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Office of Safety and Security » Crisis Response Protocols

Crisis Response Protocols

This page includes the details of five sections detailing our Crisis Response Protocols:
  • Shelter-In-Place
  • Lockdown
  • A.L.I.C.E Lockdown
  • Evacuation
  • A.L.I.C.E. FAQs
Click the dropdown menus for each section.
Shelter-in-Place is a safety practice that takes place when a situation that may be dangerous occurs near the school, somewhere in our community. There is no immediate threat to our students, but it is safer for students to remain indoors and for the school to restrict the comings and goings of everyone. During this procedure, no one is allowed in or out of the school. If you are a parent/guardian and arrive at the school while a shelter-in-place is in effect, you will not be allowed into the school until the Shelter-in-Place has ended.
 
PROCEDURE
THE PRINCIPAL WILL:
  • Notify the Police and the Superintendent
  • Make an all-school announcement stating that we are in a Shelter-In-Place situation until further notice
  • Employ immediate sheltering actions for those exposed to the danger
THE CUSTODIAL STAFF WILL:
  • Lock all exterior doors
  • Monitor predetermined positions
IF IT BECOMES NECESSARY TO EVACUATE:
  • Follow instructions by the Principal, for School Safety Response
WHEN THE “ALL CLEAR” IS GIVEN, THE PRINCIPAL WILL:
  • Convene the Crisis Recovery Team to establish a counseling plan to assist students, parent/guardian(s), and staff
  • Develop a re-entry plan for the next school day and aftercare program
  • If needed, see that emergency medical care is provided 
  • Account for all students and staff at on-site or off-site locations
  • Notify parents/guardians, if necessary
  • Support law enforcement follow-up activities
  • Work with collaborating agencies, Hospitals, and EMS, Health & Human Social Service Agencies
  • Direct the recovery and follow-up by:
- Debriefing and providing support services for staff
- Arranging for physical plant clean-up and repairs
- Monitoring the short- and long-term impact on staff and students

When the incident is over, the Principal/Head Teacher will communicate to the parents explaining the reason for the Shelter-in-Place.

 

A lockdown is a more significant event and means that there is an immediate threat; there is a problem inside the school. During a lockdown, classroom doors are locked, and students must remain with their teachers and follow instructions. If you are a parent/guardian and arrive at the school while a lockdown is in effect, you will not be allowed in or near the school until the lockdown has ended. You will be directed to a place away from the school where information will be made available to you. Information that is available will be posted on our website www.everettpublicschools.org. The EPS website will include an initial communication, where all subsequent updates will be added as accurate information becomes available.
 

PROCEDURE
THE PRINCIPAL WILL:

  • Notify the Police and the Superintendent
  • Make an all-school announcement stating that we are in a Lockdown situation until further notice
  • State the reason for the Lockdown and continue to give updates so staff can make decisions about self-evacuations (ALICE Protocols).
  • Employ immediate sheltering actions for those exposed to the danger

    THE CUSTODIAL STAFF WILL:
  • If possible, report to the office and find shelter. If not, get into a secure location or evacuate.

IF IT BECOMES NECESSARY TO EVACUATE:

  • Follow instructions by the Principal

WHEN THE “ALL CLEAR” IS GIVEN, THE PRINCIPAL WILL:

  • Convene the Crisis Recovery
  • Establish a counseling plan to assist students, parents, and staff
  • Develop a re-entry plan for the next school day and aftercare program
  • See that emergency medical care is provided if needed
  • Account for all students and staff on-site or off-site locations
  • Notify parents/guardians.
  • Support law enforcement follow-up activities
  • Work with collaborating agencies, Hospitals, and EMS, Health & Human Social Service Agencies
  • Direct the recovery and follow-up by:
  1. Debriefing and providing support services for staff
  2. Arranging for physical plant clean-up and repair
  3. Monitoring the short- and long-term impact on staff and students
The safety and welfare of our students and staff is our highest priority. To ensure schools are prepared to proactively handle the threat of an intruder or active shooter, all principals and teachers have been trained in ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate). 

“ALICE” is an acronym for 5 steps you can utilize in order to increase your chances of surviving a surprise attack by an Active Shooter. It is important to remember that the “ALICE” response does not follow a set of actions you “shall, must, will” do when confronted with an Active Shooter. Your survival is paramount in this situation. Deal with known information and don’t worry about unknowns. You may use only 1 or 2 parts of the response plan, or you may have to utilize all 5. In this type of incident, your perception is the reality, and you will be deciding what the appropriate action for you to take is. 

