The creation of the Missouri School Safety Association, or MOSSA, was announced by sate education and safety officials recently.
The organization will focus on improving school safety by reviewing current practices and programs and announcing new initiatives, reports the Springfield News-Leader.
The group is designed to assist with safety and security efforts at both public and private state colleges, universities and K-12 schools.
“There wasn’t a central group focused on school safety and bringing all the entities together to the same table,” MOSSA’s first president Zach Rantz said. “We wanted to make sure all the entities were talking.”
The Missouri School Safety Association will work with public and private groups in the state to provide training and establish “best practices” in the field.
“It’s obviously a new organization but the potential is huge to give a voice on issues of safety and security in schools,” MOSSA member Jim Farrell, who also serves as the director of school police for Springfield Public Schools, told the News-Leader. “It’s got potential to grow and it’s got potential to make things better at the state level.”
MOSSA will also focus on providing information and resources to local officials on school safety, security and health issues. The group’s website will launch soon to help distribute those resources.
“We’re hoping for a cross-section of people, it’s important to see different points of view,” said Rantz, who has also served as the president of the MIssouri School Public Relations Association and currently works as the safety coordinator for Nixa Public Schools.
MOSSA will operate under the Missouri School Board Association’s Center for Education Safety.
Members will pay annual fees and the leadership positions are unpaid.
For more information or to join MOSSA, contact Rantz at [email protected].
