The State of School Security
As reported in the T.H.E. Journal article, "Research: Benchmarks for School Safety" (July 2007), a survey conducted of 381 public school district IT and security directors by CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), highlighted what districts were doing well and what they could be doing better to protect their schools—in the areas of "cyber safety" and physical safety. Key findings from the survey:
- too much reliance on technical solutions and not enough on education
- risks to IT security because of proxy servers
- dependence on the telephone (as opposed to Email) for communication during emergencies
- limited budgets, staff resources, and outdated or ill-fitted security tools
CDW-G administered the respondents a "School Safety Index," divided into two parts. Out of a possible 110 points on the cyber part of the safety index, districts scored only 55.3; out of a possible 160 points on the physical part of the safety index, districts scored only 44.
John Pellettiere is one of CDW-G's K-12 directors, and he sees these results as both a challenge and a direction: a challenge to provide schools with an assessment tool that at least can get them to recognize what they need to do in order to provide a safe and secure environment; and a direction toward students, especially when it comes to cyber safety and security. As he says, "The millennials have a lot of knowledge about electronic technology," and he wants to leverage that knowledge.
"We don't do enough to educate our students," Pellettiere claims. Pointing out that only 8% of school districts use education as a tool to keep their districts safe, he'd want to ask district administrators, "Are your students the enemy or are they a valuable tool to help fortify your security plan?"
There's plenty of evidence to indicate that they have the potential to be either one. Roger Geiger, the director of technology at Forney Independent School District, about 20 miles east of Dallas, suggests that his biggest problem for cyber security is "the propensity of students to try to do whatever they can do." He refers to the proliferation of websites and the difficulty of filtering all inappropriate sites as well as Emails: On a recent day, the district—nine schools and about 800 employees—received 41,000 Email messages; 90% of them were blocked because of viruses or spam. Only by enlisting the support of students, claims Geiger, can campuses maximize their protection from electronic security breaches.
Students and staff have a large role to play in physical safety as well. Geiger says that about 18 months ago, a reporter from a Dallas newspaper was "hanging around the grounds" of one of the schools, ostensibly gathering information from students. Repeatedly challenged by teachers as to what he was doing there, the reporter eventually had positive things to say about Forney's security procedures and the vigilance of the school community. "We got a good write-up," says Geiger.
Pellettiere wants schools to concentrate on both cyber and physical safety. "One aspect or the other," he says, "is often overlooked." For cyber safety, he wants schools to have the most current anti-virus or anti-spam software, to restrict network access, and to treat acceptable use policies as "living documents"—that is, to adapt to new threats and conditions. For physical safety, he wants schools to have IP cameras, to restrict and monitor buildings, and to be able to communicate quickly and efficiently with students, staff, parents, administration, and enforcement. That goes beyond phone trees: Dedicated Email systems can reach thousands of contacts within minutes.
Pellettiere also makes the case that CDW-G can help schools and districts consider the most appropriate safety strategies. The company employs security specialists who aren't beholden to any products or brands but who can talk to customers about what they need and how to go about getting it. "It's important," he says, "for the district to look at their peer and vendor communities to understand what's out there, what solutions exist."
For the most part, the solutions do seem to be out there. What's frequently missing is a coordinated effort by administrators, staff, students, and even school boards to recognize what's needed, fund the purchase of appropriate tools, train staff and teach students how to protect themselves and each other, and be alert for threats to school safety, whether they come from a sex offender trying to gain access to a classroom or a hacker trying to gain access to the school's records.
Links
- CDW Government, Inc., www.cdwg.com
- School Safety Index, www.schoolsafetyindex.com
