School Security

Wren Publishes Security Quiz for Teachers

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 05/11/10

If you see an emergency exit door propped open during school hours, what should you do--ignore the situation, take the initiative, refer, report, or other? That's one of the questions posed to teachers in a new online security quiz published by Wren, a company that sells surveillance and access control tools into the education market.

"Teachable Moments in Security" poses 10 questions and provides immediate answers, along with explanatory text, to reinforce best practices in school security, particularly those that instructors may be involved in, given their day-to-day interactions with students.

In a blog entry referencing a physical attack by teenagers on elementary school students during recess in Philadelphia during early May, Bret Rachlin, Wren's director of marketing, wrote, "... What's important is that the school staff members were able to act as quickly as possible to minimize injuries (at least 10 boys sustained injuries). What's unknown is what kind of training did the staff members have to prepare them for a security emergency, such as this... What was the correct protocol for staff members to follow in this situation?"

"Teachers are a powerful force on the school campus given their relationship to the critical mass of the student body. More than anyone else on campus--the principal, the school resource officer, or the superintendent--teachers are the eyes and ears as to what happens in students' everyday lives--their relationships, problems and triumphs at school," added Jeff Floreno, director of operations and security strategy for the company. "And, with the right training, [teachers] can use their powers of observation towards actionable differences to help make their school environments safer."