The school violence events that occurred in the 2006-2007 school year and the March 2007 shooting tragedy in Germany have renewed concerns about schools across the country. The need, therefore, for a book on planning and implementing school safety measures would seem to be vital at this point in time. Reeves, Kanan, and Plog have created just such a guide, providing important information that can help prevent incidents of school violence for all educators involved in crisis prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The emphasis the authors place on the connection between physical safety efforts and psychological safety efforts make this work even more valuable.

This book is divided into three sections: The first discusses systemic factors for establishing a safe school climate. Topics covered include obtaining support from key school and community stakeholders, important legal and governmental guidelines regarding school safety programs, and relevant financial and risk management considerations. The next section addresses physical safety in schools, focusing on establishing a safe learning environment for students through specific preparedness planning efforts; also included is a discussion on the integration of a multi-hazards approach with the more traditional school safety and crisis response approaches. The third and final section covers psychological safety, providing information on prevention and early-intervention strategies, as well as managing risk behaviors of students through established threat and suicide assessment procedures. Case studies will be included where appropriate.

An accompanying CD contains resources such as forms, worksheets, monitoring tools, and handouts.