News and Blog
Your Questions Answered by Gary
Below is the next series of questions my clients and colleagues have submitted to me through past Gary's Guide to School Safety blog posts, via email, and directly to me through LinkedIn. Be sure to submit your safety and preparedness questions below to be featured...
Developing an MOU for the School Setting
According to the US Department of Justice, an MOU can do a variety of things. On a basic level, it can serve the function of a “business agreement” clarifying the financial arrangement between a school district and law enforcement agency—in other words, who is...
Using Your EOP During an Exercise
The Ohio School Safety Center states:Each year between January 1st and December 31st, schools are required to test a section of their emergency management plan [or Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)] by completing a tabletop, functional, or full-scale exercise. In a...
Personal Disaster Kit Update
We are officially in the midst of tornado season here in the Midwest, which means it is time to review the contents of personal disaster kits. Not only is it an EOP requirement for teachers in Ohio to have a disaster kit in their classrooms, I encourage all of my...
The Failure of Imagination
There are many who are saying the tragedy in Uvalde happened because schools in our country are in denial. “There is no way something like that can happen here,” school administrators and staff say. Among my peers, we often say the three mantras of a school are:...
Free Tools for K12 Schools
The end of the school year is coming. Have you reviewed and updated your EOP recently?I am constantly contacted by school districts across the country looking for help in developing their Emergency Operation Plans and for Site Assessments. This is something I've done...
See Something. Say Something. DO Something.
As School Safety Professionals, we are focused on finding and using best-practices from each other to keep our students and staff safe. Sometimes on our hunt for a new safety measure, we overlook a free resource that is right in front of us - Those very people we are...
Cybersecurity Within Schools
Introducing Guest Blog Author: Josh GelmanBeing a School Safety Professional can be daunting at times. Parents and peers look to us for answers and solutions, and sometimes, we just aren't able to provide the information that they seek. When I don't have answers on...
Exercise Safety
It is the policy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Preparedness Directorate to ensure that every effort is made to provide a safe and secure environment during National Preparedness...
Free Is Good. Especially in School Safety.
When I was young, my dad liked to remind me of an important life lesson: Free Is Good. While Safeguard Risk Solutions is not a non-profit organization, the premise of my company is to be a resource to the people tasked with keeping schools safe - for free.Throughout...
I Don’t Sell Fear. And You Shouldn’t Buy It.
Fear is a sales tactic that you should never buy into. Here's why... Full Disclosure: I am a consultant that sells both services and a product. I started as an eighth-grade science teacher for the fifth largest school district in Ohio and thirty years later I...
The Mobile Emergency Response Plan
Re-introducing the Mobile Emergency Response Plan:The app that puts your Emergency Plansin the hands of those that need it, when they need it.In 2008, my school district was awarded the first of two, Readiness and Emergency Management in Schools (REMS) Grants. A goal...
Your Questions Answered by Gary
Below is the next series of questions my clients and colleagues have submitted to me through past Gary's Guide to School Safety blog posts, via email, and directly to me through LinkedIn. Be sure to submit your safety and preparedness questions below to be featured...
Your Questions Answered by a School Safety Expert
The following questions will be answered by Gary L. Sigrist, Jr., President and CEO of Safeguard Risk Solutions. Gary is a nationally known speaker, consultant, author and expert on emergency preparedness. His career spans more than 30 years as an educator,...
A New Resolution for School Safety
There’s a reason that airlines train their flight attendants to instruct passengers to don their own oxygen masks in the event of an emergency before helping others: The best way to help others is to help yourself first.
The Language of Social Media
The ever-changing digital world with emerging new apps and platforms requires all of us to pay careful attention to the online digital behavioral baselines of individuals engaged in threat related behavior. Recognizing digital leakage is necessary for School Safety and Threat Assessment teams to identify individuals on the pathway to harm themselves or others and to plan immediate risk-reducing data driven intervention plans.
Tough Decisions for Tough Situations
Have You Talked to Your Child About What You Want Them to do During an Active Threat Event?In the most recent school shooting at Oxford High School, at least one hero lost his life protecting their classmates by attacking the killer. How did he know what to do? Were...
A Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!
Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy cooking for my friends and family. Thanksgiving will be a bit different for me this year. Instead of cooking the whole meal, I will be guiding my son and daughter-in-law in the meal prep as I recover from rotator cuff surgery -...
Q&A With a School Safety Expert
The following questions will be answered by Gary L. Sigrist, Jr., President and CEO of Safeguard Risk Solutions. Gary is a nationally known speaker, consultant, author and expert on emergency preparedness. His career spans more than 30 years as an educator,...
When it comes to School Safety, there is no such thing as a Whistleblower
The 'snitches' who get stitches are the real heroes in School Safety.In an article found online written by Corky Siemaszko, Students Sound Alarm and Avert Florida School Massacre, a possible school shooting was averted because students notified school...
