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Missouri schools partner with first responders and local officials in consortium | 12.15.2005 | 05:34:48 | Views: 5896 | ID: December 15 '06: 300 educators, police, firefighters and educators gathered in Missouri at the Lindenwood University in St. Charles for an organized summit to develop ways of creating preparedness plans addressing disaster, school safety, gang violence prevention and safe havens for school children, the St. Louis Dispatch reported Friday. A consortium of 62 "public school districts in the greater St. Louis area, organized the summit," the Dispatch reported. "Attendees listened to presentations on school intruder drills, the way police deal with shooters, crisis communications and planning, gang awareness, natural disaster preparation, threat assessment and bullying prevention." Organizers of the event told the Dispatch that the conference "reached its capacity of 300 people within two weeks of its initial advertisement, a sign of the concern schools have about safety." That school officials are concerned with the well being of their students, many said they were interested in better coordination with their local first responder officials. Dan Dozier the superintendent of the Orchard Farm School District in St. Charles told the Dispatch that school administrators are "trying to get together" with local first responders to understand how technology can integrate the two. Dozier also heard comments during one morning session with U.S. Secret Service Agent Jim Bohnert who said that one of the most important developments a school can make is creating an environment where children can turn to adults for help. "Schools are safe," Bohnert told the Dispatch, "They're very safe, probably one of the safest if no the safest places kids can go in the United States."
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