4 School Safety Priorities for the Spring and Early Summer

This time of year is never short on to do’s for school leaders and administrators! Whether you’re trying to triage your current list of projects, or planning ahead for summertime projects, here are a few things to prioritize to make an impact on your campus and community’s safety this spring and summer. 

• Check (and double check) your safety plans for off site activities - Maybe you have a big trip planned for your 8th grade class, or an upcoming park day to celebrate the final week of school. Regardless of your end of year plans, it’s vital to feel confident in your safety plans. Even if this is an event you’ve done every year for the past 20 years, spend some time beforehand going through your safety plan with fresh eyes to ensure all safety measures are still up to date, and that your team has the training and knowledge to be ready to respond to a safety issue that could arise. 
  
  
• Consider your graduation security plans - At this point, you’re likely in the final stages of planning your graduation ceremony. And perhaps you’ve already mapped out your security plan for your event. If you haven’t, now is the time to start thinking about this. Do you have a security team that will be present at the event? If not, does it make sense to hire private security to protect your community? This might depend on a number of factors, including how open your venue is, and whether your community has received any recent safety threats. We always recommend erring on the side of caution and considering hiring security professionals to support large events like graduation. 
  
  
• Build your summer “fix it” list - You may not have time to do this now, but as soon as the school year wraps up and the pace slows down, spend some time walking around your campus and starting to build your list of upgrades and improvements for summer. This might include everything from broken screens to burnt out parking lot lights. It’s a good idea to engage others in this process as well to ensure you’re capturing everything that needs fixing. Obviously, the maintenance team will be an important group to speak with. You might also walk around and casually ask teachers as they close up their classrooms whether there's anything in their room that needs to be addressed before they come back. Having this list early will help you prioritize and budget summer expenses. 
  
  
• Reframe your summer school safety training - Summer safety trainings are too often treated as a “check the box” activity – with a review of safety protocols and a quick refresher on best practices. If this is how you’ve been approaching summer safety training, we would encourage you to reframe the conversation. Instead of asking “what do we need people to know about our safety plan?”, ask yourself “what do we want people to be able to do after leaving this summer training?” Asking this question will ensure you’re centering your PD in building skills, not just delivering information. If you need a thought partner (or an actual training partner) here, reach out to us. Just be sure to do it soon because our back to school training schedules book up quickly! 

If you have questions or need support with any of the safety to do’s on your list, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We’re here to be thought partners as you navigate the many challenges of the spring and summer seasons! 

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