ACAP-Solutions

05/08/2026

Contracting Safety Experts vs. Hiring an Employee: What School Leaders Need to Know

As a school leader, ensuring the safety of students, staff, and visitors is one of your most critical responsibilities. When it comes to managing safety compliance and emergency preparedness, many administrators face a key decision: should you hire a full-time safety employee or contract with an experienced safety consulting firm? The case for contracting is compelling.

Cost-Effective Expertise

Hiring a full-time safety employee comes with significant overhead — salary, benefits, training, and ongoing professional development. Contracting a safety expert allows your school or district to access specialized, up-to-date knowledge at a fraction of the cost, paying only for the services you need, when you need them.

Divested Liability

Schools employing their safety director are taking FULL responsibility for all of their safety measures. Though recent Michigan court cases held district staff were immune from personal liability, a historical comparative of lawsuits against those with government immunity would indicate that will not last. Hiring an outside expert provides more current advice AND separates liability.

Broader, Deeper Expertise

Safety consulting firms bring a team of specialists with experience across multiple disciplines — fire safety, emergency response, regulatory compliance, and risk assessment. A single in-house hire cannot match the collective depth of knowledge a dedicated safety firm provides.

Cutting Edge Advice

Safety practices and standards evolve constantly. Contracted experts make it their full-time mission to stay current with industry recommendations, reducing your school's legal exposure and ensuring best advice at all times.

Objectivity and Accountability

An outside contractor brings an unbiased perspective, identifying vulnerabilities that internal staff may overlook. They are also contractually accountable for delivering measurable outcomes, adding a layer of professional accountability that strengthens your safety program.

Scalability and Flexibility

Schools experience fluctuating safety needs — new construction, special events, drills, or incidents. Contractors scale their services to match your demands without the rigidity of a full-time role.

Bottom line: Contracting safety experts empowers school leaders to deliver a safer environment more efficiently, with greater expertise and stronger accountability — all while protecting your budget.

04/28/2026

Condensing YEARS of learning into a few days: the power of professional conferences.

In-person conferences offer a level of engagement and connection that is difficult to replicate in virtual settings. One of the most significant benefits is the opportunity for genuine human interaction. Face-to-face conversations allow for richer communication through body language, tone, and immediate feedback, helping build stronger professional relationships. These spontaneous exchanges—whether during networking sessions, coffee breaks, or hallway conversations—often lead to collaborations, mentorships, or new opportunities that might not arise in structured online environments.

Another advantage is the immersive learning experience. Being physically present helps attendees stay focused and absorb information more effectively, free from the distractions of everyday surroundings. Live presentations, workshops, and panel discussions also tend to feel more dynamic and engaging, as speakers can respond to audience reactions in real time. This creates a more interactive atmosphere that enhances understanding and retention.

In-person conferences also provide valuable exposure to new ideas, tools, and trends. Exhibitor halls and demonstrations allow attendees to experience products and services firsthand, ask detailed questions, and make informed decisions. Additionally, stepping outside one’s usual environment can spark creativity and fresh thinking, as participants are surrounded by peers who share similar interests and goals.

Finally, attending conferences in person can strengthen a sense of community and belonging within a field or industry. Sharing experiences, challenges, and successes with others fosters a deeper connection and reinforces professional identity. Yet it is through the interactions of the sessions and breaks that new ideas are formed. Whether an idea which revolutionizes the industry or simply improves organization the attendee serves, every idea applied is worth the cost of the conference, as the shared knowledge of years of others life-experiences are condensed into a few days of attendance. THAT is the power of the conference.

Great Lakes Association for School Safety
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04/07/2026

It’s a word that drives much of our American society. Often not in a good way.

In school safety assessments, education leaders worry that finding the vulnerabilities for their organization might make them liable, so the avoid getting assessments, or seek organizations that will overlook deficiencies. Agencies offering assessments will avoid thorough reviews and reports.

While we leave the legal matters to the attorneys, what we can say with assurance is that it is difficult to fix problems when they are not known. Especially in states like Michigan, where courts have ruled that schools have governmental immunity from lawsuits, not seeking the information is worse than not addressing problems, as the potential for issues is overlooked.

Perhaps the only thing worse than schools not seeking honest information are the organizations and companies knowing that research provides issues with their products or services and choosing not to make changes due to the cost. Profit over people has never served anyone well. While change is not easy, organizations – educational, non-profit, and private – all need to realize that school safety is evolving. The actions and devices needed will continue to change as more attacks happen and the studies of those attacks lead to new solutions.

Dale Carnegie said, “Methods are many, principles are few; methods always change, principles never do.” This is as true in school safety as it is in life. We need our schools to be safety; how that happens needs to adapt.

