Security & Emergency Management
The Risk Management department supports student learning by helping ensure the safety and well-being of students, staff, and visitors. Risk Management is responsible for many safety tasks and technologies you will see throughout Osseo Area Schools including but not limited to:
- Emergency preparedness plans (ERP) including compliance with state mandated drills. The risk management department often observes emergency drills to provide feedback to school leaders and staff. You can see more information about our ERP below.
- Each school has a visitor management system that checks visitors against the national sex offender registry and a site do not enter list. All visitors are requested to provide Government identification to check-in. If a visitor does not have identification, they will be required to provide information for a manual check-in process and have their photo taken.
- Security cameras including the installation, maintenance, and replacement with technology advancements.
- Safe School Assessments are a tool used to identify and evaluate potential hazards and risks in a school’s physical environment. The process of doing a safe school assessment creates opportunities to reduce or eliminate potential hazards and develop recommendations for improvement. Schools use data gathered from safe school assessments to address areas of greatest risk or vulnerability in their emergency plans.
- Staff security and emergency preparedness training (Include Link to Schoology Folder) for staff only portal.
- Behavior threat assessments are an investigative approach to identifying and intervening with individuals who may pose a risk of causing harm. A multidisciplinary behavior threat assessment team, in conjunction with the appropriate policies, tools, and training, is the best
practice for preventing acts of targeted violence. Behavior Threat Assessments are used to assess the ongoing needs and safety of all individuals in the building.
Risk management meets several times during the school year with the Risk and Emergency Management Committee (REMAC). Representatives from all levels of the school district as well as from our community are active participants in the security and emergency management decisions providing vital feedback for the success of our schools.
Informational Meeting
Main Contact
Dave Moredock
Coordinator of Risk Management
763-391-7247
MoredockD@district279.org
Emily Kaehn
Risk Management Specialist
763-391-7225
KaehnE@district279.org
Osseo Area Schools Emergency Response Plan
Osseo Area Schools has developed a comprehensive emergency plan with the help of local law enforcement, emergency management and public health officials. The emergency plan incorporates all four phases of crisis management:
- Prevention/Mitigation
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
Prevention/Mitigation
To prevent critical incidents from occurring, Osseo Area schools Security and Emergency Management team routinely conducts site assessments at all buildings. The team also facilitates behavior threat assessments when concerning behaviors are identified or threats are made. Osseo Area Schools also partners with local law enforcement through our School Resource Officer (SRO) program. STOPit Solutions access page or call 763-256-6363.
The district uses STOPit Solutions as an online reporting tool designed to deter and mitigate bullying, cyber abuse, and other inappropriate behaviors. It consists of an app, tip line and a back-end incident management system for school administrators. Students and parents/caregivers have access to the STOPit mobile app and 24/7 phone support. Concerns that need immediate attention for the safety of individuals involved should be reported to 911. Here is an example of the signage placed around our buildings and information on the process:
Preparedness
Drills are routinely held in all Osseo Area Schools to prepare students and staff for emergency response. Each site is required to do 11 drills throughout the school year. Those drills are evacuation, shelter in place, lockdown and severe weather shelter.
Site Response
Osseo Area School’s emergency plan is based on an “all hazard” approach that incorporates four universal response actions that can be implemented quickly. Each school has a Building Crisis Response Team (BCRT) that leads staff and students through an emergency. The BCRT utilizes a district communication tool to provide updates and resources for their emergency.
In the rare event of an emergency, the school principal, or their designee, will implement one of the following actions as needed.
Recovery
If an evacuation takes place, families will be notified of the reunification site. At the reunification site, parents should be prepared to have their identification with them. We ask parents remain patient to account for the safety of all parties involved.
Following a critical incident, Risk Management, school administration, and school resource officers will meet to assess the situation, response and learning points for continual growth and improvement.
School Resource Officers
Osseo Area Schools partners with the Maple Grove Police Department and the Brooklyn Park Police Department to provide on-site Law Enforcement Officers, known as a School Resource Officer (SRO). SROs are carefully selected, specifically trained, and properly equipped full-time law enforcement officers with sworn law enforcement authority. SROs have been in school buildings throughout the nation for decades, and our partnership dates back to the 1990s.
ISD279 is active in the selection process for the SROs. The SROs have advanced training through the NASRO Organization. Our SROs work side by side with the administration teams to help mitigate any safety concerns as they arise. They utilize their training to de-escalate, diminish and solve many situations throughout the day.
Overall, the utilization of SROs varies by site. Depending on the situation, and if safe to do so, majority of the issues are handled by the school with little involvement by the SRO. If the SRO is involved, and charges are filed, the student may be reported for a diversion program or for charging. Again, this varies depending on the seriousness of the incident. SROs are not part of discipline at school, behavior management is handled by teachers and administrators.
FAQ's
- As a parent, what can I do to help keep my child and their school safe?
- As a parent, what should I do if a crisis does occur at my child’s school?
- If an incident does happen at school, what are the consequences?
- What are the visitor procedures during the school day?
- Do the schools have security cameras?