School Safety Program Provides Training, Connection, and Empowerment for Specialists
The National Heritage Academies program is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A successful school must embody many positive traits, but first and foremost, it needs to be safe. When children feel safe, they thrive, and that's just part of the guidance being given to the 100 partner schools of National Heritage Academies (NHA).
This year marks the 10th anniversary of NHA's Safety Specialist program. The program designates a safety leader at each school and emphasizes the NHA safety framework, meeting basic compliance requirements, and adopting proactive strategies that support mental, behavioral, and physical health. The goal is to help build a strong culture of preparedness in each school.
"We have always promoted a mindset that safety is everyone's responsibility," NHA Director of Safety and Health Brian Gard said. "School environments are very complex, and we've found that giving people the ability to collaborate can be incredibly valuable."
Most recently, safety specialists collaborated at a regional training in Louisiana which included participants from four NHA schools. Gard said each specialist was encouraged to share challenges specific to their schools, so others could learn and prepare for issues they haven't experienced yet.
"By connecting these safety specialists with each other, and with our safety team, we are empowering them with the tools to make smart and timely decisions at our schools," Gard said.
Staff in a variety of roles serve as safety specialists, including deans, office administrators, paraprofessionals, and more.
Great Oaks Academy Executive Principal Damon Williams and Registrar Elaine Best work together as their school's safety specialists to keep everyone updated on safety procedures and best practices.
"Elaine keeps track of the necessary timelines regarding drills throughout the school year and documenting the outcomes," Williams said. "She also coordinates with teachers before the start of the year, so they know what to do with their students when drills happen. She handles all of it. She's the star of the show when it comes to that."
Best said it's important to have NHA's leadership to prepare schools for safety issues and to make sure they have the necessary equipment as well. She also appreciates Williams' dedication to safety and his ability to ensure all students and staff follow proper procedures.
"NHA continues to increase their involvement in preparing schools for safety and making sure we have what we need for safety purposes," she said. "When our training and drills are intentional, it helps people understand the importance of it. When we send out safety reminders, when we walk our scholars through drills, when we're prioritizing certain aspects of our daily safety routine, such as locked classroom doors, it helps students and families understand how serious we are about the safety of our school."
NHA Safety and Security Specialist Mike White helped lead the recent training in Louisiana and made valuable connections with these school leaders during key moments in their training.
"We started looking at trauma-informed drills," White said. "We want to make sure teachers know exactly when the drills are, who is going to initiate it, and what's going to happen. That empowers them to go to their students and talk about these things. Preparing students for the drill and making sure we supply age-appropriate information for them to share with their classrooms is very important."
Ready to enroll your student? National Heritage Academies operates 100 schools in nine states. Use our school finder to locate one near you: NHA School Finder.
White said a presentation given by Metro Charter Academy Dean Kristin Sanney made an instant impact with all in attendance.
"One of the most important points of Kristin's presentation was about the process. You need to get your team together, identify the students that need extra help, make individual plans for those students, and make sure everyone knows the plan. It may seem like a lot, but when a situation happens, people know what they need to do to help everyone."
White said they also performed scenario-based instruction and walked safety specialists through ways to react to incidents, things to look for, and which resources are available to them when situations arise.
"It's vital because safety is the number one thing. If the school environment isn't safe, kids can't learn, and that's true for the physical environment, the educational environment, and the social environment."
About National Heritage Academies:
National Heritage Academies (NHA) is a network of 100 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 68,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com. To find the nearest charter school near you, use the NHA school finder.
SOURCE National Heritage Academies
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