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Palatine officer among the best at preparing schools for the worst

The rise in school shootings across the country means that along with having to practice evacuating their school in case of fire and ducking against a secure wall in the event of a tornado, students today must also be ready for what to do when there's someone with a gun on campus.

That's where Palatine police School Safety Officer Jeff Schlee comes in.

Schlee works with schools in Palatine - and fields calls for help from across the suburbs and the country - to prepare them for the worst.

"School shootings are not a problem that is going away," Schlee said. "This is a generational problem that is going to continue, and everyone needs to realize how important it is to be prepared."

Schlee studies past school shootings and works with his colleagues in the police department to develop a response plan aimed at saving lives.

Among the tenets of the plan is having the entire community respond as a unit to reduce the chaos that could happen if everyone isn't on the same page. That's why along with his work in schools, Schlee meets with parents and other community members to discuss the best response to a potential tragedy.

As a school safety officer for 10 years, Schlee says he's always been passionate about protecting students. That dedication only increased after he had children of his own.

"That turned it into something different for me, which was, if this ever happened to my kids, what could I do?" said Schlee, whose children attend school outside Palatine. "So I made a promise to the citizens here to make their school environment as safe as possible so that maybe the work we do here will reach other communities as well."

Other communities have taken notice. Schlee said he has received calls for assistance from school and police officials not only in neighboring suburbs but as far away as South Dakota and from as high up as the Department of Homeland Security.

In Illinois, the state requires that all schools perform an annual lockdown drill with or without the involvement of local first responders. Schlee said in Palatine, each school performs two drills a year, both in collaboration with the police department.

"I would characterize our relationship with Palatine police as very cooperative," said Matthew Hildebrand, director of administrative services at Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211. "We rely on them heavily for their expertise, have open lines of communication at any given moment, and work extensively to evaluate and change our practices to put us in best possible position under various circumstances."

In recent years, District 211 and police have worked to have at least one of the two annual lockdowns come as a relative surprise to staff members and students, Hildebrand said.

"When you have pre-existing knowledge of a drill, it changes your approach," he said. "We want to practice authentic responses."

Schlee said they also conduct drills at inconvenient times, such as between classes or during passing periods.

Palatine police officer Tamara Gulisano said that during one lockdown drill, she and a colleague dressed in street clothes to pose as parents and went inside a school.

"The teachers were not supposed to let anyone into their classroom who wasn't wearing a school badge," Gulisano said. "I ran to one teacher and she looked me up and down and shouted, 'No, wait in the hallway! Someone will be out in a minute!' and slammed the door shut on me."

Another twist they've used is pulling the fire alarm during a lockdown drill.

Schlee also spends time educating parents about what they can do in the event of a school shooting. While he knows parents want to help and make sure their children are safe, he tells them there is nothing they can do on school property, except perhaps make first responders' jobs more difficult.

He noted that in the aftermath of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, so many parents rushed to the school that their cars snarled traffic, delaying and sometimes completely obstructing first responders, including ambulances trying to get the wounded to hospitals.

"Some first responders had to park as far as a half-mile to one mile away from the school and run the rest of the way," Schlee said.

Should a school need to be evacuated, students likely wouldn't be released back to their family on school grounds anyway, Schlee said. That process, referred to as reunification, likely would happen at an off-campus location.

In December, Schlee was named Hero of the Year by the Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce for his work with schools, students and parents.

"It was an overwhelming honor," Schlee said. "To be honored through peers and colleagues is one thing, but to get it from complete strangers who nominate you for the work that you've done is different."

  Jeff Schlee, a school safety officer with the Palatine Police Department, last month was named "Hero of the Year" by the Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce for his work preparing the community for a school shooting. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Palatine police School Safety Officer Jeff Schlee fields calls from as far away as South Dakota, and from the Department of Homeland Security, for assistance in preparing a response to a possible school shooting. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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