Why Front Office Staff Are Essential to School Safety and Emergency Preparedness
A new ZeroNow white paper explores how training, emergency procedures, and administrative support can help front-office employees fulfill their critical school safety responsibilities.
School secretaries, administrative assistants, and other front office employees are often the first people visitors encounter when entering a school. They greet families, manage visitor access, answer questions, and help keep daily operations running smoothly.
They also play an important role in school safety. They may be the first to recognize concerning behavior, respond to a difficult visitor, or communicate with administrators during an emergency.
Despite these responsibilities, front office employees are not always included in school safety planning, training, and emergency preparedness discussions.
A new white paper from ZeroNow, developed with contributions from members of ZeroNow and the National Council of School Safety Directors (NCSSD), examines how schools can better prepare and support these employees.
The report, The Front Office: Frontlines of School Security, draws on a panel discussion featuring school safety practitioners and a longtime front office employee. It highlights practical considerations for hiring, training, visitor management, emergency response, and administrative support.
What Does the White Paper Cover?
The report examines several areas school leaders should consider when evaluating their front-office safety practices.
- Hiring and staffing: Why communication skills, composure, familiarity with the school community, and qualified substitute coverage matter.
- Training and emergency preparedness: How drills, tabletop exercises, and de-escalation training can help employees prepare for challenging situations.
- Security procedures: The importance of accessible emergency protocols, reliable communication systems, and clear procedures for requesting assistance.
- Visitor management and access control: How office layouts, secure entrances, and visitor procedures can support safety while maintaining a welcoming school environment.
- Emergency communication: Why families need to understand how schools will share information during emergencies and what to expect when normal communication channels are unavailable.
- Administrative support: How involving front office employees in safety planning can help schools identify operational challenges and develop more practical procedures.
The white paper also outlines guiding principles school leaders can use to assess their current practices and identify opportunities for improvement.
Download the Free White Paper
The Front Office: Frontlines of School Security
Read ZeroNow's recommendations for strengthening front office safety, staff training, and emergency preparedness.
[Download the Free White Paper]
The white paper was produced by ZeroNow and is shared with permission.
Watch or Read the ZeroNow Conversations Discussion
The white paper builds on a ZeroNow Conversations webinar featuring school safety practitioners and a front office professional who shared their experiences and recommendations for strengthening front office security.
Watch the full discussion or read the edited transcript for additional insights into staff training, emergency preparedness, visitor management, and the challenges front-office employees face.
More Insights From NCSSD Members
As part of its ongoing collaboration with ZeroNow, NCSSD hosts monthly members-only roundtable discussions exploring the same school safety topics featured in ZeroNow's webinars.
These discussions give school safety professionals an opportunity to exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and share practical approaches with their peers.
Key takeaways from NCSSD's roundtable discussion on front office safety will be shared here as additional coverage becomes available.