Emergency Management Wins Top Award for School Safety Program

Pierce County Emergency Management’s school emergency preparedness program received the Exemplary National School Safety Program Award for innovative training in local schools, Pierce County announced on Wednesday.

The ‘Pierce County All Hazards Emergency Preparedness Training Program for Schools’ was chosen for its all hazard emergency preparedness approach to school safety. This prestigious award will be presented by the School Safety Advocacy Council at its national conference in July.

The Pierce County All Hazards Emergency Preparedness Training Program for Schools, developed in 2007 as a collaborative effort between Emergency Management, first responders and school districts, covers natural and human caused disasters as well as violence in schools.

Facilitated by local responders, the various training modules include: Bullying, Evacuation, Lockdown, Shelter-in-Place, Threat Assessment, Triage and Treatment, Active Shooter Table Top Exercise, Survival Mindset and more.

The School Safety Advocacy Council is comprised of leading experts in the field of school and child safety who advocate public policy in legislative and regulatory arenas to promote safe and secure school environments.

To date staff and nationally certified instructors have trained more than 100,000 police, college and school officials from the United States and abroad.