School Security Planning
Eric Phillipson
Partner, Overwatch International
June 5, 2017
Five Key Strategy Areas
•Train school administrators, teachers, and support staff (school
resource officers and security officers, secretaries, custodians, bus
drivers, etc.) on school security best practices
•Evaluate and refine school security measures
•Update and exercise school emergency preparedness plans
•Strengthen partnerships with public safety officials
•Create enhanced crisis communications plans and social media
strategies
The First and Best Line of Defense
Is a well-trained, highly alert school staff and student body
•Train school administrators, teachers, AND support staff on:
•School threat assessment
•School violence prevention
•School crime prevention practices
•School security procedures and awareness
•School emergency planning best practices
•Reporting procedures
Evaluate and Refine School Security Measures
Equipment is only as good as the human element behind it.
A brief sample of basic school security measures include cost-free and
low-cost measures such as, but not limited to:
•Reducing the number of open doors
•Providing employees with a means to secure classroom doors
•Having functional communications systems
•Having effective reporting procedures
•Keeping trees and shrubs trimmed to promote natural visibility
•Establishing procedures for accurately and timely reporting of school
crimes
•Incorporating security measures into the design of new and remodeled
schools
Update and Exercise Emergency Preparedness Plans
In the aftermath of the Columbine attack in April 1999, most schools
developed some form of emergency action plan. Nationwide surveys
indicate that these tend to be “block check” documents in a folder
rather than actual, executable, practiced procedures.
Gaps in emergency plans frequently include:
•Questionable content in plans
•Lack of training of school staff on emergency plans
•Lack of exercising plans in cooperation with public safety
partners
•Lack of coordination in plans between schools within a
district and with the district headquarters
Effective School Emergency Plans MUST address
Practical preparedness procedures such as:
•Lockdowns
•Evacuations
•Parent-student reunification procedures
•Mobilizing school transportation during the school day
•Emergency communications protocols with parents and the
media
• Mobilizing mental health services
• Receiving, supporting, and managing emergency response assets
at the site
Threat Assessment Teams, Threat Assessment Protocols, and Coordination
Schools and school districts should form school threat assessment
teams and create threat assessment protocols to:
•Identify potential threats
•Assess the threat potential
•Make notification of the potential threat
School officials should meet regularly with their public safety partners
to discuss safety, security, and emergency planning strategies:
•Police
•Fire
•Emergency medical services
•Emergency management agencies
Plan Review and Update
Districts should review and update(in cooperation with public safety
partners) the district, each individual school, and the buildingspecific plans at least annually, in order to:
•Train school crisis teams
•Maintain and coordinate all plans
•Integrate all plans:

District level

Campus/facility level

Building specific level
Exercise the Plan
School emergency plans must be exercised in order to be useful.
•Full scale simulations

Most valuable

Require tremendous resources
•Tabletop exercises

Can be done in a half-day or day of professional development
training time

Allow schools to work through hypothetical scenarios in
order to determine if the plans they have on paper would
work in a real emergency
Schools should hold tabletop exercises with their district and
building crisis teams, public safety and community agency
partners, and other key stakeholders.
Routine Drills
Schools should practice lockdown drills over the course of a school
year as they do fire drills, tornado drills, and other drills.
Any drills should be practiced:
• In a realistic manner, such as during lunch hours, not simply
when it is convenient and least disruptive to the school day.
•Schools must practice in the times and manner they would
experience in a real emergency, so as to be prepared for:

Actual traffic conditions

Realistic emergency services response times

Accurate communication and coordination requirements
Strengthen Partnerships with Public Safety Officials
School administrators and crisis team members should meet
regularly, at least twice a year, with public safety partners, such as:
• Police
• Fire
• Emergency medical services
• Emergency management agencies
• Red Cross, etc.
Public safety partners MUST be involved in the development and
updating of school emergency plans and tabletop exercises.
Public Safety Coordination
•Number or letter code each entrance/exit door so first
responders can easily identify specific entrances/exists when
called to respond to an incident and/or to manage a tactical
response.
•Number or letter code each stairwell and/or elevator so
first responders can easily identify specific avenues of approach
within a structure.
•Number or letter code parking areas, open spaces, and
any key structures that provide elevation and observation of
the school so that first responders can easily identify specific
staging areas and key terrain.
Incident Coordination Planning
Schools must work with public safety officials to identify potential
staging areas for:
•Media
•Parents
•Medical personnel
•Emergency response personnel
Public Safety Services Routine Cooperation
Schools should provide police and fire departments with updated
floor plans and blueprints, including the number and letter
codes for key locations, as well as site diagrams indicating
staging area locations, to ease coordination during an operational
response.
Schools should encourage police to train and practice their response
to active shooter scenarios.
Districts should make their schools, facilities, and school
buses available after-hours and/or on weekends to allow tactical
teams to practice response scenarios in these settings.
Create Enhanced Crisis Communications Plans and
Social Media Strategies
Conduct an assessment of existing crisis communications plans.
If you have no formal crisis communications plan, create one, to
include:
•WHO can speak for you?
•WHAT are the key messages?
•Safety of students
•Safety of employees
•Security of response operations
•Privacy of all affected parties
Media Inquiry Preparation
Be prepared to respond to the basic media inquiries which will
include:
WHAT is the nature of the incident?
WHO is responsible for the incident?
WHEN did this incident begin?
WHERE exactly is the incident taking place?
WHY is this incident taking place?
Evaluate Social Media Strategy
What information will you use social media to
BROADCAST?
What information will you use social media to
COLLECT?
What will be your social media policy DURING an
event?
WHO is authorized to post?
WHAT, if any, are the key messages?
What will be your social media policy AFTER an event?
Media Inquiry Preparation
Get effective media
training for anyone
identified as a
spokesperson or
who is authorized to
post to social media.
School Security Planning
Questions?
School Security Planning
Eric Phillipson
Partner, Overwatch International
(630) 432-5983
[email protected]
Our Team
AMBASSADOR CHARLES W. LARSON, JR.
Charles Larson, Jr. specializes in communications with the legislative and executive branches of the federal
government, media relations, and international business and trade.
Charles Larson was appointed by President George W. Bush to be the U.S. ambassador to Latvia. After confirmation by
the U.S. Senate, Chuck was sworn in by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Jan. 7, 2008, and served in this
capacity until Jan. 20, 2009.
Prior to his appointment, Chuck served from 2003 to 2007 as an Iowa senator. From 1993 to 2001, he was a member of
the Iowa House. While serving in the House, Larson chaired the House Economic Development Committee and the
House Judiciary Committee.
As a major in the U.S. Army Reserves, Chuck served for a year in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded
the Bronze Star for meritorious service in combat and the Combat Action Badge. As a result of this experience, Chuck
wrote Heroes Among Us, which profiles 29 heroes from the War on Terrorism. It was released in January 2008 by Penguin
Publishing Group.
Chuck served on the Pearl Mutual Fund board of directors from 2006 until his appointment. He prosecuted as an
assistant county attorney in Jones County, Iowa from 1997 to 1999. He was then named General Counsel for the ESCO
Group, a Marion, Iowa, technology services firm with more than 250 employees. He served in this capacity until 2006. He
was also chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa from 2001 to 2005 and served on U.S. Senator John McCain’s
presidential kitchen cabinet.
Chuck is a 1992 graduate of the University of Iowa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He
graduated with honors and distinction and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. He received his Juris
Doctorate degree with distinction in 1996 from the University of Iowa College of Law. In May 2008, Latvian President
Valdis Zatlers awarded Ambassador Larson the Order of the Three Stars, which is Latvia’s highest award for his service to
the country.
Our Team
ERIC PHILLIPSON
Eric Phillipson is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, having served over 20 years as a specialist in the former Soviet Union.
Eric is fluent in Russian, holds a graduate degree in Russian and East European studies from the University of Michigan,
and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Joint Forces Staff College.
After serving in Korea, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, and Special Operations Command, Eric
advised the Ministry of Defense in the Republic of Georgia and a peacekeeping battalion in Kyrgyzstan before being
selected as a U.S. exchange officer to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic Academy in Moscow.
Subsequently, Eric led diplomatic teams on nuclear weapons treaty inspections of strategic missile, bomber, and
submarine bases in Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Ukraine. In this role, Eric also led special Weapons of Mass Destruction
(WMD) accountability and recovery missions world-wide, to include service in Iraq, where he commanded a team
tasked with recovering WMD-related chemical, radiologic, and industrial material.
In 2005, he worked in Azerbaijan in support of sanctions to prevent transfer of nuclear technology and biological
pathogens to Iran. From 2006 to 2008, Eric served as the Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Riga, Latvia.
There, he advised the Latvian Ministries of Defense, Interior, and Border Security on counter-proliferation, national
defense, and NATO integration, and managed all U.S. security programs and projects in Latvia.
In 2009, Eric was the Central and South Asia Country Manager for U.S. Central Command. There, he supervised
numerous programs throughout Central Asia and served as a key planner and negotiator for the Northern Distribution
Network, a major set of multi-national agreements to provide for logistics support to NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Eric has extensive experience in international control and sanctions regimes, as well as deep financial, trade, and
industrial experience throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Our Team
SARAH MUELLER
Sarah Mueller specializes in international counsel and issue advocacy tactics.
She has more than 10 years of experience developing and executing public affairs strategies and
media campaigns for clients from a wide variety of sectors, including higher education, energy and
the environment, and telecommunications. Her experience at Overwatch International additionally
has focused on international policy and managing public affairs and communications campaigns on
behalf of the firm’s global client base.
Prior to joining Overwatch International, Sarah worked in the external affairs office of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency; at DCI Group, a Washington, D.C. public affairs agency; and for a
municipal government in Ecuador. She began her career at the U.S. Department of State.
Sarah graduated with honors from Syracuse University with majors in international relations, Spanish,
and American history.
Our Team
LAUREL BRUNTZ
Laurel Bruntz specializes in public relations and event management.
Laurel has a background in managing and implementing messaging campaigns and engaging
grassroots supporters on a variety of issues. These include energy and the environment, higher
education, healthcare, and international trade. Laurel also specializes in event management,
particularly the organization, outreach, and planning required to execute creative and successful
events.
Prior to joining LS2group, Laurel gained experience in project management, fund development, and
direct client service through professional training and staff positions at various non-profit organizations
across the country. As an undergrad, Laurel also interned on a presidential campaign in Iowa and
conducted public health research in Nairobi, Kenya.
Laurel graduated with honors from the George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in
international affairs, specializing in global public health. She also earned a Master of Arts in social
work from the University of Chicago. Laurel is a member of the Young Women’s Resource Center’s
Young Professionals Council, and assists in event planning and fundraising for several local non-profit
organizations on a volunteer basis.