Good Day All,
This past week at school we used a response protocol called a “Hold.” There were several calls and/or emails regarding the situation and if there was any threat to students. There was not threat at any point in time but when notifications come with little context, worry/stress can arise. With that in mind, I wanted to clarify our most used response protocols.
Hold - Hold is followed by the Directive: "In Your Room or Area" and is the protocol used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants. This is most commonly used when we need to assist, medically or otherwise, a student/staff without the congestion or audience of 750 students. There is no “threat” associated with this response.
Secure - Secure is followed by the Directive: "Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors" and is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building. This is used when there is a potential threat outside of the school such as police activity in the area, wild animal or suspicious person(s).
Lockdown - Lockdown is followed by "Locks, Lights, Out of Sight" and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place. This is used when there is a threat inside of the building and law enforcement is responding.
Evacuate - Evacuate may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building. This is most commonly used for fire, gas leak or other issues where remaining in the building is no longer safe
Shelter - Shelter and state the Hazard and Safety Strategy for group and self protection. This is most commonly used for natural disasters like earthquakes, storms and tornadoes.
I hope this helps you all understand our response to differing situations and please know that it is our district priority to provide clear, quick communication in the event we need to use these response protocols.
We’ve got a really short week of school coming up and I am looking forward to an extended weekend to recharge, reflect and give thanks. When we return we will have three weeks until winter break and we will definitely be experiencing joy with fun activities like Name That Tune, Community Day and some friendly competitions!
CP
