School Security: Keeping Our Students Safe When Matt Montgomery was hired by Holy Family High School in 2017, school administrators were confident his law enforcement background would greatly benefit the Holy Family community. They were spot on. “When it comes to school security, you can never be too safe,” said Holy Family Principal Matt Hauptly. “Investing in a highly-skilled, experienced individual to oversee our security was essential in making sure we are prepared to prevent and respond to violent and emergency situations.”
“Matt is well suited to deal with the realities and rigors of security work and he is accustomed to acting under conditions of great stress,” said Hauptly. “Being prepared for any type of crisis is essential to the safety of our teachers and students.”
Montgomery, a former Marine, began his career in law enforcement as an officer for the Broomfield Police Department and earned the department’s Officer of the Year distinction in 2015. He also served as the School Resource Officer (SRO) for 11 local school including Holy Family. While many schools assign an administrator or teacher to be in charge of the overall school security, having a person with the proper qualifications, skills, experience, and temperament in this role is vital.
Montgomery is a frequent presenter, trainer, and consultant on school security, with a particular focus on strengthening emergency preparedness. “There is a lot we can do to mitigate the chance of someone being hurt at school,” he said. “Good policies and procedures, along with good training, are key.” Driven by a desire to have students feel that a school is a safe place, Montgomery has served as the Interim Director of Security for the Archdiocese of Denver and also consults with area schools to develop safety plans that meet a school’s particular needs.
For a high school security program to be successful, it must be all-encompassing. Not only must it address traditional issues associated with law enforcement and security, but it must also address emergency management, training, technology, community partnerships, funding, and more. “When people think about school security, they naturally think about school shootings, but school security is much more than that,” Montgomery said. “It involves everything from events prior to an incident all the way through recovery post-incident.” Under Montgomery’s leadership, Holy Family has been praised for developingtraining requirements for staff, working with local agencies on preparedness, and upgrading the security technology the school uses. “Responsibility for school safety and security is not limited to me,” Montgomery notes. “Everyone in our community plays a role.” SPRING 2022 | 11
