MEMORANDUM
TO:Portland Public Schools
FROM:Stacey Newton
DATE:March 38, 2012
RE:Crime Committed on Campus Drill (no firearm)
Emergency drills will be conducted at each school site beginning on April 23rd through May 9th. Your school has elected to conduct a Lock Down – Team Response (crime committed on campus, life threatening injuries, no firearms) drill. This memo will provide you with an overview of the drill.
A member of SPSG (Stacey, Steve or Mike) will start and end your drill. Please do NOT start or end your drill without their expressed consent. We make every effort to adhere to the drill schedule, but the actual start time may vary slightly from the schedule. Please inform everyone who works in your building that they are not to proceed with the drill until they receive the appropriate signal from the Incident Commander. In this case, staff actually hear the words “Lock Down Team Response”. We suggest one of the following: 1) do not notify staff in advance, or 2) inform staff of the date, but not the time. This will help to eliminate staging for the drill. If the school is obviously staged for the drill, SPSG will wait until everyone returns to their regular ‘station’ before beginning the drill.
This drill is an exercise for your School Emergency Team (SET). We will be looking for the school’s ability to: provide help to the injured, get help to the school, and conduct an emergency accounting of everyone in the building. An evacuation will not be required, but you will need to conduct a positive accounting of all students, staff members, visitors, etc. The scenario for this drill will be a crime committed on campus (no firearm). The Lock Down – Team Response signal will initiate the drill. SPSG will hand a note to someone at the school (not the Incident Commander). The note will describe the incident and will signal the beginning of the drill. The All Clear signal will be given by SPSG. There will be a debriefing session with the School Emergency Team immediately following the drill. I estimate 10 – 15 minutes for the actual drill and another 15-30 minutes for the de-briefing session. Each drill will be evaluated and a report with the results and recommendations will be provided to each school.
I have attached the following documents to assist you in preparing for this drill:
- Practical Application of a Lock Down. This is an excellent primer for the drill and we recommending distributing a copy to all adults prior to the drill.
- Cheat Sheet for Lock Down is posted on the weblink:
I recommend the following activities/procedures are put in place before the drill:
1.Review Lock Down procedures with all staff members.
2.Review roles and responsibilities with all team members.
3.Ensure all teaching stations and offices have an Emergency Attendance Form.
4.Discuss Lock Down procedures with students.
5. Discuss Lock Down procedures with parents. We recommend a note be sent home prior to the actual drill.
Sample Note:
In our continued efforts to create a safe learning environment for your child, we have developed a comprehensive plan to respond to emergencies on or around the school campus. We will be conducting a Lock Down drill on ______. This drill ensures that students and staff are familiar with the school’s emergency procedures. Please contact me at ______if you have any questions or would like additional information.
We welcome your participation on our school emergency exercises. If you would like to participate in the drill, please arrive at the school 15 minutes prior to the scheduled drill time. Your role in the drill will be explained to you at that time.
Please contact me at if you have any questions or need any additional information.