Before the Next Tragedy explores a principles-guided, standards-based approach to improving school safety against targeted school violence. It claims that schools need a consistent methodology to manage risk district-wide; otherwise, independent efforts may lead to uneven results.
A policy that institutionalizes a standardized methodology, as suggested in Before the Next Tragedy, provides a framework for setting safety requirements applicable to all schools. Through self-improvement, these requirements outline procedures for identifying realistic assault scenarios, selecting and implementing effective protective measures, and establishing layers of protection for every scenario imagined.
After reviewing the available reports, I have not found any established safety requirements or standards that could be used to assess the effectiveness or identify procedural deficiencies of current safety plans.
For a safety evaluation to be meaningful, the current situation must be compared with a standard or set of requirements applicable to the organization’s mission. Incorporating proven high-reliability safety practices into K-12 school policy affords a unique opportunity to make this comparison and uncover gaps in the school’s safety position.
To facilitate the discovery of potential gaps, a simple safety assessment is offered to K-12 school administrators to quickly uncover blind spots in their school’s safety plan.
Assessing the gaps is the next important step in improving the safety of our schools. Once known, funding constraints, lack of staff, and other issues may allow vulnerabilities to persist for the time being. However, knowing where the gaps are and having a plan to address them over time puts a school in a far better position than being blind to the risks they present.
I encourage administrators and school safety leads to participate in the school safety gap assessment. This seven-step process provides an effective starting point for enhancing school safety.
John Menna
