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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

I have had the privilege to speak about student safety at numerous Education conferences in the USA, Canada, South Korea and Japan over the past 5 years, and no matter where I am speaking, there is one question that produces the same audience response. The question and my response would go something like this… While sharing evidence-based data on student safety and reviewing lessons learned from tragic incidents like Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Marysville-Pilchuck and other mass shootings and violence, I use post-event reports to reveal common grievances and concerning behaviors displayed by at-risk individuals BEFORE they executed their acts of evil. Most ofRead More →

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Rick and Jason received great feedback from their ASIS pre-conference program that was part of the “Developing a School Security and Safety Plan for the Next Five Years,” sponsored by the ASIS International School Safety and Security Council. Experts discussed topics including risk assessments, active shooter programs, emergency planning, access control, and how technology can be leveraged to create safer school environments. Their presentation focused on how school professionals and communities can work together to “connect the dots”, looking for indicators that can be utilized to proactively prevent a future tragedy. Rick Shaw, CEO and founder of Awareity, used the investigative report from Sandy HookRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

Are you attending ASIS 2015 in Anaheim this year? Are you concerned about Student Safety? Social media seems to be a big challenge for every school, as well as violence, sexual misconduct, depression, bullying and numerous other incidents that can make your school’s learning environment difficult for everyone. Administrators know the gaps can get you, so how do you eliminate these potential risks and liabilities? Students, faculty, staff, parents and community members all know things you don’t… You can maximize your ROI and ROP (Return on Prevention) by attending one of the intensive pre-session programs on Sunday, September 27th. Awareity’s founder and CEO Rick Shaw,Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Success

Another great interview!   This time Rick speaks with Scott Schumacher, Principal of St. Peters Lutheran School in Columbus, Indiana.  Scott is a true leader who is dedicated to building trust and forming strong relationships with his students and staff in order to keep his school safe. Below is a quick excerpt from the interview.  To listen to the full conversation and learn some valuable insights from Scott click here!   Why did your school see a need for an anonymous incident reporting system? Over the years, we know that our school like every school has had some instances where students have bullied others.  We areRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, School Safety, Success

Rick recently sat down with Ankeny Community School’s Safety and Security Manager, Chad Bentzinger, to learn more about their school safety efforts and use of TIPS.  We are definitely impressed with Ankeny’s leadership and their dedication to keeping their students safe! Below is a quick excerpt from the interview.  Click here to listen to the rest of Chad’s experiences.   Why did you see a need for the TIPS prevention platform? For us it was a two-pronged approach.  Understanding the districts in our area have had to deal with students who have committed suicide and the post effects, we looked at what we can doRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Questions Reveal Answers   IF old school advice and hundreds and hundreds of stop bullying programs/curriculums were the solution – why would the CDC cite bullying and suicide as a significant public health problem? http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-suicide-translation-final-a.pdf   IF old school advice and stop bullying programs/curriculums were the solution, why would a 2013 Student Survey of nearly 4,500 students in schools across 19 states reveal that 85% of students witness/experience bullying in their schools? https://www.awareity.com/public/StudentSafetyReport.asp   IF millions and millions of dollars spent on security products was the solution – shouldn’t campus and community violence prevention be millions of times better? Do school/college leaders believe theyRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Uncategorized

  The Prevention Gapidemic and Connecting the Dots Shootings:  Twenty-eight innocent students and staff members were killed in 44 U.S.A. school shootings in the 14 months following the tragedy at Sandy Hook. Stabbings: Multiple stabbings in Canada, China and USA, including 16-year-old student in PA who stabbed 21 students and an adult — leaving four seriously injured.   In a 2013 Student Safety Survey – 37% of students said they were aware of an individual that poses a potential risk to their school.  (scary by itself and even scarier since most school officials don’t know) https://www.awareity.com/public/StudentSafetyReport.asp Bullying & Suicide:  The CDC (Centers for Disease ControlRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety, Uncategorized

  Earlier this month, Awareity released our 2013 Student Safety Report – What Students Know and School Administrators Don’t. To request the full report click here. The findings outlined in the report provide administrators with the validations and evidence they need to justify immediate action. Just think how much safer every school would be if all students were equipped with the right tools to report incidents and concerning behaviors. Just think what a difference it would make if School Officials were equipped with the right tools to collect information, connect all the right dots, investigate, perform threat assessments, intervene, monitor, and proactively prevent reports fromRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, School Safety

  After a very cold and very early start on Sunday morning with a 3 hour delay due to frozen airplane systems and frozen lines (meaning no hot coffee on a very cold plane!), I finally made it to the 25th annual National Youth At-Risk (NYAR) Conference in Savannah, GA. http://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar/ The NYAR conference started with a very motivating and uplifting keynote from Keith Brown – Mr. I’m Possible.   http://www.keithlbrown.com/ Mr. Brown reminded everyone that we can make a difference – a huge difference for all youth if we do that little bit extra and if we do not let negativity discourage us from doingRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Article originally posted on Corrections.com http://www.corrections.com/news/article/35182-a-walk-in-the-shoes-of-an-sro   What does a School Resource Officer (SRO) do all day? Do they just stand in the hallway at school waiting for violence to occur? Should schools be spending their limited funding on SROs? These are questions, Safety and Security Coordinator for Bradley County Schools, Scotty Hernandez often receives. And NO, the SROs are not twiddling their thumbs. To the contrary, these officers are heavily involved in student activities, classroom lectures, after school events, discipline and more. Bradley County is one of the school districts fortunate enough to have an SRO in each of their school buildings. But,Read More →