With some schools back in session next week, safety is on the minds of parents, guardians and educators.
Districts have to be prepared for minor situations that also create chaos in a school, like a waterline break requiring evacuation, or a medical emergency in a cafeteria, along with major events such as an active shooter or bomb threat.
Bellingham Public Schools officials have adopted a uniform crisis response program, “I Love U Guys,” following its successful implementation at Ferndale and Lynden school districts in previous years. It’s all part of Whatcom County’s priority to align safety protocols across districts.
The free programs designed by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation are used at more than 40,000 school districts and organizations around the world. It was founded by Coloradans Ellen and John-Michael Keyes, who lost their daughter, Emily, in a school shooting. The foundation’s board is composed of school administrators, first responders and school shooting survivors.
The “I Love U Guys” program details five actions in a Standard Response Protocol — hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter — and outlines incidents that would trigger the needed response and what to do.
Bellingham Public Schools safety support specialist Russ Robinson helped train teachers and administrators from around the county this month. They will train colleagues in their workplaces, and share new protocols with students.
He said the main goal was to establish clear, common language and to be better prepared for incidents.
“I think the takeaway today is safety isn’t an accident,” Fairhaven Middle School principal Steve Ruthford said after the training. “It requires protocols, language, coordination, planning.”
“It’s just really simple, consistent, common sense language. We’re just calling things what they are and keeping it as consistent as possible,” said Lynden director of student services Tim Metz. “Hopefully, if something does happen, it just is going to make that whole situation, hopefully, more manageable.
Schools are already required to have at least one drill per month, whether it be a fire, active shooter or evacuation drill, according to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Districts are also working with local law enforcement agencies to coordinate language and response. Robinson said he hopes to get them involved in future drills in Bellingham schools to improve coordination for when an emergency occurs.
“Any officer that’s responding to any school in the entire county knows exactly what to expect,” Robinson said.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office has met with Bellingham, Nooksack, Meridian and Mount Baker schools about the “I Love U Guys” protocols, spokesperson Deb Slater said in an email.
Last school year, Bellingham had approximately a dozen safety issues, including three full lockdowns. Incidents spanned from a lockdown in March at Squalicum High School because of social media images showing a weapon “on or near campus” to a lockout (locked doors with lessons continuing) because a bobcat was prowling around Wade King Elementary School.
Communication and crisis alerts
At Ferndale, school officials have added an application called Crisis Go, which has been downloaded on all school computers and laptops and can be accessed as a mobile app. If an incident occurs, a mass alert is sent. It includes information on what and where the threat is and how students, staff and teachers should respond.
Ultimately, the “I Love U Guys” program aims to improve communication — another essential part of school safety.
Dana Smith, Bellingham’s assistant director of communications, said there is often confusion when a school responds to an emergency. Information and misinformation spread quickly and easily, so teachers and staff have to swiftly inform students while the district communications staff has to manage external communication with families and the larger community.
The outdated language used in emergencies has sown its own level of confusion. Specifically, the term lockout (old language for the “secure” protocol) is different and less serious than a lockdown — which is used for an imminent threat.
“It’s less emotional,” Smith said. “‘Secure’ feels way better than ‘lockout.'”
“I Love U Guys” also encourages districts to plan for reunification following evacuation or another safety incident.
“The easy thing is evacuating the school. Then it’s all the things and the logistics that come along with that — the communication with families and the moving students to a different site and that reunification,” Metz said. “I think we truly understand that’s complex logistically, but also triggers a lot of emotions.”
“I Love U Guys” Foundation Response Protocols
- Holds can be the result of a medical incident, an altercation between students or something of similar gravity. Students and teachers remain in classrooms and continue lessons until the incident is cleared.
- Secure is a response to a threat or hazard outside the school campus, like criminal activity or a dangerous animal. All outside doors and access points are locked, and the entry and exit of people are monitored.
- Lockdowns occur for imminent threats like a violent student or an active assailant. Classroom doors are locked, lights turned off and all students and staff move out of sight of windows and other viewpoints.
- Evacuate requires all students, teachers and staff to leave the building and gather at a secure location as a result of an event like a fire or a bomb threat.
- Shelter is used in response to incidents like natural disasters. Districts have specific shelter plans designed for instances like earthquakes and inclement weather.
