GPI School Safety Solutions

Protecting Students. Supporting Educators. Securing the Future.

At GPI School Safety Solutions, we understand that protecting a private school requires a different approach to traditional security.

Private schools and academies are communities. Parents entrust school leadership with not only their children’s education, but also their safety and well-being. Faculty members need an environment where they can concentrate on teaching. Administrators need trained professionals who understand how to respond when routine school operations suddenly become an emergency.
That’s where GPI comes in.

As the specialized school-safety division of GPI Global Security Services, GPI School Safety Solutions primarily serves private schools, independent schools, private academies, faith-based schools, charter academies, early-learning campuses, and other private educational institutions.

Our mission is simple:

Help create an environment where students can learn, educators can teach, administrators can lead, and parents can have confidence in the safety of their school community.

More Than a Security Officer at the Door

Effective school security is not simply placing an armed officer on campus.

GPI provides a comprehensive school safety program built around four principles:

PREVENT • DETECT • RESPOND • PROTECT

Our services combine professional School Safe Officers, campus risk assessments, emergency operations planning, drills and exercises, security consulting, threat preparedness, incident response, and coordination with local public-safety agencies.

The result is a security program designed specifically around the needs, culture, layout, population, and daily operations of each school.

School Safe Officer (SSO) Program

The foundation of our program is the GPI School Safe Officer — SSO.

Our SSOs are professional armed security officers assigned specifically to educational environments. Their responsibility extends beyond traditional guarding.

The goal is to provide a professional, approachable and highly visible safety presence while becoming a trusted part of the campus community.

Depending upon the school’s needs, an SSO assignment may include:

Armed campus protection and visible security presence

Student arrival and dismissal security

Entrance and exit monitoring

Visitor and vendor management

Campus patrols and facility security checks

Parking lot, playground and athletic-area monitoring

Car-line and traffic safety assistance

Unauthorized-person and trespassing response

Suspicious-person and suspicious-activity response

De-escalation of disturbances and confrontations

Response to fights, threats and other safety incidents

Emergency assistance to faculty and administrators

Security escorts when necessary

Emergency radio communications

Coordination with police, fire and EMS

Incident documentation and reporting

Special-event and athletic-event security

After-hours school-event protection

Emergency lockdown and evacuation support

Most importantly, our officers are expected to understand that a school is an educational environment first.

Professionalism, judgment, communication skills, discretion, appropriate interaction with children, and the ability to remain calm during stressful situations are essential components of the GPI school-safety philosophy.

Campus Risk & Vulnerability Assessments

Every school is different.

A security program appropriate for a large urban academy may not be appropriate for a smaller private elementary school or faith-based campus.

GPI can conduct a comprehensive School Safety Risk & Vulnerability Assessment examining the campus from a security and emergency-management perspective.

Assessments may examine perimeter security, doors and locking systems, visitor access, fencing, gates, cameras, lighting, emergency exits, playgrounds, athletic facilities, parking areas, drop-off and pickup procedures, alarm systems, communications, emergency equipment, security staffing, key control, emergency procedures and potential vulnerabilities.

School leadership can then receive recommendations designed to help prioritize security improvements based upon identified risks.

Emergency Operations Planning

When an emergency occurs, the first few minutes matter.

GPI assists schools in developing, reviewing and strengthening their School Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) so administrators and staff have established procedures before an incident happens.

Planning can address situations such as:

Fire • Severe Weather • Tornado • Intruder • Active Assailant • Lockdown • Evacuation • Shelter-in-Place • Bomb Threat • Suspicious Package • Medical Emergency • Missing Student • Unauthorized Person • Hazardous Materials • Utility Failure • Civil Disturbance • Family Reunification

We can also assist schools in establishing emergency responsibilities, command structures, accountability procedures, evacuation locations, communication protocols, reunification procedures and coordination procedures for responding agencies.

Drills, Exercises & Preparedness Training

A plan sitting in a binder isn’t enough.

Schools must understand how their plans work in real-world conditions.

GPI can assist with planning, coordinating and evaluating appropriate:

Fire Drills

Evacuation Drills

Severe Weather Drills

Lockdown Drills

Shelter-in-Place Exercises

Emergency Communication Exercises

Administrative Tabletop Exercises

Crisis-Management Exercises

Active-Assailant Preparedness Training

Family Reunification Exercises

Training and exercises are tailored to the school’s population and should be conducted in an age-appropriate manner consistent with applicable requirements and school policies.

Following exercises, GPI can provide an After-Action Review and Improvement Plan identifying strengths, vulnerabilities and recommended corrective actions.

Threat Prevention & Incident Management

Some of the most important security work occurs before an emergency.

GPI can assist school administrators in establishing procedures for recognizing, documenting, communicating and responding to concerning behavior and potential security threats.

This can include suspicious-activity reporting, threat-management procedures, workplace-violence concerns, threatening visitors, student or employee safety concerns, stalking or harassment situations, and coordination with appropriate law-enforcement, mental-health, legal or administrative professionals.

Our objective is to help school leadership move from simply reacting to incidents toward identifying and managing potential risks earlier.