Introducing the Office of Safety, Security

Director of Safety and Security Aerin Washington shares progress on campus improvements as well as changes to policies and new initiatives that students, families, and faculty will notice in the weeks ahead.
By Capt. Aerin Washington, Director of Safety and Security

I am glad to return to University School of Nashville now as the first Director of Safety and Security. I have spent most of my first days on campus meeting with administrators and some parents as well as studying campus policies and procedures between trainings to again become a commissioned officer in the state of Tennessee. Although the road to building the Office of Safety and Security at USN is part of a long-term journey building on the school’s existing crisis preparedness framework, I would like to share with you all some of the progress, plans, and opportunities for input in the near future.

A number of initiatives have been recommended as part of an overall safety and security plan for the University School of Nashville through last academic year’s security audit, vendors, and concerned parents. As we evaluate these initiatives, our goal is to provide the safest and most secure environment to University School of Nashville while causing the least amount of disruption to the educational environment and feeling of community.

Some of the initiatives we will be working on throughout the duration of this academic year and through this summer are:
  • Building out the Office of Safety and Security within USN to include increased staffing, the addition of a marked patrol car at the Edgehill Campus all day, and more strategic deployment of resources for various events on campus.
  • Expanding our access control to include alarms for doors held or propped open, participation in the Vanderbilt University Secure Dores program, and making some doors emergency egress only.
  • Placing fencing and hedges around the Edgehill Campus.
  • Introducing additional modalities to communicate within buildings in case of an emergency with an overhead paging system, moving to one radio system across the entire school, and installing the Thorguard lightning detection and alert system used at our River Campus also at our Edgehill Campus.
  • Expanding the Raptor visitor management system to include additional background check criteria, developing a visitor management procedural order for when and how to use the system, increasing use of the system at special events, and using pre-registration to expedite check-in processes for large events.
  • Developing a standard safety and security training program for all faculty, staff, and volunteers to include training in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Command System, active shooter response, missing child response, bomb threat response, and other position-specific trainings based on each person’s role within the school.
Although these goals may sound daunting, I assure you that we have made progress on many of them this summer and during my four weeks at USN. Take a look at our progress listed below:
  • We will complete the installation of all hardware to keep the 19th Avenue main entrance locked no later than Tuesday, October 17. Families, visitors, and vendors will need to ring a bell and use an intercom to speak with the receptionist or CSO before being permitted to enter the building.
  • The video surveillance project has been approved, the acquisition of parts has begun, and the scheduling of installation phases will take place over the course of the next few weeks. We are projecting the complete implementation of this project when the students return from Winter Break.
  • The Secure Dores project is set for completion soon. We will have a report on progress in the weeks ahead.
  • Thorguard has been approved, and we are moving forward with scheduling of installation.
  • School Resource Officer and Community Resource Officer assignments were posted with Vanderbilt University Public Safety and will be permanently filled within the next few weeks. This means that we will have a team of police officers and CSOs dedicated to USN.
In the USN spirit of inclusivity and diversity of thought, I welcome feedback and opportunities to brainstorm and talk. We will be hosting a series of what I would like to call “State of Safety and Security” forums for students, families, and faculty. More information will be in the next USN Newsletter, and I will share regular updates in that monthly e-publication. I am a firm believer in meeting people where they are, so if that looks like a conversation at a forum, an email exchange, a 1-on-1 meeting in my office (room 1211, most recently the COVID Room), or a small group conversation, I’m here for your questions, comments, and recommendations.

Thank you all so much for your support and interest in the state of the safety and security at our school as we continue to work towards our ultimate goal of providing a safe and secure environment with minimal disruption to the educational environment and feeling of community here at USN.
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Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

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USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.