Press Release: Schools, Law Enforcement, Emergency Responders Collaborate to Enhance School Safety

 

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Sheriff Update
Schools, Law Enforcement, Emergency Responders Collaborate to Enhance School Safety      

March 2, 2018

Media Contacts:

Ottawa Area ISD | Michael Rohwer | Assistant Superintendent of Security Operations | 616-738-8940 x4007 

Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office | Valerie Weiss | Undersheriff | 616-738-4000

Allegan County Sheriff’s Office | Joe Knapp | Deputy | 269-673-0500 

Ottawa/Allegan Counties, MI- The Ottawa Area Secure Schools Network (OASSN) —a combined effort between schools, law enforcement, and emergency responders within the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) to enhance school safety across the region— hosted a Spring Summit March 1 at the Ottawa County Fillmore Administration Building in West Olive.

Over 150 representatives from public, private, and charter schools, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and other responders and support agencies attended the event to continue to coordinate and share training across all agencies; share practices and plans across the region and between agencies; and develop common safety procedures, protocol and language. These were identified as the top goals of the network during the 2017 fall summit.

“The OASSN summits help everyone hear the most up-to-date school safety answers from those who are experts in each of their respective subject areas,” Cal DeKuiper, superintendent for Zeeland Public Schools, said. “Working together takes regional cooperation to a deeper level resulting in a higher level of preparedness should the unthinkable ever happen in our region.”

During the summit, multi-disciplinary teams participated in tabletop exercises to discuss the actions their agencies would take in a particular emergency, test the emergency plan, clarify roles and responsibilities, identify additional preparedness needs, and identify next action steps to improve emergency procedures.

Michael Rohwer, assistant superintendent of security operations for Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD), said OASSN helps facilitate dialogue between and within organizations to be able to better provide a safe environment and to restore safety quickly in the case of an incident.

“Through this network, we are learning about the operational mission and cultures of each organization and increasing communication between parties. This type of coordination opens up opportunities to leverage resources as a region, better prevent incidents, and provide quick resolution. This summit was the next step in making progress toward our goals,” Rohwer added.

Captain Derek Christensen from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said the OASSN provides a unique opportunity for first responders and educators to collaborate, educate, plan, and problem-solve around possible emergency situations. “Through these summits we can all develop a common language to promote a culture of safety in our communities and a positive learning environment for students.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to work with schools and other area emergency responders to provide safer environments for students, faculty, and residents,” Allegan County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Michael Larsen said. “We look forward to the next OASSN summit when we will continue to coordinate regional efforts around school security and safety.”

Another summit will take place, fall 2018 and will address topics such as awareness of past school incidents; identifying key focus areas for which to develop new plans, review procedures, etc.; and development of a universal, simple-to-understand response protocol for use when facing any incident - big and small.

Yesterday’s summit attendees included representation from Ottawa County Central Dispatch Authority (911), Ottawa County Juvenile Court, Ottawa County Emergency Management, American Medical Response, Blendon Township Fire, Grand Haven Township Fire/Rescue, Jamestown Township Fire Department, Life EMS Ambulance, Olive Township Fire Rescue, Park Township Fire Department, Robinson Township Fire Department, Holland Hospital, Spectrum Health, Allegan County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Grand Haven Department of Public Safety, Holland Department of Public Safety, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, The Center for Physical Rehabilitation, Allendale Public Schools, Coopersville Area Public Schools, Grand Haven Area Public Schools, Hamilton Community Schools, Holland Public Schools, Hudsonville Public Schools, Jenison Public Schools, Saugatuck Public Schools, Spring Lake Public Schools, West Ottawa Public Schools, Zeeland Public Schools, Black River Public School, West Michigan Academy of Arts and Academics, Allendale Christian School, Divine Providence Academy, Heritage Christian School, Holland Christian Schools, St. Mary’s School, Walden Green Montessori, Zeeland Christian School, and Ottawa Area ISD.

The Ottawa Area Secure Schools Network (OASSN) is a regional collaboration between public, private, and charter schools, law enforcement agencies, and fire departments within Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) to work proactively toward maintaining and improving school safety. Through regional collaboration and shared practices, agencies can pool resources to stay on the forefront of school safety for all K-12 schools in the region.  The Ottawa Area ISD service region includes Ottawa County and northern parts of Allegan County.

For more information, contact Michael Rohwer at 616-738-8940, ext. 4007.


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