CARMEL, IND. - June 10,
2008 - The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and Ingersoll
Rand Security Technologies announced the kick off a strategic alliance by inviting
AASA's members to complete a survey on school safety and security called the
Risk Mitigation Assessment. The results of the assessment will be used to create
the first-ever National School Safety Study, which is anticipated to have substantial
implications for every community across America.
"Initially, we developed
the Risk Mitigation Assessment as a tool that individual schools and districts
could use as a means to benchmark their security progress against similarly
situated institutions," says Beverly Vigue, vice president of Ingersoll
Rand Security Technologies, education vertical market. "Ultimately, we
realized that this tool could be used to assess school security issues and standards
nationwide. At that point, we approached AASA and their leadership team immediately
understood the value this project would have for its audience and their stakeholder
groups."
"School districts are
faced with the daunting challenge of protecting students and staff in our free
and open society," said Paul D. Houston, AASA executive director. "AASA
is pleased to work with Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies to provide this
national assessment, which will help superintendents protect and secure their
school systems, and the National School Safety Study, which will provide important
benchmarking data for the current state of security in our country's schools."
AASA members will need only
10-15 minutes to complete the 53 questions that comprise the instrument, which
will be "live" through June 27. Results of the survey will be tabulated
and an overview of the study will be delivered in early October at the AASA
Center for System Leadership's 2008 Safe and Secure Schools: Superintendents
Lead the Way Conference for administrators, superintendents and district security
directors from across the nation.
"AASA's 2008 Safe and
Secure Schools: Superintendents Lead the Way Conference is a natural venue for
us to jointly present the findings of the study," adds Vigue. "We
expect significant media interest in the study and, as one of the sponsors of
the conference, will distribute an executive summary to AASA members who attend
the event."
In addition, each survey participant will receive immediate and actionable information corresponding to their specific responses. The assessment will identify potential threats and suggest action items to better ensure the security of the participants' school systems. Participants will also receive a "dashboard measurement" of their specific school or district's level of security by number of students, region of the country and whether it's classified as rural, urban or suburban.
About the American Association of School Administrators
AASA, founded in 1865, is
the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders across
the United States. AASA's mission is to support and develop effective school
system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for
all children. AASA's major focus is standing up for public education. Website
is www.aasa.org.