybe your school’s safety plan is written in a document, maps are posted around the school, and cameras are managed through a server that only one person has access to.

WHY IS FRAGMENTATION BAD?
You might have cameras, door locks, and communication systems, but are they all accessed separately? Does one communicate with another? When the unthinkable happens, every second counts. Using fragmented safety solutions can cost you critical moments that can mean the difference between life and death. According to an Inc. Article, “The problem now is the proliferation of these enterprise apps. These tools hold all the data that grows a business, but the more apps used, the harder it is to read that data, let alone make it actionable.”

WHAT STEPS CAN YOU TAKE TO UNIFY YOUR SCHOOL’S SAFETY ASSETS?

  • Communication is key! Making sure all stakeholders are in the same room when putting together the emergency operation plan. Ensuring that everyone understand their role and knows what to do in the event of any type of situation.
  • Standardize your district’s EOP. Do all schools follow the same guidelines? Can more than one person answer a question related to your EOP or school safety assets? Is there a standard for mapping your facility and emergency equipment? Can you see your cameras in conjunction with your school’s floor plan? These are great questions to get started in unifying your school’s safety assets.

HOW CAN NSIDE HELP REDUCE FRAGMENTATION?
The nSide platform is designed integrate your school’s infrastructure, assets and resources in one place that can be accessed quickly and easily. We use this connected technology to bring together everyone in your school community including administrators, SROs, transportation managers, teachers, students, law enforcement and EMS and make sure they understand what to do in the event of an emergency. Everything we offer is centered around connecting these groups to make reactions quick and directions clear. We work to help you create an environment that not only saves lives, but also creates an environment that feels safe so learning can flourish.

The nSide Platform and Suite of technologies helps keep all school safety initiatives in one place.

When all technology is in one place, good things happen.

  • Help arrives faster
  • Everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency
  • Less time is spent scrambling in an emergency
  • Lives are saved

Email us at help@nside.io and we can help you find the right solutions for your school and organize all of your schools safety needs in one place!

Sarah Ann McCain
September 16, 2021
0
Share:

Cyber Security Tips for A New School Year

Seeing as nSide is all about safety, we can’t forget to talk about cyber security.

Over the last year, we have seen an increase in the number of cyber security attacks across a number of industries – and schools are not excluded.

Phishing emails, identity theft, and ransomware attacks are on the rise with schools as students, teachers, and faculty are returning for the start of a new year. While it seems unlikely, many schools have already been victims of ransomware attacks locking faculty, staff, and students out of payroll, lesson plans, and other operational software.

While most schools have plans in place for inclement weather, medical emergencies, and active shooter or lockdown situations, many lack a cyber attack response plan in the your Emergency Operations Plan in the event that they become the victims of an online attack.

Adding a cyber security attack plan to your EOP within in the nSide platform, making sure everyone understands the appropriate measures to take, and getting a situation back under control can reduce the time a school is not operational in the event of a hack.

There are also a number of prevention measures that schools can put in place to reduce the chances of an attack that can halt daily learning and operation.

Here are some ways to prevent or reduce the chances of a cyber attack:

  • Block Access to Suspicious Websites
  • Regularly Change Passwords
  • Teach Students and Teachers Email Security Basics
  • Back up all systems offline
  • Never Skip Security Updates
  • Utilize a Cyber Security Team

Another thing nSide encourages schools to consider mitigating is the potential for identity theft of students and young children. At the beginning of a new school year they are setting up new devices and creating new accounts creating a window of opportunity for theft. They are particularly vulnerable for identity theft hacks given that they typically don’t have credit history and aren’t monitoring activity of their Social Security Number.

It is important to teach children ways to protect themselves and their identity while online. A few ways parents and teachers can do that are:

  • Encourage creative answers to security questions and reduce the chances for a hacker to find the information to answer those questions. Simply put, lie when answering those questions instead of using real information and keep the answer somewhere safe that you can locate when needed.
  • Warn students of the dangers of public wifi networks and the lack of security those networks have. Any information shared over a public network is fair game to someone looking to steal data.
  • Share with students what information is appropriate and inappropriate to share in conversations online. Keeping conversations non-personal is always best.
  • Explain the dangers of online quizzes and free games on the internet and social media platforms. Most of them are deigned to harvest data and loop friends and family in to harvest their data as well. While they seem fun and lighthearted, they can have larger consequences.
  • Encourage parents to include their children’s SSN on any identity monitoring program they are using so they are notified of any suspicious activity.

