School Security Officer Training Course :

School Security Officer Course

The S2 School Security Officer training course is designed to prepare security officers/guards for the specialized assignment of working in schools. This course was developed to assist school districts and independent schools in establishing a standardized level of knowledge and skill among their security officers, maximizing performance, and ensuring effective integration within school communities.

The information presented in this course reflects best practices in school security in alignment with the standards of the Guardian SafeSchool Program®. The strategies and methods presented in this course are based on the instructors’ extensive experience working as school security consultants and assisting organizations around the world in managing risks of targeted violence.

Summary of topics include:

Role and Responsibilities of School Security Officers • Dynamics of Crime and Violence in Schools • Risk Management and School Security • School Climate and Culture • School Security Related Laws & Liabilities • Adolescent Psychology and Youth Social Dynamics • Communications and Network Building • Contemporary Youth Substance Abuse • Physical Security and Access Control in Schools • Emergency Response Procedures

NOTE: This course was developed to specifically address many officer training problems observed in the instructors’ consulting activities and weaknesses in current School Resource Officer (SRO) courses. See the program history and peer review report below for more details.

- Understand the spectrum of security threats and risk events associated with schools
- Understand relevant State and Federal laws related to crime, student privacy, and security operations in schools
- Proactively interact with faculty, students, and parents to identify and resolve problem situations and reinforce positive school climate and culture
- Recognize and report indications of bullying, crisis situations (e.g., suicidality, child abuse, chronic drug abuse, etc.), gang activity, and social conflict within the school community
- Recognize common substances of abuse, drug paraphernalia, and students under the influence of drugs
- Understand the pathway to targeted aggression in schools and factors contributing to school violence
- Recognize warning behaviors associated with targeted violence in schools
- Provide support for school threat assessment activities and/or effectively participate as a threat assessment team member
- Understand the principles of performance-based physical security and the role of security officers in intrusion response
- Recognize critical vulnerabilities in school physical security design and suggest effective solutions for improvement
- Understand access control practices in schools and effectively support campus entry control activities
- Recognize and safely respond to potential trespassers on campus
- Understand the principles of school emergency management and roles of Emergency Response Team members
- Effectively respond to a full spectrum of school emergencies including active shooter events, bomb threats, precautionary lockdowns, hostage incidents, medical emergencies, weather emergencies, indoor and outdoor hazardous materials incidents, and fires
- Understand the process of school reunification as necessary to support reunification activities

DAY ONE

The School Security Officer
- Role and Responsibilities
- Schools as a Unique Operating Environment
  - School Climate and Culture
  - Influence of Security Officers on School Climate and Culture
Introduction to the Threat
- School Security Risk
- School Threat Adversaries
  - Adversary Characteristics
- Statistical Trends
- Case Studies
Principles of School Security
- Protective Theory
- Countermeasures & Threats: Integrated Analysis
Laws & Liabilities
- State statutes pursuant to security in schools
- Privacy of Student Records
- School Policies & Student Rights
Adolescent Psychology and The School Community
- Adolescent Psychology & Brain Development
- Defiance
- Dysfunctional Families
- Cultural Differences
- Special Education
- Youth Social Dynamics
- Peer Influences
  - Informal leader & follower behavior
- Cliques, Gangs, Harmful Subcultures, etc.

DAY TWO

Adolescent Psychology and The School Community (cont.)
- Communication Skills
- Gang Affiliation
- Sexual Abuse
- Suicide
Dynamics of Contemporary Drug Abuse
- Current Trends in Drug Abuse
- Drugs (Recognition, Effects, etc.)
- Drug Culture
- Drug Abuse Indicators
- Intervention
Threat Assessment
- Psychology of Targeted Violence
- Threat Assessment Principles
- Role of Security Officers in the Threat Assessment Process
- Assessment Factors
  - Warning Behaviors
  - Risk Factors
  - Stabilizing Factors
  - Precipitating Events
- Case Studies
Physical Security and Schools
- Physical Security Theory
- Threat Detection (& Alert Communication)
- Barriers
  - Cover vs Concealment
    - Ballistic Barriers
  - Anti-Personnel Barriers
- School Security Postures
- Access Control
- General Intruder Response
- Lockdown/Armed Intruder Response

DAY THREE

Emergency Response Procedures
- Emergency Team Roles & Responsibilities
- Emergency Communications Systems
- Best Practices in School Emergency Response
  - Bomb Threats
  - Fire Evacuations
  - Hostage Barricade
  - Weather Emergencies
  - Medical Emergencies
  - Missing Student Situations
  - Indoor Hazardous Materials Incidents
  - Outdoor Hazardous Materials Incidents
  - Fire
  - Reunification
Examination (Optional)

S2 School Security Training History

The S2 Institute School Security Officer course was originally created in 2013 to fulfill the officer training needs of the Guardian SafeSchool Program®, a holistic school risk management program developed by our sister company, Critical Intervention Services. Since then, over 500 school security officers and school resource officers have graduated the S2 Institute course.

