Risk Management Award

Effective school safety does not happen by accident; it is the result of intentional structure, diverse participation, and ongoing engagement. Over the years, our district’s safety team has learned that the combination of clear processes, broad representation, hands-on risk identification, and creative student involvement forms the backbone of a strong, sustainable safety culture.

Using Agendas and Minutes to Drive Meaningful Progress

One of the most essential but often overlooked components of a productive safety program is the consistent use of agendas and meeting minutes. Agendas help guide discussion, keep the team focused, and ensure that all necessary topics are addressed. Minutes, on the other hand, provide a record of what was discussed, what decisions were made, and what follow-up is required.

This documentation becomes invaluable—not only for holding ourselves accountable, but also for tracking where we have been and identifying where we want to go. Over time, it creates a road map of progress and a resource for new team members stepping into the work.

During the years when meetings occurred during the school day, we often began each session with building security or classroom walk-throughs.  Once each year we used the assessment checklist dividing its sections among team members to evaluate the building where we held the meeting. During the remainder of the meeting we reviewed and discussed results. These walk-throughs allowed committee members to observe real-time conditions, identify areas of concern, and discuss how risks could be mitigated. Team members were also able to relate the findings back to their own schools, increasing the transfer of learning and encouraging proactive improvements districtwide. Completing a risk-identification checklist in small groups not only strengthened our understanding of potential hazards, but also trained team members in the foundational principles of risk prevention and control. These shared experiences built confidence, heightened awareness, and reinforced our collective commitment to creating safer schools.

Building a Safety Team That Represents Every Voice

From the beginning, our safety team prioritized broad representation. Each school had at least one representative, and we included staff from a variety of job roles including administration, teachers, support staff, health services, and facilities. We also welcomed participation from law enforcement and invited the local fire department whenever they were available and interested in attending.

This diverse membership ensured that decisions were not made in a vacuum. Every group brought unique insights into safety protocols, potential vulnerabilities, and practical solutions. The result was a stronger, more informed team capable of identifying issues before they became problems.

In addition to building strong internal representation, our district has benefited significantly from engaging with CASPARR, Racine County’s collaborative school response and recovery program. CASPARR brings together schools, law enforcement, fire/EMS, emergency management, and mental health professionals to create a unified, countywide approach to crisis preparedness and response.

Through this partnership, we access shared training opportunities, coordinated emergency protocols, and a network of support that is activated during critical incidents. CASPARR ensures that all responders, whether school-based or community-based, operate from the same framework, improving communication, efficiency, and effectiveness during emergencies. By participating in the CASPARR program, we extend our safety culture beyond our school walls and reinforce the principle that creating safe learning environments is a community-wide responsibility.

Finding Creative Ways to Involve Students

Student involvement has always been important to us. While including students directly on the safety team became challenging during the school day or during the evening hours, we continued seeking meaningful ways to elevate their voice.

One successful strategy was creating annual student safety contests centered around a specific topic. When our district implemented ALICE training, for example, the contest focused on the principles of ALICE and what students had learned. Entries could take any form; writing, poetry, art, fashion, or video. The creativity was remarkable. Two students designed and sewed dresses featuring the ALICE acronym. Others submitted thoughtful essays or original poems. Several created videos, some of which we later used as training tools. These contests not only engaged students, but also helped us gauge how well they understood safety concepts.

Expanding Student Voice Through Courage and Kindness Retreats

Another powerful avenue for student involvement has been our partnership with Youth Frontiers to provide annual Kindness and Courage retreats for 4th and 8th graders. These experiences have become an integral part of building a positive, connected, and safe school culture.

The 4th grade Kindness Retreat focuses on empathy, inclusiveness, and the impact small actions can have on others. Through interactive activities, reflective conversations, and guided challenges, students learn what it means to choose kindness, speak up when someone is excluded, and take responsibility for helping create a welcoming environment. These skills reduce relational conflict and foster a culture where students look out for one another—contributing directly to our broader safety goals. What originally began as teacher-, staff-, and school board-led small groups has now transitioned into a student-led model, where 8th grade students serve as the group facilitators. This shift has increased engagement, strengthened peer-to-peer influence, and provided meaningful leadership opportunities for our middle school students. The younger students benefit from seeing positive role models who are closer to their own age, while the 8th graders gain confidence, responsibility, and ownership in shaping a safer, kinder school culture.

The 8th grade Courage Retreat helps students understand what everyday leadership looks like: standing up for what is right, resisting negative peer pressure, and making choices rooted in integrity. At a time when social dynamics grow more complex and students navigate new pressures, these lessons are essential. The retreat equips students with the confidence, language, and strategies needed to handle challenges, repair relationships, and make decisions that support a respectful school climate. In the 8th Grade Retreat, high school student leaders are used to facilitate the small-group discussions. 