1) Alert: Can be anything
  • Gunfire
  • Witness
  • PA Announcement
  • Phone Alert
2) Lockdown: This is a semi-secure starting point from which to make survival decisions. If you decide not to evacuate, secure the room and lock the door.
  • Cover any windows in the door if possible.
  • Tie down the door, if possible, using belts, purse straps, shoelaces, etc.
  • Barricade the door with anything available (desks, chairs, etc.). 
  • Look for alternate escape routes (windows, other doors).
  • Call 911.
  • Move out of the doorway in case gunfire comes through it.
  • Silence or place cell phones on vibrate.
  • Once secured, do not open the door for anyone. Police will enter the room when the situation is over.
  • Gather weapons (coffee cups, chairs, books, pens, etc.) and mentally prepare to defend yourself or others.
  • Put yourself in position to surprise the active shooter should they enter the room.
3) Inform: Use any means necessary to pass on real-time information.
  • Use plain language.
  • Provide information from 911 calls, video surveillance, etc.
  • Provide who, what, where, when and how information?
  • Inform others who are nearby
  • When appropriate, use “Flash Alerts”, PA announcements, and/or Police Radio speakers to communicate information
4) Counter: This is the use of simple, proactive techniques should you be confronted by the Active Shooter.
  • Anything can be a weapon.
  • Throw things at the shooters head to disrupt their aim.
  • Create as much noise as possible
  • Attack in a group (swarm).
  • Grab the shooter's limbs and head, take them to the ground and hold them there.
  • Fight dirty — bite, kick, scratch, gouge eyes, etc.
  • Run around the room and create chaos.  
  • If you have control of the shooter, call 911 and tell the police where you are. When officers arrive on scene, listen to their commands.
5) Evacuate: Remove yourself from the danger zone as quickly as possible.
  • Decide if you can safely evacuate.
  • Run in a zigzag pattern as fast as you can.
  • Do not stop running until you are far away from the area.
  • Bring something with you that you can throw in case you encounter the Active Shooter.
  • Consider if the fall from a window will kill you.
  • Break out windows and attempt to quickly clear glass from the frame. 
  • Consider using belts, clothing or other items as an improvised rope to shorten the distance you would fall. 
  • Hang by your hands from the window ledge to shorten your drop. 
  • Attempt to drop into shrubs, mulch or grass to lessen the chance of injury.
  • Do not attempt to drive from the area.
 
When the incident is over, the Principal/Head Teacher will send a reverse 911 message home to the parent(s)/guardian(s) explaining the reason for the Lockdown. 
The district will issue an evacuation of students and staff when leaving the building is the safest alternative. Evacuations may occur in the case of a threat, fire or when the school building is deemed unsafe. Attendance is taken to ensure all staff and students are out of the building and arrive at the designation site safely. Each school has a designated evacuation site. In an effort not to compromise school safety plans, school evacuation sites are not publicly available.  In the event of a school evacuation, the school district will inform parents of the school evacuation site through the phone messaging system. All contacts, including emergency contacts, will be contacted in the event of an evacuation. Please make sure your contact information is up to date. 

We understand that school evacuations are stressful for students and their families. To quickly reunite students and their families at the school's evacuation site, families will receive information via the district's phone messaging system from their child's school or the school district. In the event of an evacuation, the district will follow a reunification plan to ensure all students are safely returned to their families. 
Q: Are teachers and staff expected to follow ALICE in order? Are you supposed to Alert, then Lockdown, then Inform? 
A: ALICE is not intended to be a checklist of things to do. It is a list of choices, with accompanying strategies that are options for our staff to help themselves and students stay safe in the highly unlikely event of an armed intruder. Some may choose to evacuate, and some may choose to lockdown and barricade. Others may be forced to counter if an armed intruder is able to enter the space they are in. ALICE trains people to know they have choices in an emergency situation. 

Q: What does it mean to “counter”? 
A: The main intent of Counter is to distract the intruder, not try to physically take on the intruder. An example of Counter would be to throw objects at an intruder for a distraction. Being passive or static has typically not shown to be an effective response to most Active Shooter events. There are examples of recent events of school violence where the difference between passive and active responses determined survival chances. A different approach is needed to help keep our students and staff safe. Confronting a violent intruder should never be required in any non-law enforcement job description. How each staff member chooses to respond if directly confronted by a violent intruder is a personal choice.  
 
Q. What do we do if we cannot evacuate?
Follow the teacher's instructions. This may include moving furniture to barricade the door or throwing items at the intruder.
 
Q. Can we evacuate without a teacher?
If there is not a teacher around and you can safely leave the building, you can do so. Keep running until you find a safe place.
 
Q. How do I let the police know I am not the intruder?
Leave the building with your hands in the air so that the police know you are not the intruder. Do what officers tell you to do.
 
Q. If a student falls and gets hurt while running, can we help them?
If you can quickly help the student, help them. If not, run to safety and let a police officer or responsible adult know so they can get help for the student.
 
Q. Can we return to the school to get our stuff?
We will have to wait until the police let us know when it's safe to return to the building. This may take a day or more until the police give us the all-clear. Please be patient and do not re-enter the school until we announce that it is time.
 
Q. Why can't we drive away if we have a car at the school building?
Law enforcement and other first responders will be arriving quickly to respond to the situation. It is important that they have the ability to reach the building as quickly as possible. Traffic leaving the school could slow down their approach.
 
Q. If I see a weapon on the ground can I pick it up to protect myself and others?
No, if you see a weapon, you need to put it in a garbage can or box that you then carry out to the police. If you have a weapon in your hand, the police could mistake you as a dangerous intruder.
 
Q. What if someone knocks on a door and tells me to let them in?
Once you are in a safe place, stay in that safe place and don’t let anyone inside. Opening a door could allow an intruder to get into your safe place.
 
Q: Should I talk with my child about the ALICE training in advance?
The decision to talk with your child about the ALICE training in advance is advised. As with any drill (fire, evacuation, lockdown), it is important that your child knows the importance of listening to their teacher during a drill or an actual emergency. Ultimately, the decision is up to each individual parent. As a parent, you know your child best. It’s important to be calm and keep any information very simple
 
Q: Where can I go for more information about ALICE?
The ALICE training institute guides the district in our training approach. Additional information is available at HERE. If you have specific questions regarding your child’s school, please contact your school principal.