In a world where we are all connected and carrying around devices that are connected, it is equally as important to encourage physical and digital safety and to have a plan in the event that the worst happens. If you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to nSide and we can help you get a cyber security plan into your EOP!

Sarah Ann McCain
September 3, 2021
0
Share:

Why Interior Mapping of Your School is Critical for Safety

Interior Mapping – What is it?

If you’re familiar with Google Street View, then the concept of a 360 degree map is not foreign. From anywhere in the world, users can travel down the streets of any city, and look in any direction. But did you know the same technology is also available for the inside of buildings? Now your entire campus can be mapped in a 360 degree view. 

This video gives a demonstration of how essential interior mapping can be in an emergency situation.

By collecting 360-degree photographs in hallways and rooms, these images can be linked together to create a virtual tour of the building. This allows you to navigate through buildings within nSide – The School Safety Platform. When your organization and local first responders have access to this data, it equips your team with situational awareness for emergency planning, training, response, and recovery efforts.

This can help save lives in the following ways:

  1. Assets are catalogued for insurance purposes
  2. The campus is mapped to aid in recovery efforts after a storm or destruction of the building
  3. First responders have access to the map of the school to avoid potential threats to themselves
  4. Dispatchers can help guide those involved in rescue efforts to get where they need to be faster, even in the dark

If you already have the nSide School Safety platform, it’s easy to upgrade your standard map to nSide |View. Having that visibility into your school buildings can mean the difference between critical seconds when an emergency happens.

Call us today to get started!

1800.604.1822

Sarah Ann McCain
August 24, 2021
0
Share:

Grant Funding Webinar

Time is running out to claim funds for your school!

Deadlines are quickly approaching on several grants and we don’t want you to miss out! We are hosting two webinars to walk you through the application process for three available funding opportunities:

FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund: Deadline August 13th

Advancement and Technology Fund (A&T Fund): Deadline August 17th

American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER)

Let us show you how to get access to the money that has been allocated for your school and how to put those funds to good use by keeping educators and students safe. Don’t miss out on your chance to do everything you can to make your school safe – at no cost to you! 

We have two options for you to participate: 

August 6th at 10:30AM
August 10th at 2:30PM

Click the links to register to attend – at the end of each webinar, we will send out a copy of the applications, all the links needed to complete the grant applications, and a quick reference sheet to use when applying. 

We can’t wait to see you there! 

Sarah Ann McCain
August 4, 2021
0
Share:

How Alabama Schools Can Prepare for their EOP Monitoring

Alabama Schools Must Have Updated Emergency Operations Plans

Emergency planning is essential to the safety of students and staff in Alabama schools. Each year, starting July 1st, Alabama schools are required to re-enter their emergency operations plans into the nSide platform. School districts in Alabama are required to make sure their Emergency Operations Plan is updated and fully compliant with the state mandate.

New Emergency Operations Plans are Required July 1st

On July 1st each year, the existing EOPs for the previous school year become void and need to be re-entered into the nSide platform. This means that each school will be responsible for making sure the information in the EOP is up to date and everyone in the school community knows exactly how to execute these plans in the event of an emergency. Taking the time to make sure your EOPs are ready to go can save valuable moments that can very literally mean the difference between life and death when the unthinkable happens.

What should all Alabama School Emergency Operations Plans Contain?

Each Alabama Emergency Operations Plan contains a myriad of directives that need to be completed to not only satisfy a government requirement, but also make your school safer. As per Alabama rules, each EOP needs to contain the following items:

  • Introduction & Statement of Commitment
    • Statement of Commitment
  • EOP Core Planning Team   
    • School EOP Core Planning Team
    • School Comprehensive Emergency Telephone Listing
  • NIMS & ICS  
    • Staff Skills Survey & Inventory
    • Incident Command System Roles
  • List of Materials 
    • List of Materials and Equipment
    • Basic Resources Needed
  • Hazard-Specific Annexes 
    • Identification of Hazards (School Grounds)
    • Identification of Hazards (Classroom)
    • Identification of Hazards (Along Evacuation Routes)
    • Identification of Hazards (Neighborhood and Communities)
    • Analysis of Identified Hazards
  • Functional Annexes   
    • General Emergency Procedures
  • Drill & Training Reports

nSide Makes Alabama EOPs Easy

All public schools in Alabama are registered nSide users. If you are an nSide user,  you can easily check to see if your school’s EOP is compliant or not, or check in with our live chat and our team can run a report that analyzes your EOP in comparison with Alabama requirements. Our platform is set up to check your compliance automatically and let you know areas that need improvement. We can also help you digitally collect all information from everyone involved in the safety process, making the process of updating your EOPs quick and easy. If you’re unsure of how to better format your EOPs, or if you’re one of the schools that is due for compliance monitoring in the 2021-2022 school year, we can help you get everything prepared.

