Dozens of school district leaders, safety specialists, and law enforcement and insurance partners gathered at Clackamas ESD Nov. 1 for our annual safe schools emergency management summit.
The day-long program featured a heavy emphasis on creating physically and psychologically safe workplaces. Keynote speaker Ila Borders, a training captain and paramedic with Clackamas Fire District #1, shared learnings about building trust, enhancing communication and resolving conflicts acquired in her years as a collegiate and professional baseball player on men’s teams. The first woman to earn a pitching win in professional baseball, Ila talked openly about her years of living through intense stress and overcoming constant obstacles, and how those experiences have helped her build a strong team and culture of psychological safety in her firehouse. In her interactive presentation, featured speaker Jessica Jack, a diversity, equity and inclusion practitioner at the SAIF Corporation, defined safety culture, detailed the four stages of psychological safety, and demonstrated how diverse teams and behaving inclusively increase belonging and lead to better outcomes.
Several other safety-related topics were covered in breakout sessions, including crisis leadership, delivery of trauma medical care, social media tools for crisis communication, and the role of school resource officers. Attendees also explored how to build situational awareness skills with students, employees and parents, and how to improve mass notification procedures.
Clackamas ESD was able to host this summit thanks to a federal grant that allows us to provide safety and emergency planning services throughout northwest Oregon. Special thanks to event sponsor Marsden Services and many other regional partners who helped create a robust day of learning and networking on the critical topic of school safety.
