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The best thing a school can do to keep your children safe is to develop an All-Hazards plan. Schools should not only be prepared for natural disasters such as a fire or tornado, but they should also be prepared for an active shooter or a terrorist threat. Children practice fire drills consistently, but its been decades since a child has died in a school fire. However, children are dieing every year due to the actions of deranged individuals who enter the school.

When looking toward planning for a crisis, schools should refer to the actions in Beslan, Russia. This school, which was taken over by terrorists, is a perfect example of what not to do in preparation. Over 300 children and parents were killed during this 3 day siege that started on the first day of classes. During an orientation of sorts the morning of that day, thousands of students and parents were at the school and were guarded by only one police officer.

This situation shows that preparation is key, and knowing when your school, which is a soft target under most circumstances, moves closer to being a hard target. First responders have only one hour to make a difference in a situation similar to Beslan, but most of those that show up to the scene do not know the proper tactics, the layout of the school or even who to contact within the school.

To keep your children safe, as a parent, you must be proactive. Ask your school what the crisis plan is and take a copy home. Review it and make sure it is valid. Ensure your local police have copy of that plan. While every state requires schools have such a plan, many don't take the time to review them properly, which is a failure to the safety of our children.

Know what is going on, what your school is going to do in a crisis and ensure that your child is sent into an environment where they will be kept as safe as possible in any incident.

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