These high school leaders are released from their regular classes for the day to support the retreat, reinforcing the idea that this work is valued and essential. Their presence underscores authentic leadership, showing middle school students that courage and character continue to matter beyond 8th grade. This model deepens student voice, expands mentorship opportunities, and strengthens the district’s long-term commitment to developing students who contribute to a positive and safe school environment.

We’ve also extended the impact of these retreats through student creativity. One year, students who participated in the Courage and Kindness retreats submitted designs for a T-shirt that would be printed and worn by staff and student leaders the following year. This tradition gave students ownership of the program and elevated their role in shaping the district’s culture of respect.

The outcomes have been clear: when students feel valued, empowered, and connected, safety improves. These retreats build the social-emotional foundation that makes all other aspects of school safety more effective—from conflict prevention to crisis response.

Evolving Meeting Structures While Preserving Core Safety Values

As with any long-standing initiative, our safety team has experienced changes in meeting structures, schedules, and formats over the years. What began in 2012 as a four-hour monthly working session gradually shifted to shorter, evening meetings as staffing, availability, and responsibilities evolved. These adjustments required us to rethink how we used our time, but they also underscored an important truth: the structure may change, but the core values of safety must remain constant.

During the early years, the extended daytime meetings allowed us to build a strong foundation—developing crisis plans, creating procedures, conducting building walk-throughs, and establishing consistent processes for risk identification. These sessions were hands-on, collaborative, and deeply analytical. They helped us identify vulnerabilities, clarify expectations, and ensure every member of the team had a shared understanding of our systems.

As meetings moved to shorter evening sessions, the format naturally shifted. Instead of lengthy work sessions, meetings became opportunities to provide updates, conduct essential training, and address emerging concerns. Even with less time, the spirit of the original team remained intact.

We adapted by prioritizing the most critical information, using agendas and minutes more intentionally, and keeping communication and collaboration at the center of our work. We also relied more heavily on small working groups and daytime operational teams to carry projects forward.

Most importantly, we preserved the team’s core purpose: maintaining safe, prepared, and connected school communities. The change in meeting structure never altered our expectations for high-quality safety practices or our belief that safety is a shared responsibility.

Adapting to change is inevitable in education. Staff roles evolve, schedules shift, and new mandates emerge. What matters most is having a clear set of values to anchor the work. For our team, those values of collaboration, preparedness, communication, and care for our students and staff have remained consistent. They have carried us through transitions in leadership, procedural updates, and the natural ebb and flow of the school year.

In many ways, the evolution of our meeting structure reflects the realities faced by districts everywhere. But it also reinforces a key lesson: effective safety work is less about how much time you have and more about how intentionally you use it. By maintaining our core values and adapting our structure to meet current needs, we’ve ensured that our team remains productive, responsive, and aligned with our mission.

Balancing Serious Work With Creative Engagement

Safety is an undeniably serious topic and one that affects every student, staff member, and family. Our team approached the work with dedication and professionalism, fully aware of the responsibility we carried. But we also discovered the value of incorporating creativity and approachability into our work.

Engaging staff sometimes means stepping outside the traditional mold. Catchy reminders, light-hearted activities, and even music can help reinforce important concepts and make topics that can otherwise feel heavy more accessible.

Over the years, our team has rewritten lyrics to familiar songs to support safety messaging. The first, “Safety Plan,” set to the tune of The Safety Dance, was performed at our beginning-of-year inservice as we introduced our newly revised Crisis/Safety Plan. Later, we created “Super Safe,” performed to the tune of Super Freak, to re-introduce the safety plan following significant ALICE-related updates. While unconventional, these efforts boosted engagement, normalized safety discussions, and strengthened our overall culture.

Conclusion

A strong safety culture in our district has been built on structure, collaboration, creativity, and authentic connection. The consistent use of agendas and minutes has kept our work focused and forward-moving, while the involvement of representatives from every school, job type, and partner agency has ensured that every voice is heard. Our engagement with community partners, including programs like CASPARR has strengthened our ability to respond collectively and confidently when it matters most. Hands-on activities, such as building walk-throughs and risk-identification checklists, have helped our team see safety through a shared lens and bring valuable insights back to their own buildings.

Just as important, our student-focused efforts, from safety contests to our Kindness and Courage Retreats, have shown that safety is shaped not only by policies but by the character, leadership, and compassion we nurture in our students. We’ve learned that balancing serious work with approachability, creativity, and even a bit of fun helps staff and students feel more connected and invested.

Safety is everyone’s responsibility, and in our district, it has truly become a shared source of pride, especially among the dedicated members of our safety committee.