Crisis Lockdown Alert Status System Sielox Individuals can use this browser-based system to send color-coded email and text alerts to administrators and first responders through networked devices, such as desktops and smartphones. LINK TO MAIN ARTICLE: Emergency notification systems for schools School officials can hold two-way chats with responders, and law enforcement can […]
Personalized learning for students has long been a priority in K12 education, but for some reason, some districts haven't applied this same approach to teachers. For years, PD has been completely one-dimensional. Teachers sit in district- and state-mandated PowerPoint-driven seminars that fail to encourage collaboration or authentic engagement in the material. Often, teachers leave feeling […]
The recent shooting, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has rekindled the hot debate about gun control in the United States. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a proponent of more restrictions on firearms, argued, "This happens nowhere else, other than the United States of America. It only happens here not because of coincidence, […]
A flexible plastic box printed from a school's 3D printer could hold the answer to keeping first responders safe from exposed needles in the midst of an opioid epidemic that has affected communities nationwide. Over the course of four months, a group of design/modeling students at Ashland Middle School in Kentucky created the needle retriever […]
You know the names. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Columbine High School, Santa Fe High School and many more. These examples of domestic terrorism have heightened our awareness, making us feel vulnerable when entering a school. Students are trained what to do if a shooter opens fire in classrooms, corridors and […]
Up-to-date school floor plans and detailed images can be the difference between life and death when first responders are racing against time to find a shooting suspect or to rescue survivors after a natural disaster. Anaheim High School in California stands at the forefront of the effort to digitally map schools. CIO News: Edtech trends […]
After the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Matthew Mayer and Shane Jimerson knew they had some work to do. Mayer, from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, and Jimerson, from the University of California, Santa Barbara, both specialize in studying school violence. "In 2006, there were several school shootings, and we […]
In school districts across the country, administrators and teachers unions are increasingly working together to address challenges. Districts are seeking help from unions on pressing political issues, including how to address Dreamer students who are concerned about deportation after the Trump administration rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This has brought the […]
Describe preparation versus prevention when it comes to a school district's safety plan. You can only prepare for general incidents; you can't prepare for the specific. Preparing a safety plan gets everybody on the same page. Whether it's a bus accident, bomb threat or intruder alert, prevention comes through debriefing after an emergency occurs. You […]
Lockdown drills can pose health hazards, says Dennis Lewis, president of Edu-Safe, a safety training firm. Lewis, who spent 17 years as the public safety director for Springfield Public Schools in Missouri, shares the following best practices: Connect instruction to safety. Rigid, step-by-step drills don't encourage critical thinking, discussion or variations. Educators can develop lessons […]
