Schools will be back and mostly open for in-person learning in a few weeks. As students return, challenges around safety and emergencies still exist. So, how can schools be prepared?

Offering his expert perspective, Frank Kitzerow, Retired Chief of Police and District Security for Palm Beach County School District, spoke with School Safety Today host Shelby Skrhak. Kitzerow had a 40-year career in law enforcement.

“In looking at the safety aspect, there are lots of questions. One thing I learned was to pay attention to the community, because schools are a microcosm of that,” Kitzerow said.

While leading the Palm Beach County School District, Kitzerow established a school safety ecosystem. “It’s about staying left of the X, with X being a catastrophic event. It’s a focus on prevention, intervention and diversion to stop a potential attack.”

The planning part of school safety is essential, according to Kitzerow. “You want to have a robust toolbox to respond quickly if that day occurs. A plan for this involves communication, unified command and technology.”

Developing a response plan requires lots of stakeholders. It’s parents, students, teachers, administrators, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and more. Kitzerow established such a program involving all these parties focusing on effective communication, situational awareness, and technology tools.

“One of the heaviest lifts in communication is reunification, matching students to family, which is often a lot of people, and there’s no room for error. Emergency management platforms support this,” Kitzerow noted.

Such technology can also play a role in communicating with teachers during an incident.

Kitzerow also urged districts to practice the plans, not just create them. “Make sure everyone is well-versed. What you invest on the front end, you’ll take on the back end.”

As in-person schooling returns, what should the top priorities be for facility managers? School safety priorities, strategies and challenges have changed.

Returning to school full-time is going to be a challenge for students. Combine the anxiety of being back together with uncertainty and a readjustment to in-person classroom life, some of which will also likely be mixed in with remote learning, and life moving forward will be complicated for students.

On this episode of the School Safety Today Podcast by Raptor Technologies, host Hilary Kennedy talked with Dr. Scott Poland, Professor and Co-Director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office, as well as Chief Craig Miller, Retired Chief of Police for the Dallas ISD Police Department.

Raptor is the nation’s leading provider of integrated visitor, volunteer and emergency management software, which is purpose-built to fully protect schools from any threat.

The trio chatted about what a safe reopening will look like for students, as they will have to contend with new mental health battles and emergency preparedness.

Mental healthcare will be at the top of the list, as students will undoubtedly have issues coming back into school after one of the most significant stressors in their lives.

When it comes to student health and mental health, Poland believes it’s essential that all involved parties stick together to work on the best possible outcomes and safeguard students, including schools, parents, police departments and mental health professionals.

One of the main things affecting student mental health will be lost ground, academically.

“I do have a great deal of confidence in teachers,” Poland said. “They’ll figure out a way to help students catch up. But I think we have to acknowledge, in particular, children who lived in poverty and children of color. They fell further behind.”