Schools at Risk: Technology Applications to Assist in School’s Emergency            Management Initiatives

Jessica L. Buck, Lee Cavett, Dominique Harris, P. C. Yuan 
(Jackson State University, USA)

Abstract: As threats of disasters continue to escalate, schools grow in their risk of natural or man-made incidents. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2012), there were 33 school-associated violent deaths in primary and secondary schools in the United States from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. Of the 33 students, staff, and nonstudent school-associated violent deaths, 25 were homicides; 5 were suicides; and 3 were legal interventions. The Center provided a report from U. S. principals indicating that 85% of public schools recorded one or more of these incidents of violence, theft, or other crimes taken place amounted to an estimated 1.9 million crimes. During 2009–2010, 60% of schools reported one of the specified crimes to the police, amounting to about 689,000 crimes — or 15 crimes per 1,000 students enrolled. In 2012, U. S. A. Today reported the Oikos University shooting where one student shot 10 people at the university; 7 of which died and another 3 were injured. Natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, caused devastation for schools in Mississippi and Louisiana leading thousands to be displaced. These were horrendous incidents jeopardized schools safety, and technology could have assisted in emergency management planning and early notification. In regards to these incidents, technology may not have prevented the incidents; but it may have helped mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover.
    This paper will review emergency incidents that have impacted primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools, and emphasize the need for safety improvements. In addition, this paper identifies technologies new technologies and how such technologies enhance mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for man-made or natural incidents. Furthermore, it asserts that such technologies will improve emergency management planning, and strengthen the overall safety of schools.

Key words: incidents, mitigation, preparedness, responds, recovery