Who We Are
Protecting Our Students, Inc. is a School Gun Safety Partner Coalition
Our goal is to decrease and ultimately eliminate active shootings in K-12 schools. Achieving this objective requires effort, but we are committed to implementing SITE|SAFETYNET℠, our mobile app for conducting “Risk Assessments and Annual Reassessments” in schools nationwide. It is not the only answer by any means, but rather, one innovation allowing schools to increase their security posture without creating a prison-like experience. New technology, including weapons detection, access control, video management systems, and social media monitoring, are essential tools but are not foolproof. Safety and Vulnerability Assessment and Annual Reassessment Technology are critical components of a school safety plan.
We Build partnerships with educational institutions and public and private consultants, including Certified School Safety Professionals, School Security & Crises Preparedness Specialists, Law Enforcement, and Government Agencies to apply our proprietary comprehensive evaluation process. Once each school is assessed, a network of certified security professionals can implement standardized emergency operating plans (EOP). The result? Schools nationwide become unified under a universal gun safety best practice EOP. And, because of our extensive network, these special safety measures can be applied to any school — no matter their funding or size.
Officer Patricia “Pat” O’Connor, with degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology, has served in the local police department since 1995. Currently the department’s Community Liaison Officer, she also teaches criminal justice at a local community college. A mother of two and an active community member, Patricia enjoys hiking, yoga, and reading mystery novels in her spare time.
Sue Ann Stapleton holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in Secondary Math Education and has worked in the field of education for over 40 years. She has taught grade levels ranging from middle school to college. Currently, she is a full-time online mathematics teacher for Williamson County Schools, Franklin, TN. She is the proud mother of 3 sons who have blessed her with 5 grandchildren.
Robert Jordan founded Protecting Our Students with his brother M. Frederick to reduce and end active school shootings. He is an American businessperson, financial literacy advocate, and economic observer, and he has been a proponent of entrepreneurship and business education. The brothers have developed a comprehensive school “risk assessment” mobile app to measure safety strengths/weaknesses to prevent school shootings nationwide. He is a tennis superfan and loves chess and poetry.
Daniel Gortaire was born in Ecuador and raised in a low-income family where he caught the sight of violence, including gun violence, in his neighborhood and at his school. Always longing to make a difference, he has contributed to many causes. He volunteered and created “Ecuador Solidario” after an earthquake devastated Ecuador in 2016, reaching thousands of victims and providing them with food and shelter. He has been a video producer and a musician for over 20 years. Today he lives in Henderson and manages his digital content creation agency. In his free time, he practices and performs with his rock band. Passionate about this cause, he wants to contribute with his good energy and ideas to make an impact and a change.
Chanel Zia has been with Protecting Our Students from the beginning. She comes to Protecting our Students with experience in varied industries, including the legal, restaurant, and fire life safety fields. The cause behind Protecting Our Students hits home for her, especially since she has a 3.5-year-old son who just started preschool and her mother is a long-time elementary teacher. A Los Angeles native, she has been in Las Vegas for 3 years and loves it. Chanel enjoys working out, spending time with her family, and baking cookies in her free time!
Stephen Jordan With numerous years of experience in athletics and IT, Stephen joins the team as a systems analyst. His love for the classroom results from his mother, Sue, a math teacher and tutor in the Middle Tennessee area, and his wife, Whitney, a 2nd-grade elementary teacher in Louisville. He is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and also spent his high school years in Brentwood, Tennessee; Stephen now resides in his native Kentucky with his wife and daughters – Adele & Margaux. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf and co-hosting The Whistle Stop Podcast, which features coaches and athletic personalities at all levels.
Mary Joslin Attended elementary school in Tulare, CA. She later moved to Las Vegas and attended community college in Henderson, NV. It was here that she discovered her love of numbers and accounting. She has a wide range of accounting experience which enables her to provide relevant and timely advice and assistance to the board members with their internal accounting, periodic reporting, forecasting, and, ultimately, the development and implementation of tax and related planning. Mary joined the team with Protecting Our Students from the very beginning. In her personal life, her hobbies include country dancing and traveling with friends.
The Problem
Gun safety in our K-12 schools has been disorganized, decentralized, and inefficient and consists of various methods and approaches, ranging from adequate to ineffective. There is no accepted universal process for auditing a school facility for security vulnerability and no universal certification program.
The Solution
We created a software APP, SITE|SAFETYNET℠, an advanced digital-age technological school safety and vulnerability assessment tool that gives schools the means and resources they need to protect their students and create a safe learning environment. Prevention of active shooters and gun violence on campus is our focus.
This allows for proactive measures to be taken to keep our students safe, such as detecting outdated or unrecognized security protocols and providing reports for improving safety for staff and students in the event of an active shooter.
Protecting Our Students, Inc. is Investing in Our Children’s Safety, Security, and Well-Being.
Our top priority is the safety and security of our students. A passion for good works drives us with resolve and integrity; we support institutional improvements that encourage better student health and education. With a core belief that a comprehensive examination of current school shooting safety and security policies and further implementation of a nationwide universal APP will substantially save student lives.
