SCHOOL PERSONNEL, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND EMERGENCY RESPONDERS MEET TO ENHANCE SCHOOL SAFETY

West Olive, MI - TheOttawa Area Secure Schools Network (OASSN) —a combined effort between schools, law enforcement, and emergency responders within the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) to enhance school safety across the region— hosted a fall Summit October 16 at the Ottawa County Fillmore Administration Building in West Olive.

Over 100 representatives from public, private, and charter schools, law enforcement agencies, emergency management and fire departments attended the event to continue to coordinate and share training across all agencies. Building off prior Summits, this Summit returned to the theme of reunification and to discuss how it has evolved, share learnings between agencies and explore the concept of regional reunification sites that might be utilized in larger-scale events.

I Love U Guys Foundation Training Director Jim French and Randa Hanes, School Safety Analyst for the Office of School Safety with the Michigan State Police (MSP) Grants and Community Services Division, provided updates on the Standard Reunification Method (SRM) and Standard Response Protocol (SRP). These new resources are used by schools to update their Emergency Operating Procedure (EOP) which details the actions that students, teachers, school staff, emergency managers, law enforcement and community partners should take before, during and after a variety of emergencies. 

Assistant Superintendent of Innovation, Technology, Information and Security Services for OAISD, Michael Rohwer, said in the 2021-22 academic year OASSN introduced stakeholders to the SRM created by the I Love U Guys Foundation founded by French who lost his daughter in a school shooting in 2006. 

”Many districts have embraced this method of reunification and gained valuable experience while conducting their own exercises,” stated Rohwer. “This summit allows organizations to come together and learn from one another to enhance school safety for all should an incident ever arise.”

“OASSN meetings have improved communication amongst all groups and allowed us to feel, and be, more prepared in the case of an emergency,” Bob Tease, Director of Security Services for OAISD, said. “These summits are so important to our schools and the community to help us meet our goals that include coordinating and sharing training across all agencies; sharing practices and plans across the region and between agencies; and developing common safety procedures, protocol and language.”

The Summit ended with a Reunification Panel Discussion that shared regional experiences and a Reunification Exploration session. 

Another Summit will take place in the spring.

The Ottawa Area Secure Schools Network (OASSN) is a regional collaboration between public, private, and charter schools, law enforcement agencies, and fire departments within Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) to work proactively toward maintaining and improving school safety. Through regional collaboration and shared practices, agencies can pool resources to stay at the forefront of school safety for all K-12 schools in the region.    

Ottawa Area Intermediate School District

Ottawa Area ISD works collaboratively with schools and communities to meet the educational needs of students of all ages in the Ottawa area. By pooling resources and providing services regionally, Ottawa Area ISD provides important programs and services to local K‐12 school districts, charter, parochial and private schools and adults in the most cost‐effective ways possible. To learn more about Ottawa Area ISD visit www.oaisd.org