In this month's issue explore ways to keep your school safe and choosing joy this school year!
Not rendering correctly? View this email as a web pagehere.
Friend,
Last month, the Washington Post published findings from an investigationinto guns on campus that was both affirming and at the same time hard to swallow. The investigation — which combed through tens of thousands of news stories —noted that in the 2022-23 school year,
1 in 47 school-age children attended a school where at least one gun was found and reported on by the media.The number of campus gun seizures has spiked over the past five years, a time period when we’ve also seen significantly more behavioral problems in schools. For those of us who work in schools, this won’t come as a surprise. It puts numbers on what we’ve seen and felt over the past several years. But that doesn’t make it any easier to process.
I’d love to say that we have a simple solution. But the honest truth is that this is a complex challenge, and no one simple solution would be enough. The real solution is as multifaceted as the challenge itself – it’s finding ways to layer several different strategies together to create a fortified system of prevention and protection. How does this work? If you’ve been around our Joffe team before, you’ve probably heard us refer to the Swiss Cheese Model:
This is the idea of creating a system of overlaid protection strategies that on their own have holes and imperfections, but when put together, create a wall of protection that becomes hard to break through. That’s our goal. To build layers upon layers — through things like security personnel, tip lines, real-time camera monitoring, and a structured Behavior Threat Assessment Team, among other strategies — to make a meaningful impact on both prevention and response. The unfortunate truth is that we can’t ensure weapons won’t ever come onto school campuses, but we CAN find the right combination of solutions to minimize their impact and prevent harm.
If you’re not sure how to go about creating these layers, our team would be happy to help. Reach out to us anytime – our doors are always open. Or, if you’re looking for some quick-hitting advice and strategies, my new book, All Clear: Lessons from a Decade Managing School Crises, will be released in a few weeks and is specifically designed to offer school leaders and administrators practical guidance, including creating layers of safety.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership, and for all you do to keep your communities safe and thriving.
We frequently talk to schools who wonder if metal detectors are the right solution to their safety needs. If this is a question you’ve had, check out our latest blog post, written by our resident Joffe subject matter expert, Pat Hurley. Pat shares his perspective and advice for considering metal detectors for short or long term weapons abatement.
Wondering if you need a safety assessment?
Ask yourself these three questions
We also often get questions about when a school should prioritize a safety assessment. The short answer is… if you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, doing a safety assessment now is a good idea:
Has it been at least five years since our last comprehensive safety assessment?
Have there been any major changes to the facilities/buildings since our last assessment?
Have we had a big swing in enrollment since our last assessment?
For support conducting a safety assessment, or questions about safety assessments, reach out to our team anytime. We’re here to help!
Question: “I’ve heard references to a Behavior Threat Assessment Team recently and its benefits for identifying concerning behavior before it escalates. We don’t have one here at my school. What are they exactly, and how can we go about starting to build one?” - Operations leader at a Denver-based school
Great question! A Behavior Threat Assessment Team in a K-12 school is a multidisciplinary group responsible for assessing and managing potential threats or concerning behaviors exhibited by students. This team is essential for maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment. Typically, the team comprises a diverse group of professionals,
including school administrators, teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, law enforcement officers, and mental health experts. Their primary role is to review and evaluate reported behaviors that may indicate a risk to the safety and well-being of students and staff. The team collaborates to gather information, assess the severity of the threat, determine appropriate interventions, and provide support to students displaying concerning behaviors. We’ve recently published a new Behavior Threat Assessment Toolkit and discussed this topic on our most recent webinar to help schools on this journey! And of course, we’re here to help.
If you are going to talk to parents about student safety, consider sharing this slide deck overviewof Behavior Threat Assessment Teams, which summarizes how schools can use multidisciplinary teams to assess concerning behaviors.
In case you missed it... two new free toolkits
The month of October brought some very hard moments for our communities and for the world. Over the past few weeks, our team has created toolkits to help navigate the challenges that arose for many schools. These included:
Chris Joffe’s new book will be available in just a few short weeks! And it’s already making a splash. Here are just a few things people have said about Chris's book so far…
"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
Check out Chris’s book today! Pre-Order a copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or a local indy bookstore.