A critical ingredient in the safe school recipe is the uniform classroom response to any incident. Weather events, fires, accidents, intruders and other threats to student safety are scenarios that are planned and trained for by school and district administration and staff.

Historically, schools have taken this scenario-based approach to respond to hazards and threats. It’s not uncommon to find a stapled sheaf of papers or even a tabbed binder in a teacher’s desk that describes a variety of things that might happen and the specific response to each event.

SRP IS ACTION BASED:  The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based not on individual scenarios but on the response to any given situation. The SRP demands a specific vocabulary but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple – there are four specific actions that can be performed during an incident. The action is performed by active participants, including students, staff, teachers and first responders.

o Lockout is followed by the Directive: “Secure the Perimeter” and is the protocol used to safeguard students and staff within the building when there is a threat outside of the building.

o Lockdown is followed by “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight” and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep students quiet and in place in the even there is a threat inside the building.

o Evacuate is always followed by a location, and is used to move students and staff from one location to a different location in or out of the building. It is followed by a location, such as “Evacuate to the Hallway; Shelter for Tornado; Drop/Cover/Hold.”

o Shelter is always followed by a type and a method and is the protocol for group and self protection.

Safety and Security Drills: We want to ensure our parents are aware we are required by state law, licensing regulations, fire code, and Board of Education policy to conduct a number of safety drills each year, to include the following:

1. Fire Drill: Once a month

2. Shelter In Place (tornado drill): monthly between Mar and October

3. Lock-Down Drill: Twice a year

4. Lock-Out Drill: Twice a year

While do not publish dates of these drills for parents and families, we do use social-stories to help children understand their purpose and what to expect.