Watch this video to see how to properly update your Alabama School EOP

We can help make your school’s EOP easier and more effective! Call us today to find out how!

1.800.604.1822

Sarah Ann McCain
July 14, 2021
0
Share:

Alabama Schools Can Now Upgrade Technology Funding at No Cost to You!

What is A&T Funding?

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced earlier this year that the state of Alabama  is giving away funds for schools to improve their school’s safety. According to the State memorandum, the money can be used for repairs and deferred maintenance, classroom instruction support, insuring facilities, transportation, school security, and education technology and equipment. Each K12 school district in the state has been allocated a portion of  the total $206million dollars package to purchase these upgrades. Alabama higher education, including community colleges,  have been awarded $76 million. 

CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE HOW MUCH EACH DISTRICT HAS BEEN AWARDED. 

Why are technology upgrades important in Alabama schools?

This funding comes at a critical time in the state, as many schools are still working through gaps in technology and access revealed by the COVID-19 crisis. At a time when many students are tracking behind grade level,  this key injection of funding can help Alabama school students feel safer and enable learning to flourish in the new school year.  One of the key uses for these funds as outlined by Governor Ivey is for “School security measures as a component of a systemwide security plan”. Because the nSide platform is registered to all public schools in the state of Alabama, all public schools in Alabama can now upgrade their nSide base platform to include camera systems, door lock system, fleet management, and many other technology add-ons, and will qualify for the funding. 

What can you do with the 2021 Alabama A&T Funding money?

All Alabama schools already have the base platform. The following technology upgrades are eligible at NO COST TO YOU because the funding will be coming from the Alabama A&T fund:

Call to Request a Quote Now

Each technology upgrade we offer seamlessly integrates with the nSide platform so you can manage all your school’s safety technology in one place. This means that all members of your school’s safety team, including administrators, SROs, law enforcement, EMS, and more can know ahead of time what to do in an emergency, and exactly how to react to save lives. 

The Deadline to Apply is August 17, 2021.

As with all state funding, these funds are available to claim until the August 17 deadline, and will then no longer be available. It’s a “use it or lose it” offer. If your school is in need of safety and technology upgrades, we can help you apply. 

Call or Email us today to get started! 1800.604.1822 or help@nside.io

Sarah Ann McCain
June 22, 2021
0
Share:

Infographic: Stay Safe Over the Summer

summer safety infographic- nside the school safety platform
Sarah Ann McCain
May 22, 2021
0
Share:

Six Things your Alabama School can do with their CARES Act funding

The recent passage of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act is something that brought many American households hope and tangible financial assistance. However, as with many similar bills, the verbiage can feel complex, and many people may not realize that the act offers additional help in other sectors. When it comes to school safety, we always get excited over anything that helps schools update or improve their security, but we REALLY love the benefits of the CARES act: over $899 million dollars in funding for technology upgrades! What does this mean for you and your school? Only the best news ever! You can now receive nSide products AT NO COST because of this funding and its implications. 

In accordance with the guidelines laid out by the CARES Act, our products and services meet the criteria, such as developing procedures to improve response efforts of local agencies, facility upgrades, repairs or improvements that can support student’s health needs, and purchasing educational technology. To get started, claim your funding HERE, then read on to find six things you can do with this important money:

Start planning ahead with the nSide Base Platform.

  1. This is our signature product, and it works in tandem with all our other products to enhance your emergency planning and communication. It includes components like mapping and 360 degree views of your campus, creating and storing your emergency plans, help with compliance for state and local guidelines, and training for your school community (staff, students, and educators) in protocols and procedures. 
nSide Base Platform

Be more prepared with nSide|View.

nSide|View is like a digital blueprint of your school. It links images and photographs together to create a virtual walk-through of the structures, and provides first responders with accurate and detailed exits, entrances, and anything else they’d need to know. It also helps you base emergency decisions on more than old paper maps of your school’s rooms, hallways, and more. 

nSide | VIEW

Gain extra insight with nSide|Live.

