Physical School Safety Assessments (PSSA’s) Overview.
The objective of the PSSA is to gather, analyze, and communicate information about threats, likelihood a barrier is defeated, physical vulnerabilities, and consequences in a way that allows school officials to decide what actions to take. Actions are intended to create a level of protection that reduces the vulnerabilities to threats and their potential consequences, thereby reducing risk.
The PSSA is useful in determining the potential impacts of threats and hazards to assets in an individual school, or across a district. The PSSA can provide the foundation and justification for identifying modifications to existing safety and security initiatives. No matter the method used, the result should be a list of security safety recommendations for the school. School officials can use this document to review the recommendations anytime, keeping in mind limits imposed by local and school mandates, political and parental concerns, and, lastly, police and local fire department professional judgment and advice.
Traditional goals and objectives of safety and security solutions to each of the assessed categories include detect, delay, and respond. The CCSD-DSSEM will recommend security measures be applied in a layered manner, starting at the perimeter or exterior of the building, and then proceeding to the interior. The school administration and staff will understand that any safety and security measures implemented will provide a deterrent, and that visible safety and security measures offer a sense of security to students, staff and parents.
- Deterrence of an incident is achieved when security measures present at a school are perceived as too difficult to defeat. This psychological effect may be achieved with signage, lighting, fencing, and law enforcement.
- Detection is when school security measures recognize a threat from one of the measures in place. These measures could include personnel, single-point entry, door alarms, or video surveillance. The earlier threats or intruders are detected, the more likely they are to be deterred or apprehended without damage or injury.
- Delay is achieved through the school’s use of physical barriers such as fences, walls, secured doors, and locked classrooms. To access the school, all barriers must be successively defeated to have the ability to cause any harm.
- Response is an action taken by the school that either apprehends or drives away an intruder.
- Finally, recovery is the resilience of a school to rebound from an incident or crisis, achieved through appropriate planning and assistance from CCSD.
The 12 Categories Assessed by the Department of School Safety, Office of Emergency Management:
PSSA 12 Assessed Categories
2. Campus Signs
3. Campus Maintenance and Cleanliness
4. Building Exterior
5. Portable Classrooms
6. School Secured Single Point Entry
8. Non-Classroom Lockdown
9. School Interior Concerns
10. School Video Surveillance System
11. School Communication
12. Classroom Security
Did You Know?
CCSD Department of School Safety and Emergency Management help ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors by:
- Collaborating with local, state and federal partners on school safety initiatives
- Developing and coordinating all-hazard emergency management programs
- Ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery plans are in place
- Conducting physical site safety assessments
- Facilitating standardized school safety and disaster training programs
- Maintaining situational awareness of potential threats