More about Secured My School
Our Story
Having been born and raised in rural South Dakota, Dr. Bell has dedicated her career as a physician to serving patients in resource-limited communities. Dr. Bell has been recognized regionally and nationally for her commitment and contributions towards advancing rural healthcare across the Midwest. Secured My School's operations are managed by Dr. Bell’s daughter, Gabriella Schmidt-Grimminger MPH, CPH, who studied Maternal & Child Health and Global Health. Gabriella has worked for a variety of local & national nonprofits and taught in public school systems. As concerns about gun violence have grown within their community, Dr. Bell and Gabriella combined their passions to create Secured My School.  
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When developing the Secured My School program, it was important for us to advance comprehensive school security and “harden” schools without compounding existing financial, discrimination, or mental health problems. By working together with our team to advance emergency preparedness protocols, there will be no additional disruptions to classes, no additional personnel or objects surveilling schools, no additional safety trainings for teachers to attend, no malfunctioning technology to send fear among students or staff, and little school funding needed to maintain this technology for security purposes.
Mission
Secured My School’s mission is to empower students to play an active role in securing their school, increase job readiness for upcoming graduates, and create sustainable, cost-effective, and equitable solutions for school-safety preparedness protocols in disadvantaged communities. 
Vision
As gun violence in schools increases and states continue to disregard laws protecting children from gun-related violence; it is important for communities to work together and advance comprehensive school safety systems. Secured My School’s vision is to create more secure communities and promote a learning environment for students to continue to grow socially and succeed academically. 
Goals
The goal of our program is to empower students to play an active role in securing their school by teaching them about 3D modeling and equipping them with the resources to create a 3D model of their school. Models can then be given to school administrators and first responders to update existing school emergency preparedness protocols. After the model is completed, students who participated in securing their school may qualify for scholarships to further their academic and career goals after graduation. 
