By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Headlines from the first month of school are troubling with stabbings, suicides, murder, bullying, cyberbullying and numerous other incidents. Even more troubling is that most of the incidents look like they were PREVENTABLE had the schools had the right tools to get the right information (concerning behaviors, threats, escalations, etc.) to the right people in the right places at the right time so the right people could do the right things…right away. For example, the following messages were released on social media days/weeks BEFORE this student committed suicide on the first day of school: “I have chosen to go with 3 peoples advice andRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Risk Management

  Can you prevent acts of Mother Nature?  No. Can you prevent tragic acts of Humans?  YES! Over 30 years ago, I started working for a large data processing organization and we processed data for nearly 400 banks.  One of my job responsibilities was to be part of the Disaster Recovery Team – yes that is what it was called back then.  Our goal was to be prepared to react to different types of disasters and make sure our clients (nearly 400 banks) were still delivering their services to their customers. Today most organizations have renamed their Disaster Recovery department/team to Business Continuity, Emergency Response,Read More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, School Safety, Success

Awareity’s Rick Shaw recently had the opportunity to speak with Tulsa Public Schools’ Assistant Athletic Director Mick Wilson.   TPS is always looking for ways to save time and improve the way the athletic department manages their obligations and Wilson shares several tips for improving compliance and touches on hot topics like concussions, training, etc. A quick excerpt from the interview is below.  To hear the full 15 minute segment, click here.   How is TIPS improving the way you make coaches aware of new information and training? The biggest thing we have been able to do so far is really to get the information outRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Guest Post from Tina Long After her son Tyler’s peer abuse driven bullycide in 2009, Tina Long has worked along with her husband, David, to stop bullying and make schools accountable for our children’s safety. She has traveled the country to promote awareness of the severity and damage that bullying can cause. David and Tina have appeared on The Ellen Show, 20/20, Nightline, and many other programs. They both spoke at a caucus on bullying in Washington, D.C.  Tina is currently working on the project Everything Starts with 1 along with Awareity and continues to be an anti-bullying advocate.     I Remember: *I rememberRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Any good Coach will tell you a well-placed time out can be a game changer. Clearly now is the time to call a time out for ALL School Administrators, ALL Coaches and ALL Student Athletes!  (actually all students) This tragic incident involving a female student who was raped by multiple student athletes is yet another example of how a lack of awareness and a lack of accountability at the individual-level is going to have life-long effects on multiple students, multiple families, multiple School Administrators and many others. Innovators like Athletic Directors Gil Cloud and Mick Wilson at Tulsa Public Schools have taken the lead.  TheyRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, Risk Management, School Safety

  Co-Authored by Keira Olvey and Rick Shaw of Awareity   Adolescence can be a terrifying time for children. Harassment, assault, bullying, cyber bullying, weapon threats, stabbings, shootings, bombings, gangs, child abuse, human trafficking, drugs, alcohol and more – have all become potential risks that children face in their community and their school. These terrifying risks can cause children to: Experience anxiety and depression, Fear for one’s safety at school or to and from school, Lose focus on school work, Withdraw from friends and family, Blame themselves and others for troubles, Lose self-esteem and self-respect, Withdraw from school and social activities once enjoyed, Retaliate withRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Rick recently sat down with Homer Public School’s Secondary Principal Randy Pirner to learn more about their school safety efforts and use of TIPS.  As a small rural school in Nebraska, we are definitely impressed with Homer’s leadership and their innovative efforts to keep their students safe! Below is a quick excerpt from the interview.  Click here to listen to the rest of Principal Pirner’s Lessons Learned!   Why did your school see the need for a proactive prevention program like TIPS? Principal Pirner: We found that we had an issue with bullying; not a significant number, but we had a total disconnect fromRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Emergency Management, School Safety

    The title of a recent article caught my attention – “Last Line of Defense” http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/19/universitys-new-whiteboards-double-bulletproof-shields   The article talks about how a higher education institution has spent $60,000 on whiteboards that can be utilized by teachers as bulletproof shields. The president of the institution said: “We are not really doing this in response to a specific event; I see it more as an opportunity to be prepared and to be proactive in our approach to safety on campus,” Bell said. “We think that it’s worthwhile.” This comment highlights a very serious and very dangerous awareness gap with many school and college administrators.  REACTINGRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Risk Management, School Safety

  Unfortunately, many people do not know the differences between security and safety because so many security solutions have been misrepresented or misunderstood. For over 30 years, I have had the privilege to assist thousands of organizations with multiple security related technologies, services, vendors and solutions.  For the most part, Security related efforts are understood by most people because security efforts are focused primarily at REACTING to a risk or threat at your front door and/or REACTING to an incident or tragedy in progress.  For example, security related efforts include, but are not limited to, doors/locks (to keep people/threats out), cameras (to record threats atRead More →

By:
On:
In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Uncategorized

  Baking a cake and preventing bullying have more in common than you may think.   If you were going to bake a cake, you would start by finding your favorite cake recipe (and there are hundreds of them to choose from).  Based on how serious you are about making a great cake, you can choose a simple recipe or a more complex recipe.   Similarly, if you were going to prevent bullying, most schools start by finding their favorite bully prevention “recipe /program” (and there are hundreds of them to choose from).  Based on how serious you are about preventing bullying, you can chooseRead More →