Auditorium
Implementing New School Security Standards
A growing number of states have enacted or updated school security standards in response to rising threats, yet implementation remains inconsistent across districts. This panel brings together school safety advocates, practitioners and industry experts to discuss the practical challenges of meeting new requirements—covering assessment frameworks, funding strategies, technology selection and how to build a sustainable culture of safety in educational environments.
Speakers
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Kevin WrenSchool Safety Advocate
Cook and Boardman GroupWith over 20 years of dedicated experience in school safety and a Master of Arts in emergency and disaster management, Kevin Wren is a passionate advocate for protecting and serving the community. Having served as a medical technician, firefighter, law enforcement officer and security director for two major South Carolina school districts, Wren brings expertise in emergency and disaster management solutions. He currently serves as a school safety advocate for A3 Communications, a steering committee member for the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) and an advisor for Safe and Sound Schools. In 2016, Campus Safety magazine recognized Wren’s outstanding contributions by naming him National Campus Security Director of the Year while at Rock Hill Schools.
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Jason StoddardDirector of School Safety and Security
Charles County, Maryland, Public SchoolsJason Stoddard is the director of school safety and security for the Charles County, Maryland, Public Schools. He is responsible for sustaining a safe learning and work environment for over 27,000 students and nearly 4,000 staff members. Since coming to the public schools in July of 2018, Stoddard has created the Office of School Safety and Security, been awarded over $2 million in grant money, implemented major evolutions such as revolving backgrounds for all employees, options-based active shooter response, the “I love u guys” Foundation Standard Response Protocols, a state-of-the-art radio communication system and implemented a model family reunification process.
Since March 2020, Stoddard has overseen the school systems response, mitigation, and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining the schools, he retired as a lieutenant with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office in southern Maryland. Stoddard’s executive command assignments include tours within the Patrol Division and the Special Operations Section. His final assignment was as the commander the Homeland Security and Intelligence Section, where he created and built a real-time crime center, the first in southern Maryland. Wren is a veteran (disabled) of the United States Air Force and has a master’s degree in organizational leadership and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University, School of Police Staff and Command and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Program; is a graduate of Leadership Southern Maryland (2020); and was recently appointed as an Advisory Council member for the George Washington University School of Business. Stoddard serves as an adjunct professor at three universities, teaches executive-level leadership for the Maryland Police Training Commission, has authored several articles for magazines on topics ranging from school safety to organizational leadership, serves as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Justice and National Institutes of Justice and has often traveled the country teaching active assailant response, school safety and 21st-century leadership.
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Guy BliesnerSchool Safety Analyst
Idaho School Safety and Security ProgramGuy Bliesner began his career in education in 1994 as a high school teacher and coach, moving into administration in 2006 as the safety and security coordinator for the Bonneville School District. While serving in that position, he was named to the Idaho’s Governor’s School Safety Task Force.
During his Bonneville tenure, Bliesner was named a finalist for the 2011 Campus Safety magazine’s Director of the Year Award. In 2013 he left the district to form, with a partner, the private school safety, security, risk management consulting firm of Educators Eyes. This firm developed and implemented Idaho’s first statewide school safety and security condition assessment. In 2016, Bliesner left the firm to join, as a founding member, the newly created Idaho Office of School Safety and Security. He currently serves as the school safety and security analyst assigned to schools in southeast Idaho, and his mission is to support the public and charter schools of southeast Idaho to bolster school safety through assessment, training and planning assistance.
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Paul TimmDirector of Education Safety
AllegionPaul Timm is a renowned board-certified Physical Security Professional (PSP), author of “School Security: How to Build and Strengthen a School Safety Program,” and director of education safety at Allegion. He hosts the podcast “The Changing Face of School Security.”
With over 20 years in the physical security industry, Timm’s expertise and contributions earned him recognition as one of the Most Influential People in Security in 2020 by Security magazine. Beyond his professional accomplishments, he holds a Master of Arts in biblical studies from Moody Theological Seminary, complementing his practical expertise in security and safety. Timm is also an active School Crisis Assistance Team volunteer through the National Organization for Victims Assistance (NOVA) and serves on various advisory boards and councils, including the Campus Safety Conferences (CSC) Advisory Board, the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) Advisory Council, the ASIS International School Safety and Security Council and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials Risk Management Committee.
