Description of the Project.

 

Alaska community citizens, school administration, staff, and students need awareness of the modern approach to appropriate response protocols to school safety and cybersecurity challenges. With congressional appropriation support, the Alaska Safe Communities and Schools project follows eight steps to improve the safety and wellness of schools and communities while enhancing the security of valuable assets.

 

1. Increase awareness and Train employees: Community teams will be trained on security policies, procedures, and best practices for protecting an individual’s social, emotional, physical, and mental well-being in a supportive school learning environment. The training will increase mindfulness of the five C’s of Safety—consciousness, compassion, confidence, courage, and community—for students, families, educators, and community members.

 

2. Establish a Safe Community and Schools Leadership Team: The project will identify the critical stakeholders responsible for implementing the Safe Communities and Schools project. The team will include the selected community representatives of the tribal office, project manager, district superintendent, safety officer, mental health representatives, interagency safety providers, and project evaluator. A leadership team will determine what “safe and secure” means locally in each community.

 

3. Conduct a security assessment: Each school district will train a safety officer to perform a security assessment. The assessor will review existing policies and procedures, assess physical security measures, and evaluate the effectiveness of applying new techniques to current safety and security issues. The assessment will identify areas of vulnerability and guide the development of a comprehensive security program that values and protects the student population's equity, dignity, and potential.

 

4. Develop a security plan: A statewide Interagency team will develop the foundation for a quick-reference Critical Incident Response Playbook. Following each school district’s Vulnerability and Risk Assessment, sites will update and expand the safety component of the playbook as required by AS 14.33.100. The plan will become a roadmap for project implementation, listing timelines and milestones.

 

5. Prioritize initiatives: Throughout the project, the focus is on continuous awareness and analysis as the community continues to enhance what “safe and secure” means to them. The project engages students, families, educators, staff, and the community to identify and prioritize goals, objectives, and activities.

 

6. Implement physical/technology solutions: The project focused intensely on district implementation of technology and physical solutions to safety concerns, such as integrated solutions, access control systems, video surveillance, intrusion detection systems, and others.

 

7. Develop policies and procedures: Districts will design community-centered policies, procedures, and practices sensitive to safety, equity, and dignity.

 

8. Monitor and evaluate: A leadership team of vested organizations will monitor and evaluate the program's effectiveness and adjust it as necessary. Regular security assessments will be conducted, incident reports reviewed, and feedback from employees and stakeholders will be collected and considered.

 

Goals, Objectives, and Activities

 

To meet the high standards of safety outlined above, the Safe Communities and Schools project has identified three over-arching SMART goals with objectives and action items:Goal 1: Create a stronger and more trusting connection between the school and the community, resulting in a 100% safer school and community, as measured by pre- and post-surveys, focus group interviews, and behavior/discipline records.Objective: Increase the school and communities’ awareness of what constitutes a threat and how to react appropriately.·The project Leadership Team meets regularly. ·Engage with M.C. Kimball and Associates, LLC to conduct a comprehensive 360-degree site safety audit that promotes community awareness.·Conduct a Threat Vulnerability Assessment, including an Active Shooter/Violent Intruder readiness Analysis and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Analysis. ·Gather the communities' input on safety recommendations and solutions. ·Prioritize safety concern recommendations and potential solutions. ·Update and enhance the state-required District School Crisis/Emergency Response Plan. ·Develop a community presentation outlining key safety characteristics. ·Schedule two statewide training opportunities for school/community teams. ·Train teachers and staff to integrate, culturally and linguistically, the lessons from “We’ve Got Your Back,” safety best practices, assessing and manipulating environmental factors. ·Provide school supervisor/security officer training in an asynchronous online self-paced – Campus Safety Supervisor/Security Officer training course. (Yr. 1)Objective: Increase mindfulness of the five C’s of Safety - consciousness, compassion, confidence, courage, and community for students, families, educators, and community members.·Implement “We’ve Got Your Back,” a project built on evidence-based research from the F.B.I., Homeland Security, the Secret Service, and the U.S. Department of Education, which all show that duck and cover is not an appropriate response for an Active Shooter/Violent Intruder event.·Utilize DEEDs Transforming Schools: A Framework for Trauma Engaged Practice in Alaska.·Train safety officers to instruct schools on the “Elements of Safety and Situational Awareness.”·Train safety officers to work with staff, community, and students to promote conscious, spatial, informed, and sensory awareness.·Distribute information to community members through approved methods.Goal 2: Create a cyber-safe environment for the school and community with a refreshed cyber security audit, updated safe cyber awareness practices, and increased community awareness. The goal is to increase the sense of safety by 80%, as measured by pre-and post-surveys, focus group interviews, School Climate and Connectedness survey results, and the elimination of incidents of cyber-related disciplinary actions.Objective: Conduct cybersecurity audits of student internet access. Audit the policies and procedures that govern communication and interaction online.·Virtual or Live Cyber Training – instruction on how to protect the health of schools’ networks and assets (e.g., using firewalls, strong passwords, and identity protection)·Develop Cyber-safe and Cyber-bullying mini-lessons and badges that appeal to students and community members.·A subcommittee of the leadership team will use the following tools: RACI Matrix, Program Charter, and Dashboard for Program Management, and create a risk register to identify and analyze potential problems. ·Conduct phishing simulations and increase community awareness of phishing. ·Provide web-based independent training concerning cybersecurity.·Vulnerability scanning and remediation coordination.·Policy Gap Analysis; deliverables: Policy and Procedures as needed, Monthly Reporting, Status of Program. Synchronize results with the results of Goal 1. ·Provide detailed workstream forecasts, including Threat Models, Trends, concerns, and updates specific to the community.·Summer – Detailed technical reviews of the environment based on CISv8 and Cybersecurity Rubric.·Update parents, guardians, extended family members, community, and elders on monitoring and encouraging safe social media interactions.·Train staff to recognize and address the disproportionate bullying and harassment that impacts students with disability.Goal 3: Develop middle and high school students' leadership skills through training and disseminate safety-promoting information via digital platforms. The students of each school will prepare at least one place-based safety project that aligns with local cultural values, documented by videos or photographs of community events. Videos, photographs, and resources will be sharable with other communities to enhance safety for all. Objective: Increase students’ consciousness (mindfulness) and understanding of compassion, confidence, courage, and community.· Implement youth leadership training through the school student councils. Students will learn about Growth Mindset, project Design Thinking, and problem-solving. Participation support funds will support the process of implementing community engagement projects.· Engage students to implement project activities to prevent violence by creating safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that positively impact student well-being and academic outcomes.· Provide continuous presence of guest speakers, forums, and online courses throughout the school year to reinforce safety and youth leadership.· Utilize guest speakers to bridge youth leadership to tribal council leadership with the intention of graduates continuing to serve the community.· Work with students to practice conscious, spatial, informed, and sensory awareness.