KEYNOTE: Making a Difference in Safety at our Campuses
Dr. Joe May, Chancellor Dallas Community Colleges
Assistant Chief Jason Rodriguez, Dallas ISD
The impact of the Dallas Shootings on El Centrol College and the Community
The shootings in Dallas last year shook the nation and the campus protection community to its core. This keynote will take a look back at the events from July 7, 2016 and how it affected El Centro College, the Dallas lndependent School District, the Dallas PD and the Community as a whole. You’ll hear the procedures and responses that took place during this incident and the days immediately following.
ln addition, the presenters will share plans and procedures to consider when addressing violence and safety moving forward on our nation’s campuses. This presentation will honor, challenge, support and inspire participants in their current public safety roles and serve as a catalyst for discussion and idea exchange.
Expert Forum: Lessons Learned from the Dallas Shooting at El Centro College
Moderator: Dr. Eric Coleman, Department of Criminal Justice, University of North Texas at Dallas
Expert panel discussion involving local college administrators, counselors and public safety officials on what happened during and immediately after the ambush, as well as the community’s long-term response.
International Students on Campus: Why Should a Chief Care?
Daniel Dusseau, Director Public Safety/Chief of Police, Northern Virginia Community College
John Weinstien, Commander, District 3, Northern Virginia Community College Police Department
There are an estimated one million international students on college campuses in the United States. This influx has grown significantly and brings new challenges for police officials. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is one of the largest Community Colleges in the United States and has a diverse student population. With thousands of international students at its campuses, NOVA has experienced significant issues and has learned lessons in areas such as: tailoring student outreach to international students to protect them (which includes cultural and constitutional concerns); student immigration fraud involving businesses; and terrorists enrolled at the college.
- Learning Objective 1: Attendees will learn some basic signs of immigration fraud and to prevent unknown, potentially dangerous persons from being at their schools.
- Learning Objective 2: Attendees will understand how specific outreach efforts to international students, with an emphasis on prevention of violations of laws and policies, may serve both the student and the college.
- Learning Objective 3: Attendees will be able to identify and address cultural differences that may undermine the trust of international students toward police, as well as identify national, state and school processes that address student concerns.
Teaching and Promoting Emergency Preparedness to Students
Allison Carlock, Emergency Management Specialist, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Schools must ensure student safety in the event of an emergency or disaster, and they are also uniquely positioned to reach youth with preparedness messages. This makes it critical that administrators and educators know how to prepare children before a disaster occurs and that they know how to address signs of trauma afterwards.
This interactive presentation will share resources and tools for schools and discuss the importance of youth preparedness, communicating clearly about disasters and preparedness with children and identifying signs of trauma to implement appropriate coping strategies. In addition, the speaker will walk attendees through parts of FEMA’s Student Tools for Emergency Planning (STEP) program. This will enable attendees to use the program’s instructor guide, ready-to-teach lesson materials and activities and STEP It Up with the Disaster Dodgers video series. The session will then conclude with information for individuals or schools that are starting or running youth preparedness programs, including how to get direct support through the FEMA Youth Preparedness Technical Assistance Center.
- Learning Objective 1: Attendees will be able to identify examples of programs and resources available for teaching preparedness t
o students and ways their school can promote youth preparedness. - Learning Objective 2: Attendees will be able to identify the effect disasters can have on children and learn how to recognize and mitigate those effects.
- Learning Objective 3: Attendees will better understand how children can impact school and community emergency preparedness.
Aligning Security Goals with Fire and Life Safety Goals in Schools and Universities
Randy Atlas, President, Atlas Safety & Security Design Inc.
This session addresses emerging code changes in National Fire Protection Association 730 Premises Security and NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) as it relates to classroom locking systems intended to protect students and teachers during an active shooter situation. Design and technology choices must comply with fire safety regulations but still allow the school or university to be locked down without impeding the actions of first responders.
Recent code changes are having a sizable impact on the security and life safety system in school environments. Architects are being asked to design locking door systems and are faced with managing the conflicting goals of lockdown, shelter in place and occupant evacuation. But in an active shooter situation, will the classroom locks prevent law enforcement and EMS from entering? Will a hostage situation develop because the criminal is using the defensive door locks offensively? While schools are now designed for security and life safety, this session provides information on the emerging and sometimes controversial market of hardware decisions, doors, glazing, and mass notification systems and the applicable building codes that must be complied with. This session provides an interactive and collaborative approach to successfully integrating school security while providing the ability for first responders and police to gain unencumbered access to mitigate the situation.
- Learning Objective 1: Attendees will be able to access the correct information on how to lock classroom doors in the event of an emergency and learn if security products being marketed to architects and schools comply with existing egress standards.
- Learning Objective 2: Attendees will be able to have access to best practices for school visitor management systems so schools can properly secure their front lobbies and entrances by combining building design, video surveillance, guest management systems, policies and procedures, and staff training.
- Learning Objective 3: Attendees will be able to identify the key components of a compliant, attractive and secure school front entrance.
