Due to their devastating impact, school shootings are what first come to mind when school safety is discussed. While the school safety plans the NDSC develops with school districts address worst-case scenarios, they also are vital in managing the ongoing, inevitable daily incidences schools face. Coordination with local law enforcement and emergency services also are a key element of the strategy.

Few have the amount of experience and expertise in this area as Don Moseman, the NDSC Training Director. Moseman began working in schools in 1996 as part of a federal anti-school violence program which placed police officers in schools. In 2003, he was recognized as the Law Enforcement Education Officer of the Year for the United States by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms for his work in combating school violence. Moseman has studied more than 100 school and workplace shootings and has responded to three active shooter events. A practitioner for emergency risk assessments through the National Institute of Crime Prevention, he previously worked for the National Safety Council and came to the NDSC in 2013.

With Moseman as the lead, the NDSC’s school safety planning is based on fundamental principles from FEMA and the U.S. Department of Homeland security. Our program consists of 5 elements:

1. Facility All-Threat Assessment, on-site comprehensive inspection and report to analyze policy, training, facility design and protocols. This is followed by a detailed written report
2. School Violence Planning and Management Course, a 4-hour training for teachers and school staff members
3. Emergency Operations Plan, using the information gathered in the assessment, we then work with the school, local first responders and local emergency management to design a sustainable and regulatory compliant emergency operations plan.
4. Teacher Safety in the Classroom, this is a 4-hour course on best practices for teachers to deal with violent students in their classrooms.
5. Facility Design, the NDSC works with national partners to help schools plan for updating of existing buildings or intelligent design of new construction taking into account safety applications.

“School districts may contract us to do one, two, or all of these elements depending on their needs,” says Moseman.

In 2018, the NDSC provided training to South Heart School District in southwestern North Dakota. Superintendent Calvin Dean, said the training was “one of the best in-service training sessions regarding school violence we’ve ever had.”

To learn more about our school safety services contact Community Safety Manager Kathy Zander at kathyz@ndsc.org.