As Jewish day and preschools across Greater Philadelphia settle into the new school year, educators and staff are not only focused on academic routines, but also on ensuring the safety of their students amidst a rise in antisemitism.
In response to these heightened concerns, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia has launched a comprehensive security initiative. This program provides training, security assessments, ongoing guidance and grant writing support for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, ensuring that every Jewish school and institution is equipped to respond to potential threats.
Led by the Jewish Federation’s Security Director Scott Kerns and Deputy Security Director Cortney Vorhees, the initiative recently delivered Counter Active Threat Training to five schools over a two week span in late August. These sessions were tailored to each school’s specific needs, focusing on helping staff better understand life-threatening situations and conditioning them to respond effectively.
“We work to provide both staff and families greater peace of mind as they navigate these challenging times by providing training for a variety of possible situations,” said Kerns. “We do this at no cost to our local Jewish institutions, as we work toward our commitment of being a valuable and secure resource for all.”
One of the schools to receive training before the school year started was the Kaiserman JCC for its early learning centers.
“The training provided us with the confidence and clarity needed to respond to any situation, reinforcing our commitment to the safety and well-being of our community,” said Chief Operating Officer Amy Foster of Kaiserman JCC, who shares that her team now feels more empowered as a united front to protect their organization’s three different learning centers.”
Associate Principal Rabbi Aaron Horn of Kohelet Yeshiva High School emphasized the unfortunate necessity of such training.
“As a Jewish Orthodox school, we recognize that we are potentially a target,” said Rabbi Horn.“It is crucial for our staff to be consistently trained on how to respond to active threats. Thanks to the Jewish Federation, the knowledge and insight we received from experts in the field are indispensable parts of our readiness plan. None of the educators in our building chose this profession expecting to be trained for, let alone respond to, an active threat.”
This year also marks the first anniversary of the Jewish Federation’s use of Ruvna, a state-of-the-art crisis communications and student accountability program designed to enhance safety and emergency preparedness. Ruvna enables real-time accountability of all students during critical incidents from any device, allowing school administrators to contact parents via SMS and email.
To support the seamless integration of Ruvna across all Jewish day schools and preschools in Greater Philadelphia, the Jewish Federation covered all upfront costs, including training, software installation and the first year of maintenance.
Currently, Runva has registered over 4,000 children and 1,000 staff members in 22 day schools and preschools, which significantly bolsters the Jewish Federation’s ability to consolidate resources and respond swiftly during emergencies.
“Runva has been a game-changer in our approach to school safety,” said Kerns. “This program allows us to rapidly ensure 100% accountability in any type of critical incident, which also enables us to immediately know if a child is missing, and who they are, so we can relay that information to first responders.”
Kerns continued: “Runva makes it possible for our schools to remain environments of learning, without the additional worries of threats and how to respond.”
***
The Jewish Federation remains unwavering in its dedication to safeguarding the Jewish community’s educational spaces, providing peace of mind for students, parents and educators alike as they embark on the new school year.
To learn more about the Jewish Federation’s security initiative, visit jewishphilly.org/security.