Ever wished that you had an extra set of eyes (or two)? That’s what you will gain when you use the nSide|Live platform: extra viewing abilities to help in an emergency, to help protect students from bullying, drugs, and crime, and a secure way to view happenings on campus. Best of all, this data can be provided to first responders in an instant, giving them potentially life-saving information rapidly and in real-time. 

nSide | Live

Monitor your school bus systems with nSide|Fleet.

This comprehensive way to keep track of your students and drivers keeps them safe and allows emergency personnel to reach them in the event of a crisis. You can also view reports that show fuel levels, maintenance issues, and geofencing to ensure the utmost safety for the children under your care. 

nSide | Fleet

Close off your campus with one-touch with nSide|Edge.

This amazing piece of technology gives the ability to lock down the campus doors with just one click. This is effective in the event of active shootings, or any instance where an immediate lockdown would be needed. You can also schedule when doors are locked to coordinate traffic flow through your building. Be assured that the ability is completely secure, so only authorized personnel would be able to initiate the lockdown procedures! 

nSide | EDGE

Reach the most critical audience with nSide|Notify.

When you need to reach parents, students, or staff in a hurry, you will want a quick, cohesive way to do so in a professional way, and nSide|Notify is the answer. It uses the existing communication standards at the school, and integrates them to decrease lag time in an emergency and allow mass communication in a smooth manner. It saves you time when moments matter!

This funding can make a huge impact on your school, and the process to receive it is simple and straightforward. If you’re unsure if you can integrate or install our products or services, we would love to connect you with our team members. They can walk you through the steps to decide which products meet the guidelines for your specific campus, and how to get started! 

Sarah Ann McCain
May 6, 2021
0
Share:

School Safety in Bad Weather

The age old saying that, “April showers bring May flowers” is true. It evokes visions of beautiful tulips and bright yellow rainbows, with blue skies and sunshine just around the bend. However, there is another aspect of springtime that is less obvious…and more deadly: bad weather that can threaten school buildings and the children inside of them. School safety is what we specialize in, and weather is another aspect that can be overlooked, yet is just as important to protect from. Depending on the part of the country you live in, the difficulties of bad weather can include things like flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, and ice storms. These can happen throughout the year, but springtime is the perfect opportunity to reassess the safety measures in your school, and prepare for whatever may come your way via Mother Nature. Here are our best tips to building a safe and secure plan for severe weather: 

Educate yourself about the weather and communications

Do you know the difference between a “watch” and a “warning”? Knowing the terms that meteorologists use when they communicate risk and threats can help you know when it’s time to alert your school or staff, and when you have time to wait. How do you become more educated? We like this little guide from ABC News that outlines some basic weather lingo, including information on how tornadoes are staged and measured, and what the difference is between a funnel cloud and a tornado (pro tip: they’re actually not the same thing!). Accuweather is one of the best websites and apps for quick news and updates. Bonus: it shows hourly rain levels! Hazardous Weather Outlooks are notices issued from the National Weather Service, so knowing how to access these will also be helpful (find those HERE). 

Decide on a cohesive chain of command

If you are an administrator, you need to be sure your team is on board with the who, what, when, and where for disseminating all of the crucial information when the time comes. Time is of the essence when it comes to severe weather, and you will not have time to waste figuring out things like: Who is sending texts or alerts to parents, and what level of severity will trigger those? How long before an event like a tornado or super storm will you decide to close or shorten a school day? How will you alert those on the campus, and who will be in charge of executing that job? Not only do you need to make these decisions ahead of time, but be sure to communicate frequently and thoroughly so that everyone knows their role, and when they’ll need to step into it. If members of your response team are also teachers, don’t forget to make a secondary plan for where their classes will go if they need to step into an emergency role during the school day. Don’t forget to also designate two people who know how to turn off the electricity and gas if the school sustains damage (in fact, assigning tasks to two people is always wise, in case one cannot get to the building or isn’t on campus). 

