Advanced School Safety Coordinator Academy

Good emergency planning depends on testing the plan and knowing the building. This course gives school safety leaders both skills. Participants learn to design, develop, and facilitate tabletop exercises that evaluate policies, procedures, and response capabilities in schools, organizations, and agencies. They then learn to read blueprints and architectural drawings so their plans and exercises reflect the actual layout of their buildings.

The course begins with tabletop exercises. Participants learn the key parts of exercise development: setting objectives, choosing realistic scenarios, creating exercise documentation, facilitating discussion, and conducting post-exercise evaluations. Best practices drawn from emergency management and preparedness principles help keep exercises engaging, structured, and focused on outcomes.

The second part of the course focuses on building plans, which show how a school works: how people move through it, where they can be secured, and how responders will reach them in an emergency. Participants learn the basics of construction documents, including the types of drawings, symbols, scales, and legends. They practice finding key features such as exits, stairwells, utility shutoffs, and life-safety systems. They then use site plans and floor plans to evaluate access control, sightlines, traffic flow, and shelter areas, and to support evacuation, reunification, and first responder planning. Participants also learn to use building plans as exercise tools, basing tabletop scenarios on real floor plans so that discussions reflect actual conditions.