Ridgefield School District

Dear Ridgefield Families,

School safety is an increasing national concern and we see student and staff safety as our number one priority. In an effort to enhance student and staff safety at all campuses, the Ridgefield School District has partnered with the “I Love U Guys” Foundation to adopt the Standard Response Protocol (SRP).

The Standard Response Protocol allows for a shared lexicon by all schools, staff, students and parents. Unlike past practice, SRP allows the district to prepare for a wide variety of emergencies. At the core of the SRP are four actions. Each action has specific language that must be used followed by directives that clearly tell staff and students how to respond.

Work related to this effort began last year when the school district closely analyzed emergency responses and actions related to various events. In January of 2015, the district organized a Rapid Response Active Threat table-top exercise in partnership with Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA), the Ridgefield Police Department, Clark County Fire & Rescue, the La Center Police Department and Phoenix Security. Considerable time was then dedicated to locating and reviewing various tools to streamline and unify the district’s response to emergencies. This work led the Ridgefield School District to the “I Love You Guys” Foundation and their vast array of resources.

Following is the information that was provided in the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) trainings. Please review the information below and ask your child about the SPR training they received. We believe that knowledge is power, and knowledge about school safety can save lives.

The four actions are:

• Lockout - This action is followed by the directive, "Secure the perimeter" and is used to safeguard students and staff within the building.
• Lockdown - is followed by the directive, "Locks, lights, out of sight" and is used to secure individual rooms and keep students quiet and in place.
• Evacuate - This action 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.
• Shelter - This action is always followed by a type and a method, and is the protocol for group and self-protection.

By using the standardized language of the SRP, the District believes all participants will clearly understand the action and response expected of them. A district-wide adoption will allow parents to reinforce these actions with their students regardless of what school they attend. SRP provides our emergency response partners (police, fire, medical) with a clearer picture of specific emergencies unfolding at our schools.

If you are interested in learning more about the Standard Response Protocol, please visit the Foundation’s website at: http://iloveuguys.org/srp.html.And, as always, please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. Thank you for your continued support of the Ridgefield School District.

Sincerely,

Dr. Nathan McCann