Schools need to know what issues need to be addressed AND they should promote the strengths of what they are doing well! While funding continues to be an issue, that should not be a reason not to seek out rigorous safety assessments. Indeed, asking the government to fund gaps is much more difficult when the gaps are hidden by those in leadership.

03/31/2026

What are you facing in ?

https://s.surveyplanet.com/z7m52h6u

Collaboration with other school safety leaders - sharing, swapping, improving, and generating ideas - is a great way to get ahead! All happening at https://greatlakesschoolsafety.org/register/ With Kelly Martin and Guy Bliesner!

Thank you to Great Lakes Association for School Safety !

If you are looking for a , this is an opportunity to fill the gap!

We want to help create safety improvement! What areas do you want to hear from other safety leaders on?

03/31/2026

03/26/2026

Do you have10 years experience or have you repeated 1 year 10 times?


Experience matters in many fields and that is no less true in .

There isn't anyone in school safety who knows it all, who has all the answers. That's why you will find the most knowledgeable leaders at conferences: because they are continually learning.

This isn't a new concept, perhaps the largest benefit of a written language is the ability to convey information over time and distance. Even before the printing press, books were used, with scrolls used before that. The sharing of information as long advanced society.

From the Greek assembly to Ben Franklin's junto, group discussions or conferences have promoted the exchange of ideas and development of new concepts and approaches.

While the digital access of the modern age has given us Kindle and Ted talks, it has not diminished the value of learning.

While professional associations achieve this goal through creating the increased opportunity for connection and conversation, perhaps the greatest strength of many is that they require ongoing learning. As the late, great Lou Holtz often said, "In this world you're either growing or you're dying, so get in motion and grow!"

That growth happens for us personally and professionally, which means it benefits all those around us. Especially in a profession that is young (school safety), growth is a necessity. We need to grow to be of true benefit to those we serve. If you are in school safety, what are you doing to grow?

02/11/2026

rely heavily on and .

Like every other area of education, they are increasingly asked to do more with less. Worse, while the people in these areas work hard, their efforts often go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Both can be addressed through periodic building walks with the key staff in building use, leadership, maintenance, and operations supervision. Walking together provides the opportunity for communication, enhancing the connection between those involved. If these times are used to point out the strengths (note what is appreciated, what is going well, what has been fixed), spending some time to brainstorm any issues brings a collaborative mindset to challenges.

Unfortunately, like most other areas, there is limited money to go around.

Documentation and planning are key to helping schools appropriately use both sinking funds and grants for school upkeep and safety improvements. Everyone needs to know where components are currently functioning or failing, what their life expectancy is, and to work towards a plan to replace them. While we wait for federal and state funding for these drastically needed areas, we must realistically address the ongoing truth: that buildings and components age and that as they do so they will need to be replaced.

02/01/2026

MAPPING DRIFT
Drift happens whenever we don’t pay enough attention to our position and direction; we drift off course.

In schools, this is very noticeable in some emergency preparations, namely quick reference guides and mapping.

Mapping is needed for several users: first responders, especially those not from the area; occupants, first-time visitors and long-time staff; emergency management planning, at all levels from school safety team to community orchestration; and students of all ages.

Schools frequently undergo physical changes with projects of various levels. These often occur without building maps being updated. This creates obvious complications for all users.

Some simple steps can be taken to ensure at least changes are noticed:
· Remember (put policies in place) maps should be updated any time there are changes (construction, door changes, room changes, access changes).
· Annually (before staff return to schools) the building leader should review the map to verify all aspects (building layout, room layout, designation, devices, exits, shelter areas, etc.) for accuracy
· Have staff reference maps at each drill to verify everyone has access and maps are dispersed.

02/01/2026

We are excited to open the call for speakers! If you're in and have successful programs, others need to hear about them!
https://lnkd.in/e6p5tFQy

If you are a , tell us what areas you want to hear from others. This conference will feature large scale round-table sessions, to address the leading concerns of those leading .

Register now to join us in Traverse City!
https://greatlakesschoolsafety.org/register/

To make your visit as seamless and enjoyable as possible, we’ve partnered with Park Place to provide attendees with exclusive discounted rates at this luxury hotel. Conveniently located within the conference venue, Park Place offers modern amenities, comfortable accommodations, and easy access to ...

01/27/2026

practices are imperative for structure, efficiency and safety for all persons in and around school buildings, including the guests arriving.

I ask, why are doctor appointments made but school appointments are not? Time would be better used being prepared for the visit - for both parties. If guests heading to the school building call ahead with why and what they are coming for, their presence will be expected and the school personnel will be able to be prepared for the arrival, or be able to advise that the time was not good and set a time that works for all persons.

We should be looking at visitor management like how we schedule the rest of our lives. We schedule appointments, deadlines, lunches, sleepovers, pot lucks, etc. so we are prepared, have a tracking system to stay accountable and be sure we make time to accomplish such things. Visitor management is no different.



credit Jamie Medler