Don’t forget the school busses

Transportation happens all through a school day, depending on how your bus routes run and their timing. Because storms or tornadoes can happen rapidly and events unfold quickly sometimes, your bus routes need to be considered in your plan of action as well. Coordinate with your drivers about what they should do if a tornado watch is issued, and come up with a few shelter options (such as caves, structures) along the daily routes. You can find out more about nSide’s fleet systems HERE, which offer schools an extra layer of protection and communication. 

Examine your structure or plan for new structures

Whether you are building a new school or are in a decades-old structure, knowing the blueprints, exit routes, and stability of the buildings is one of the most crucial steps during a weather warning or evacuation. Roger Edwards from the Storm Protection Center explains that this is important because it can save lives. He recommends consulting professional architectural engineers to find the “weak spots” in your building, and know where NOT to send students for shelter. He also explains that if you are building a brand-new structure, referencing guides such as the FEMA tornado shelter guide is a helpful primary step. If you don’t have the budget or ability to build brand new classrooms, you can hire someone to line some of the interior rooms with concrete. He cautions that this can be costly if you are adding them onto an existing building, so you will want to estimate costs for new and retrofitted choices. Lastly, Edwards emphasizes that children should never be sheltered in place in portable classrooms, which are dangerous, and should also not be ushered into large rooms such as gyms or auditoriums. These rooms have structural weaknesses that can cause them to collapse with even low-level wind speeds. 

Plan for power failure

Many emergency plans hinge on the idea that you will have access to electricity. With most school buildings having generators meant to turn on when the power fails, it can be something you take for granted, but losing power can become a reality very quickly. Experts from the Weather Service recommend that you not only make a structured plan, but have a backup plan that can be executed without power. For example, if your school uses a tone or alarm system to warn students or staff, after losing power, you will not be able to reach a large number of people using that strategy. Keep a compressed air horn or portable megaphone on campus, which can be used to alert the people around you to an emergency. 

Let parents know what to expect

One of the things that sends parents into chaos very quickly is a lack of communication. If your child is in danger, or you perceive that they may become threatened, you want answers and to know who is in charge. Issuing instructions before the school year begins will give parents a clear expectation of who will be contacting them, how (such as text messages, emails, etc.), and under what circumstances their child may be kept late at school. Research shows that children are safer within the walls of secure and reinforced school rooms, rather than on a bus or in a car, so many schools opt to keep children longer during severe weather. A simple PDF, sent to all parents or guardians, can be easily accessed and stored on the school website if parents need to find it, so they can understand the process of notification. If you are able, designate a specific phone number or email and someone who can man it, so parents can reach someone to find out information. When things are resolved or the storm has passed, don’t neglect to send out an “all clear” or message of finality to parents so they are aware the danger is no longer present. 

After the storm has passed, your job isn’t over! 

Assessment after the danger is no longer a problem is one of the best things you can do to prevent problems in the future. The National Weather Service recommends that you have staff check all the buildings for damage before you release students to go home or leave the campus, and that you have a system in place to let them know when it’s safe to exit. They also recommend periodic practicing of plans such as tornado drills so it doesn’t alarm children when it’s the real deal (with younger children, this can be traumatic, so you want to be clear about what is a practice and what isn’t. It’s also beneficial to alert parents when you will be doing drills, so they can discuss with their children about any fears they may have). Finally, sit down with your disaster team or staff and go over what can be improved, and what worked well. Stay positive and open-minded during these reviews so everyone feels that their opinions can be heard and implemented when appropriate. Make notes about things that didn’t work, so they don’t get repeated. 

Keeping students safe in severe weather can feel intimidating and like a ton of pressure. It is always a big responsibility to be in charge of other people’s children, but preparation is the key component to running a smooth plan of action in a crisis. Since we specialize in safety here at nSide, we understand the demands on school administrators who are in charge of campuses, and that’s why we want to come alongside you. Together, we can strengthen your safety plan and build your confidence so that when the time comes, you will know exactly what to do! Visit our website today HERE to find out how you can be matched with one of our professionals and assess your school’s safety plan! 

Sources: 

https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/school.html

https://www.weather.gov/grb/schools

https://abcnews.go.com/US/weather-terms-season-abc-news-meteorologists/story?id=54361705

https://www.accuweather.com

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/safe-rooms-tornadoes-hurricanes.pdf

Sarah Ann McCain
April 23, 2021
0
Share:
1 2
nSide™

Copyrights © 2015 - 2022 nSide™ | All rights reserved.