As part of the program’s history, S2’s School Security Officer course was adopted in 2014 as the training model for Newtown Public Schools‘ new armed security force in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Our School Security Officer program was also peer reviewed in 2015 by John Jay College of Criminal Justice (under the label, School Protection Officer program) and hailed as a ‘model for national best practices’ in school security.

In addition to our school security officer training programs, S2 conducts leadership-level security and emergency planning workshops for school administrators and private training sessions for faculty and school threat assessment teams.

In addition to our services as instructors, S2 Institute subject experts provide consulting assistance to schools and colleges throughout the United States for improving school security and emergency readiness. Some examples of our consulting clients include the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Calvary Christian High School, Kingswood Oxford School, North Cobb Christian School, Sayre School, Shorecrest Preparatory School, National Aviation Academy, The College of New Rochelle, and more.

The lead instructor for the School Security Officer course, Craig Gundry, is also frequent speaker on topics related to active shooter violence for organizations such as ASIS International, Southern Association of Independent Schools, AAGO, FFCMA, and more. As a consultant in managing risks of mass homicide, his clients also include a diverse range of corporations and government organizations such as the U.S. Capital Police, U.S. Department of Justice, European Central Bank, European Commission, European External Action Service, and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In 2015, Professor Charles Nemeth, Chairman of the Center for Private Security and Safety at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, conducted a peer review of the Guardian SafeSchool School Protection Officer program developed by our sister company, Critical Intervention Services (CIS).

The peer review encompassed a comparative assessment of the CIS School Protection Officer program against School Resource Officer programs implemented around the nation. The peer review report provides an excellent description of differences in operational methods and doctrine, officer training, and assessment of program effectiveness.

The S2 Institute School Security Officer course is the training program described on page 20 of the John Jay report. Click here to download the full document.

State Statutes, School District Policies, and Officer Duties

During the basic School Security Officer course, three hours is dedicated to reviewing Federal and State statutes with specific bearing on school security and unique district policies. In preparation for the program, S2 will request assistance from the host school district in collecting copies of any relevant state laws and regulations.

Additionally, to ensure the content of the course best reflects the expected duties of officers, a questionnaire will be submitted to the school district to help clarify the role of school security officers and their function during different types of situations.

Active Shooter Tactical Training

The S2 basic School Security Officer course is presented in classroom and includes discussion about school response during active shooter events. However, the procedures described for officer response are directly influenced by the officers’ armed/unarmed status. If the security officer trainees are armed, we strongly recommend adding an additional day of training in one-officer rapid deployment tactics for active shooter events. This additional tactical training day is a standard component of most courses we conduct for armed school security departments.

Our school security officer tactical training typically encompasses a classroom training session focusing on rapid deployment tactical concepts followed by live skill demonstrations and practice drills in hallway clearing tactics, room clearance, and crowds.

All drills conducted as part of the tactical training day are conducted using Airsoft weapons on a school campus provided by the school district. Due to the nature of tactical training, we recommend scheduling this training on a day when school is closed or out-of-session.

Officer Evaluation

Schools by nature, are highly social environments and it is critical that officers working in schools possess superior communications and interpersonal relations skills. Although the S2 School Security Officer course provides instruction on a number of matters related to social interaction and community networking, not all security officers possess personalities optimal for working in school environments. At the request of the client school district, S2 instructors can assist in evaluating officer candidates to identify individuals with less-optimal personalities or who may require additional coaching in developing social skills.

Course Details

Instructor
Craig Gundry
Jay Pace
Shannon Bryson

Restriction Level
Level 1 – No restrictions

Presentation Time
Basic Program: 24-Hrs/3 Days (8:30am to 4:30pm)

Audience
Security Officers & Security Guards Employed by School Districts and Independent/Private Schools

School Security Officer Testimonials

I am grateful for your wonderful course! Your tutors are the best, and I am completely satisfied with the level of professional teaching. I recommend these courses to everyone, and wish you, guys, luck with the new studies!

James Smith

CFO Apple Corp

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. It is a very good course for those who are the beginner. luck with the new studies!