610-987-2248   |   info@berksiu.org

School Health & Safety

Resources for School Districts

School districts are tasked with ensuring the health and safety of our students, educators, staff, and visitors. The Berks County Intermediate Unit can assist with trainings, workshops, and planning to help ensure that the school is a healthy, safe place for learning. 

All-Hazards Planning

The Berks County Intermediate Unit, along with local school districts, law enforcement, first responders, and community partners have established a county-wide all hazards emergency plan that meets the requirements set forth by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The plan is continually reviewed to ensure it meets the ever-changing needs of all stakeholders.

As part of the cooperative effort with our schools and community partners, BCIU has developed All Hazards Plan curriculum tools.  Lesson plans and activities were created for Berks County teachers to use in their classrooms to teach the five Standard Response Protocol Extended (Lockout, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter, and Hold) and Run, Hide, Fight model (response to an active shooter).

Keeping Kids Safe Invite 2021

Keeping Kids Safe

For more than 10 years, the Berks County Intermediate Unit has brought experts in school safety and security to Berks County for the annual Keeping Kids Safe Symposium. Keeping Kids Safe is an opportunity for school administrators, counselors, psychologists, nurses, SAP, emergency response personnel, and community partners to hear from the leaders in the field. 

Our last Keeping Kids Safe Symposium was held on April 15, 2021. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Lina Alathari. Dr. Alathari is the Chief of the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), where she oversees the center’s targeted violence behavioral research program. The findings from these projects have identified behaviors, motives, and triggers of individuals who engage in various forms of violence, including school and workplace violence.

Keeping Kids Safe Invite 2021

Berks County Flight Team

The Berks County Crisis Management Flight Team provides counseling and emotional support to schools in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The team is composed of dedicated local school counselors, psychologists, teachers, and administrators.

When a crisis occurs, and a school requests assistance from the Flight Team, the Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) team coordinator dispatches team members to the school to lend assistance to staff and students.

Camp Connect

Camp Connect provides students with the opportunity to come together to learn new ways of dealing with their grief, and to meet other children and families who have experienced similar loss. Specially trained counselors, nurses, and college interns from across Berks County provide support with a one-to-one staff to student ratio.

Child Abuse Recognition & Reporting

The Berks County Intermediate Unit formed a partnership with SafeSchools® in 2013 in an effort to provide districts, intermediate units and other organizations within the state of Pennsylvania an opportunity to deliver an affordable and sustainable solution that addresses the requirements of Act 126 – Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Training as well as providing the ability to educate employees on a variety of other important school safety topics at a reduced fee based on consortium pricing.

Safety & First-Aid Training

Amid the hustle and bustle of the daily school routine, sometimes situations arise that require immediate medical attention. Educators and administrators need to be prepared to render emergency assistance to those in need.

In order to help Berks County school districts properly respond to medical emergencies, BCIU’s knowledgeable instructors provide customized, cost-effective training in CPR, first aid, and the use of automated external defibrillators. We offer hands-on, stress-free courses at your site or ours, with day, evening, and weekend sessions available.

ALICE Training

ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) Training is the leading program for response to violent critical incidents (VCI). VCI are man-made forms of violent disasters, including; active shooter, violent intruder, mass shooting, terrorism, workplace violence, and other unexpected tragedies. 

The mission of ALICE is to save lives. Our training program empowers individuals to participate in their own survival using proactive options-based response strategies when faced with violence. Participating in ALICE Instructor Certification provides you with the training necessary to teach others these lifesaving strategies.

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