Jim Fish is superintendent of North Branch Area School District in Michigan.
In November 2021, a mass shooting took place at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Michigan.
This was just 20 miles south of — and painstakingly close to — North Branch Area Schools, where it’s my job to manage the day-to-day operations of the district. Our school system encompasses four school buildings, over 2,000 students and nearly 300 teachers and staff.
The North Branch Area School District community, staff, and students were psychologically scarred and emotionally affected by the tragic events that unfolded in Oxford.
Our district immediately reacted by reviewing our safety policies and procedures to ensure we were doing everything possible to keep our staff and students as safe as possible. We did a lot of research on school shootings before deciding our next steps.
The uncomfortable truth about school shootings
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, guns are the leading cause of death among American children and teens. In fact, since the devastating Columbine High School shooting in 1999, 370,000 students at 404 schools across the U.S. have experienced gun violence.
What’s more, according to a study by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education, 93% of school shooters planned the attack in advance.
Why this happens is a very complicated matter, but fortunately — or unfortunately — efforts to train school staff are progressing in a positive way amid the uptick in these incidents.
While school personnel training can vary by state and school district, a federally funded study by RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, found nearly 85% of districts provide training on emergency safety procedures to teachers. Additionally, 90% of districts encourage schools to train school staff on what to expect during an active shooter incident; and at least two-thirds of districts expect schools to train staff on how to react to active shooters, communicate dangers and use communication systems.
Safety systems need to be accessible 24/7
Following the Oxford High School shooting, my biggest goals for North Branch were eliminating any communication gaps that could exist if we needed to report safety incidents, and finding a solution that would allow our administrators to respond immediately.
Today, technology drives so many aspects of our day-to-day lives, which would make an app or cell phone-powered safety system an easy choice for anyone — that is until your school is facing a power outage, your phone is across the room, not all staff members have an app-friendly phone, or Wi-Fi bandwidth is low and some people aren’t able to connect to the network.
These are just a few considerations that superintendents and district leaders must keep in mind. It is my responsibility to ensure that our school district and our staff are prepared for anything and everything. Having the ability to immediately respond to a crisis situation is of the utmost importance for our district.
Our administrative team researched several options before deciding to move forward with wearable panic buttons. Our safety response system takes the guesswork out of everything. It is centered around a single, wearable panic button that allows staff to quickly and discreetly send an alert to instantly reach administrators and responders.
While under duress, it can be difficult to remember to press a specific button if there is more than one, which makes the single button method invaluable. The button is on a card about the size of an ID badge; badge wearers must push it three times for a minor emergency, and eight or more times for a full lock down.
While we are prepared for the most extreme emergencies, our response system is primarily used for everyday safety incidents, such as medical emergencies and student behavior — which are equally as important to be prepared to handle.
The button allows responders to also know who pushed the button and from exactly where without ever having to pick up a phone. For example, if we have a student who has a seizure or if an argument — small or large — breaks out, help is notified and arrives within seconds.
What’s more, our teachers and staff have reported that the badges give them peace of mind knowing that they can get ahold of somebody in an emergency, which is paramount in ensuring that we’re able to provide a safe, secure working environment while they are educating our students.
How North Branch is staying ahead
In today’s climate, you can’t take anything for granted. I’ve been in education for 38 years. Being the superintendent of North Branch Area Schools is a rewarding job, and I love what I do. But every day, I learn more about how I can make this district a better, safer place.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 67% of public schools recorded at least one violent incident in the 2021-22 school year. Ensuring the safety of our staff and students is and always will be our top priority.
No matter what the situation, every district should always do everything in their power to make sure that their community feels safe. As part of this, all of our administrators, teachers and support staff have undergone Alice Training — Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate — and all of our students have received age-appropriate training in order to be fully prepared in the unlikely event of an emergency.
Additionally, every district employee now wears the badge I mentioned previously, so they can alert all personnel in their building if there is an emergency and a need to go into lockdown.
I recently shared in the North Branch Area Schools SchoolTalk newsletter that the district is planning to invest in new technology to continue enhancing security measures. The new surveillance system will enable real-time monitoring, rapid response to potential threats, and the ability to review footage for investigative purposes, providing comprehensive coverage of the school premises to ensure a secure and protected environment for students, staff and visitors.
We live in a world where many things are unpredictable. I have an unwavering commitment to the North Branch community and want to continue fostering an environment conducive to learning and growth. Safety is at the center of everything.
There is no learning and growth without first ensuring that our learning environments are protected, and that our staff is well equipped to handle any challenges that arise.
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