Recognizing Safety Champions: Ivey’s Everyday Heroes Program

What does an everyday hero look like?

It could be the woman next door who checks in regularly on her elderly neighbor. It might be the waiter who rushes across a dining room to help a customer who starts to choke. Perhaps it’s a good Samaritan who makes sure patients without reliable transportation get to their chemo appointments every week. Or maybe it’s someone who stops their car along a busy highway to help push a stalled vehicle out of the way.

Although their valiant actions are all different, these everyday heroes always have one thing in common: They’re ordinary people who do extraordinary things.

You’ll find these everyday heroes creating change in education, too: They are the teachers, volunteers, staff members, and others who selflessly act in ways to keep others safe during emergency situations that unfold in our K-12 schools. Whether they’re ushering students to safety quickly or confronting unauthorized campus visitors, they take action to prevent harm and loss of life.

Ivey’s Everyday Heroes: Recognizing Those Who Step Forward for School Safety

“Children should not feel fear or threatened when at school,” says Johnathan Ivey, AtlasIED president. “Schools are supposed to be a safe place. But, over the past decades, school violence has increased. And it’s unacceptable. Ivey’s Everyday Heroes, developed in memory of my father, Loyd Ivey, is designed to help recognize students, staff, and educators who exhibit heroic and selfless acts to keep others safe.”

AtlasIED, a PASS Partner, develops unified communications, life safety, and emergency communications technology as a “small contribution toward helping reduce active lethal threats in schools,” as Johnathan describes. When his father passed away in September 2023, however, the company wanted to do something more to improve school safety.

Loyd was an everyday hero in his own right. He was the mastermind behind the development of the security solutions that AtlasIED offers to improve daily communications and critical alerts in schools. Innovation and safety are at the heart of his legacy. And the entire industry wants to see that legacy live on.

Working in partnership with the NSCA Education Foundation and PASS, AtlasIED established a grant program called Ivey’s Everyday Heroes. The program’s mission is to recognize and provide financial support to individuals who selflessly act in ways to keep others safe during emergency situations in schools throughout the United States. Honorees could include:

• Students.
• Staff.
• Faculty.
• Resource officers.
• Administrators.
• Volunteers.

The Impact of Speaking Up and Giving Back

In addition to recognizing these everyday heroes for their actions, the program also hopes to empower more students, parents, staff members, and teachers to be part of their school’s safety team by speaking up and reporting what they see. By encouraging more voices, more awareness, and more communication within school communities, everyone can work together to detect, delay, and deter possible threats. 

Each year, the school or organization affiliated with the Ivey’s Everyday Heroes award will also receive a $25,000 grant to use for school safety and security purposes. 

Chuck Wilson, former NSCA CEO and PASS Board Chairman, helped Johnathan develop the Ivey’s Everyday Heroes program.

“As one of the founders of the PASS K-12 program, school and student safety has always been part of my personal mission,” he explains. “Having been in the technology field for decades, I know [we as an] industry have influence and are effective in protecting individuals through the products and solutions we develop. It was a natural fit for me, then, to take it a step further with PASS K-12 to help define how this technology can be used to enhance safety and security. PASS K-12 created the guidelines using an ‘all-hazards’ approach to address everyday concerns. When Johnathan approached me to help develop the Ivey’s Everyday Heroes program, I knew it was the next step for us to give back in this way.”

Nominate an Everyday Hero

Explore the eligibility requirements and nomination process, and nominate a hero who inspires us all. All nominations will be evaluated by PASS K-12, as reviewers continue to seek out individuals who step forward to keep others safe.

If you are interested in becoming involved in or donating to Ivey’s Everyday Heroes award, contact Chuck Wilson.

About PASS

The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) bringing together expertise from the education, public safety, and industry communities to develop and support a coordinated approach to making effective and appropriate decisions with respect to safety and security investments. You can download the complete PASS Guidelines here, or check out our PASS Safety and Security Checklist for quick tips on how to get started.  These resources—as well as white papers on various topics including barricade devices, lockdown drills, and more—are available at no cost.