Agencies Join Together for School Safety
May 18, 2012 - Recently, the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division brought together public safety and education agencies with the goal of improving chool safety.
Staff of HSEMD’s Threat Information and Infrastructure Protection Program (TIIPP) collaborated with several organizations in an effort to enhance safety in Iowa’s schools.The goal of the group was to make sure every school in Iowa had an emergency plan. To drive planning conversations at the local level, the group developed the “Iowa School Safety Guide,” a planning template that encourages partnership between county emergency managers.
“Our vision was to develop a tool to increase the overall security and safety of every school in Iowa,” said Matthew Parrino, an infrastructure protection specialist with the TIIPP. Parrino said the planing guide has been shared with at least eight states, and will be used soon at the national level through the National Association of School Resource Officers.
A component of the guide is the “Iowa School Safety Flip Chart,” a simple but comprehensive planning tool for schools. The flip chart has been designed so end users can tailor it to suit their needs and can be customized to fit any school from the smallest rural school to the largest urban metro campus.
“The goal is to improve school safety, and this flip chart is an excellent place to start,” said David Johnston, HSEMD lead planner, who was also involved in the effort.
The flip chart contains information and instructions for a variety of hazards, including an armed assailant, hazardous materials and severe weather. The flip chart can be downloaded from the HSEMD website. Other school safety resources are also available at that location.
Partner agencies in this effort were the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Department of Public Safety (Intelligence Fusion Center), State of Iowa Fire Marshall’s Office, School Administrators of Iowa, Iowa State Education Association, Iowa Association of School Boards, Heartland Area Education Agency, and Des Moines Police Department (School Resource Officers).
Staff of the Threat Information and Infrastructure Protection Program are available to discuss school safety products, and school security assessments. For more information email the TIIPP.
Page last updated: May 18, 2012
