Keep Your School Safe with a Centralized and Secure Place for Threat Assessment and Reporting 

From isolated incidents between students to mass shootings, violence in schools seems to be a constant in news headlines. The statistics and anecdotes surrounding on-campus violence have many school leaders and parents alike wondering how they can keep their school from becoming the latest headline. 

According to The Washington Post, a new federal report shows that school shootings rose to the highest number in 20 years after the 2020-21 school year. That report from the National Center for Education Statistics stated there were 93 incidents with casualties at public and private schools in 2020-21, compared to 23 in the 2000-01 school year.  The report, dated June 28, was published just weeks after 19 children and two teachers were killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas—a mass shooting that, in the ongoing investigation, continues to reveal devastating and frustrating details about the preparedness and the handling of the actual shooting.  

According to schoolsafety.gov, a 2008 study showed that prior to an act of violence, most attackers behaved in a way that made others concerned, and some of their peers oftentimes even knew about the attacker’s plan. It is critical to train school staff to be able to identify key threatening behaviors and have a system in place that allows for quick and effective prevention of violence. 

There are a variety of themes the U.S. Secret Service says school and law enforcement leaders should consider when assessing student behavior and indicators, including social media communications, emotional and developmental issues, access to weapons, and home life circumstances.  

Once you have the behavioral threat assessment and management procedure in place, there should be a systemized process for managing, tracking, and reporting on all necessary aspects of threatening student behavior in a single system to allow for one source of truth. Social Solutions’ case management software for the public sector helps make this all a reality.  

Create a Central Reporting Policy 

One of the first steps in increasing safety in schools is creating a system for keeping data about student behaviors and potential threats in one centralized location. This is key in ensuring that data is shared between departments across campuses and school districts, which allows threats to bubble up and get addressed quickly. 

With Apricot 360’s reporting features, school leaders can get a more holistic view of the student body. With just a few clicks of a mouse, you can pull up visualized reports that allow leaders to gain insight into how programs and procedures are working. This allows campuses and school districts to make informed policy changes that improve safety, to be nimbler in taking preventative measures against school threats, and to decrease students’ and families’ barriers to resources. 

This type of data should be handled with care to ensure that sensitive information regarding children is protected. That’s why, here at Social Solutions, we help you get out of spreadsheets and email and into a secure web-based platform that is HIPAA- and FERPA-compliant. We help prevent the misuse of data internally and in working with partners. 

Act Quickly  

When red flags surface, Apricot 360 allows school staffers to seamlessly refer students to other departments and programs in one online software solution.  

In fact, with Apricot’s Rules and Alerts tool, school districts can set up alerts within the software so that when certain notes are inputted into the system, an alert is automatically triggered, and a message is sent to appropriate staff members and administrators. We configured this feature because we know that when it comes to issues like school safety, time is of the essence. 

We create solutions with your school and district in mind. Are you ready to learn more about how you can create a safer environment for your students, teachers, and staff? Sign up for a live demo today.