School Security Listening Session
On April 12, 2022, SENTRY hosted a School Security Listening Session, held virtually via Zoom, for the purpose of facilitating open discussion between SENTRY researchers and personnel, PAB members, and five school security stakeholders on how a Virtual Sentry Framework could best address safety concerns in K-12 school venues.
The 5 school safety panelists assembled by SENTRY’s School Security PAB member, Jacob Ludes, to participate in the session were:
- Mr. George Edwards
Chief Accreditation Officer, New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) - Dr. Joseph Erardi
Retired Superintendent, Newtown Public Schools - Dr. Penelope “Penny” Eucker
Executive Director, STEM School, Highlands Ranch, Colorado - Dr. Lawrence Filippelli
Superintendent, Lincoln, Rhode Island, Public Schools. Proprietor, The Education Consortium - Mr. Kevin McCaskill
Senior Administrator, Office of Secondary Schools, Boston Public Schools
Points of discussion included: deterrence, countermeasures, locations of primary concern, current best practices, privacy concerns, architectural issues, and use of CCTV cameras in schools. SENTRY summarized the key takeaways from the session in an internal report that will be utilized to inform SENTRY’s continued work regarding school security.
The session also established connections with key school stakeholders that we plan to develop into partnerships in assessing the utility of the Virtual Sentry Framework. Building on the information gathered from the School Security Listening Session, SENTRY will host a Future of School Security Workshop in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratories on July 19 and 21, held virtually via Zoom.