December 11, 2015
Dear Rockwell Families,
Students cannot learn if they are not safe. Schools are responsible for the safety of children in their care. Lake Washington School District works closely with the police and fire departments in the cities we serve to continually improve our knowledge of safety procedures. I want to provide you with information on a new set of principles we are adding to our school’s emergency response tools.
Our procedures are continually reviewed and updated by our district safety committee. That committee includes police and fire representatives from Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish and King County, along with principals, PTSA Emergency Prep representatives and other district staff. Evergreen Hospital has recently joined that group as well.
One standard procedure that schools have in place and practice regularly is some form of lockdown. That procedure involves locking all doors, inside and out, and staying in place within classrooms or other locked rooms. It is aimed at keeping students and staff safe when there is a threat of danger in the school building, such as an armed individual.
Redmond Police department introduced a set of principles called ALICE to our safety committee. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. It is not in any specific order of priority nor are all steps required. These are tools to use in the event of an emergency. They add options to our lockdown response, which already incorporates some of these principles.
We are including ALICE principles at the request of local law enforcement. These are the best practice recommendations from our local police, to add to our existing lockdown procedures. In fact, the entire Eastside is seeking to have standard response plans for emergencies so that communication between and among all agencies flows smoothly. By understanding the ALICE principles, we also share the same vocabulary, which may be critical in communicating during an emergency.
This effort is intended to provide our school community with the latest and best personal safety techniques so that people are empowered to make quick, important decisions when faced with an emergency. ALICE principles are not limited to schools and can be used in emergency situations in any location, such as movie theatres, malls, places of worship, stores, etc.
Our school staff has received training in the ALICE principles. We held a scenario exercise with staff in December to learn how these principles might be used. In February, we will incorporate one of the ALICE principles into our required lockdown drill. That drill is part of the monthly drills we do throughout the school year. Students will receive age-appropriate information.
There will be a series of evening training sessions for parents in early 2016 for those interested in learning more. These training sessions will be hosted by the Redmond, Kirkland and Sammamish Police Departments and held at LWSD schools. Information will be available on how you can use ALICE principles and on the information your students will receive. They will take place at 7 p.m. on the following dates/places:
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Additional resources about the ALICE program can be found at www.alicetraining.com.
Sincerely,
Kirsten Gometz, Principal
