From Prevention to Effective Response to Recovery: All Aspects Covered in School Security Education

Just weeks after releasing the ground-breaking School Security Standard, ASIS International continues its dedication to making schools safe and secure by unveiling the School Security Zone on the GSX tradeshow floor, a Game Changer session on violent risks in schools and workplaces, and several other education sessions of interest to those with school security responsibility.

The sessions, which cover both K-12 schools and university settings, include a wide range of security topics and showcase the dual mission of security: doing everything possible to prevent security incidents from occurring while ensuring security is prepared to react quickly and decisively during a security incident.

One session that straddles both of those missions is Doyle Batten’s “Preparedness in Action: It Can Happen Here—Crafting Video to Create Realistic Emergency Training Exercises,” on Monday, 29 September at 10:00 a.m. CT. Batten is the director for the division of school security for county public schools at Anne Arundel, Maryland.

In his session, Batten will show how he incorporated existing video from the school system’s surveillance footage into training directed at both preventing incidents before they begin or escalate as well as training on effective response. He is quick to point out that school security encompasses a wide array of threats.

“One thing I’ve noticed in my career is that in school security we focus a lot on active assailant—the most catastrophic incident without giving appropriate focus on the daily things that go on in schools,” he says. “From disorderly parents, child custody disputes, intrusions into the environment—there are a lot of threats that are serious but don’t end in catastrophe. How well are we spotting those events? How well are we responding to them? Could we do more to prepare for them?”

A straightforward example of prevention is showing a video to front office staff that demonstrates the proper procedure to assess and address someone seeking building access. “We show them examples of people coming to the environment that are totally inappropriate for the environment,” Batten says. “Historically, people would have been allowed into the space, and then (the front office staff) tried to navigate whatever the problem was, as opposed to” preventing the person from “entering the environment at all and getting law enforcement involved early.”

He has an even simpler example of using footage in training on effective response. “It can be simple things like a fire drill,” he says. “Are they actually taking an appropriate time to line students up versus grouping them to go? Are they using all available doors?”

Another session focused on prevention is “United Against Violence: Developing a Global Collaborative Effort to Prevent Workplace Violence” on 1 October, at 8:30 a.m. In the session, which was endorsed by ASIS’s School Security Community, speakers Mel Cortez and Micah Hoevelman, CPP, SAS-AP, from TACTBook, will examine strategies designed to mitigate risks and foster safer, more resilient environments.

Not every incident can be prevented, requiring security professionals to be well-versed in demands that arise after an event. Jenni Hesterman from Watermark Risk Management International, will lead “Crisis Communication Workshop,” which focuses on the vital role of communication during and in the aftermath of a crisis. The session is 30 September, at 2:45 p.m.

The School Security Zone is another new, exciting addition to GSX in 2025. The zone in the Expo Hall features a stage with a dozen tightly focused, 20-minute presentations on Monday, 29 September, and Tuesday, 30 September. These sessions offer a healthy dose of understanding how technology integrates into policies to enhance school security. The zone is sponsored by Arrow Security (Booth 655), Avient (Booth 3725), Axis (Booth 1327), Centegix (Booth 448), Genetec (Booth 1561), icetana (Booth 3404), and Protos Security (Booth 3139). The School Security Zone will also host a special session related to the School Security Standard on Wednesday, 1 October.

Here is a complete list of school security-related sessions at GSX:

• Preparedness in Action: It Can Happen Here—Crafting Video to Create Realistic Emergency Training Exercises, Monday, 29 September, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
• Building Partnerships Between City and School Law Enforcement Through Technology, Monday, 29 September, 11:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
• Security On A Spectrum: Building District Safety Programs For Any Budget, Monday, 29 September, 12:30 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
• The Cost of Crime on Campus & How AI-Powered Security Prevents It (sponsored by Icetana), Monday, 29 September, 1:00 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.
• Creating Uniformity in Active Shooter Drills: Protecting Our Schools with a Standardized Approach, Monday, 29 September, 1:30 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
• Security Starts At The School Bus: Unifying Security From The School Bus To The Classroom (sponsored by Genetec and Axis), Monday, 29 September, 2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
• Reinforcing Safety: The Future of Security with Advanced Composite Ballistic (sponsored by Avient), Monday, 29 September, 4:00 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
• Every Second Counts: How to Optimize Crisis Response Times in Schools, Tuesday, 30 September, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
• ASIS School Security Standard Overview, Tuesday, 30 September, 11:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
• Game Changer Session—Risk is Everywhere: Fostering Safety in the Workplace, Schools, and Public Spaces, Tuesday, 30 September, 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
• Why Didn’t Someone Say Something? Empowering People to Ask for Help, Tuesday, 30 September, 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and the K-12 School Environment, Tuesday, 30 September, 12:30 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
• Empowering K-12 Safety: Insights, Innovation, and Impact (sponsored by CENTEGIX), Tuesday, 30 September, 1:00 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.
• What Makes School Security Unique?, Tuesday, 30 September, 1:30 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
• Technology Acquisition Planning and Process, Tuesday, 30 September, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• From Patrol to Protection: Leveraging Retired Law Enforcement for School Security (sponsored by Protos Security), Tuesday, 30 September, 2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
• Soft Target Protection: Practical Steps for Safer Spaces, Tuesday, 30 September, 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
• Crisis Communication Workshop, Tuesday, 30 September, 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
• Guardians & Gateways: Building Safer Schools Through Physical & Electronic Security (sponsored by Arrow Security and i-PRO), Tuesday, 30 September, 4:00 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
• United Against Violence: Developing a Global Collaborative Effort to Prevent Workplace Violence, Wednesday, 1 October, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.