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Friend, 

As we begin to wind down this calendar year, I am struck by a few heartwarming truths. First: you — this community of individuals committed to creating safer schools — are undeniably amazing in the strength, resilience, and dedication you display every day. 

So many of you have overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges so far this year, from fires to flooding to school-based violence, and you’ve done it with remarkable grace and grit. It has been our greatest honor to stand by your side.

Second: our Joffe team — this team of school safety leaders we have managed to bring together — have more passion and dedication for their work than I even realized. Since the start of this school year, I’ve been consistently impressed with their commitment and thoughtfulness. Here are just a few stories from our team that have recently inspired me:

Will Germain, Director of Security & School Safety, came to Joffe with 18 years of security management and Fire Safety experience. He currently works with a charter network in NYC, where his role is to provide professional oversight of security and 

safety by managing 11 Joffe Campus Safety Officers and two Security Managers.

As Will says: “Building the relationships with our scholars is the first step to building a safe environment for learning. It is my goal to make sure each scholar knows that I have their back. Sustaining the relationships takes time and effort which is why I am visible and approachable for my team and our scholars.”

Emma Johnson, a Joffe Safety Consultant, loves to help clients problem-solve creatively to address safety concerns. Whether that means standing out in the rain during dismissal to help solve logistical and safety issues or presenting on a timely topic to hundreds of school leaders on our bi-weekly webinars, Emma rises to the challenge. 

As Emma says: “I feel so lucky to work in a role where I get to help schools keep their students and teams safe every day.”

Amanda Colosimo is a Joffe Health Coordinator at an Episcopal School in Los Angeles, CA. Amanda has been sharing her expertise and warm smile with us as a Health Coordinator since February and she has made an incredible impact on the school and her community. 

Amanda has been able to help her campus navigate through various health and safety concerns such as COVID policies/protocols, Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease cases, and she was able to get her school to be 100% compliant with immunizations faster than ever before.

Amanda shares: “To build a healthy school community, relationships are so important. I work really hard to create positive relationships among the school staff and the students because I know that trust is a huge driver of health.”

The stories like these are truly endless, and I am enormously grateful for what our team is accomplishing in partnership with all of you. 

That brings me to my third and final year-end reflection: we thrive in unity. We have always known that we are stronger and safer together, but every year I work in this space reaffirms that for me. Keeping communities safe is truly a team endeavor, and we are thrilled and honored to be on your team. 

Thank you for trusting us in 2023. We’re excited to continue our work together in the coming year! 

In strength,

Chris Joffe

Founder and CEO 

(X)Twitter: @JoffeChris 

Protecting students (and take-home devices) from cyber threats over break

Many schools allow students to take home technology over winter/holiday break. If your school is among them, it may be a good time for a refresher on ways you can ensure technology safety for students, even when they’re not on your campus. Here are two helpful resources:

Question: “In January, I have 30 minutes with all staff to do a refresher on safety. What are the most important topics to cover?”

- Director of School Operations in Nevada 

This is a question on so many schools’ minds these days! The short answer is, there are three main topics that should be the focus of any winter safety refresher:

1) emergency responses for the core four (evacuation, lockdown, shelter in place, secure campus)

2) safety-related roles/responsibilities

3) communication during and after emergencies. 

These are so important because they form the basis for pretty much any emergency response, regardless of the circumstances. To make things easier, we’ve developed a template resource –  Simple School Solutions – for you to use in your training. 

If you’d like to submit a question for a future newsletter, please email it to us!

Simple school solutions

Streamline your January professional development with our featured resource this month – the Simple School Solution. This compact and user-friendly slide deck consists of five slides, making it a breeze to remind staff on core safety practices.

Stay up on the latest...

Caitlin Malone is the founder of Kids Best Friends, a mission-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safer schools with dual-purpose working dogs. She has built a mission-driven team of passionate and highly skilled experts in their fields of K9 handling, law enforcement, military working dogs, and working dog training to create the Kids Best Friends program that proactively protects kids in schools holistically and effectively. 

Add our December 11th date to your calendar!

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Starting January 8, 2024, our Joffe school safety webinars will transition to a monthly schedule. Mark your calendars for the second Monday of each month at 9 am PST/ 12 pm EST, as we kick off the second semester with insightful sessions designed just for you. As always, we will schedule additional webinars as needed for any time-sensitive safety concerns or responses to best support you on an as-needed basis. Don't miss out on the opportunity to enhance your school's safety with our monthly Joffe school safety webinars.

Add our 2nd semester dates for our live monthly webinar

to your calendar!

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All Clear: Chris Joffe's book is now available!

Looking for some good winter break reading material? Check out Chris Joffe’s new book! The book – All Clear: Lessons from a Decade Managing School Crises – offers lessons and practical advice for anyone working in schools, with a specific focus on leadership. Here are some things already being shared:

"Chris Joffe is the kind of person you call when you have only one call to make―a sherpa in the wilds of crisis response. All Clear blends Joffe’s EMT urgency with his CEO vision, a must for modern-day risk management."

―Duncan Lyon, Head of School, Allen-Stevenson School

"In the early days of Covid-19, Chris Joffe’s unique insights and guidance helped school leaders plan weeks ahead. In All Clear, the tools and strategies he teaches will make it possible for school communities to anticipate and prepare for the unpredictable years in advance."
―Steven Lorch, Head of School, Kadima Day School, Los Angeles

Follow us on social media!

We regularly post new updates, blog posts, and share resources specifically designed to support school health and safety. 

• (X)Twitter: @JoffeChris & @Joffeemergency
• Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn