Worcester County Public Schools Announce New Safety Protocols
Public schools in Worcester County are seeing a boost in school safety efforts as a result of the school system adopting the Standard Response and Reunification Protocols created by the I Love U Guys Foundation (https://iloveuguys.org). The Foundation conducted a full day of training with all school system administration and emergency services partners during WCPS’s annual two-day Safety Summit in July. Since that time, all staff within WCPS have been trained in the protocols and how they are applied to their specific classrooms and schools. The protocols create common language among the school system, emergency services partners, and the school system community.
Additional Information from WCPS:
This week, school system families will receive information on the protocols educating them in the five school safety statuses: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter. Each of the statuses is labeled by a specific icon and a directive for students and staff. Schools will communicate with families any time the school enters into a school safety status; this communication will also provide expectations for families, which in most cases is requesting families to wait for further instruction or notification that the school has returned to normal operations.
“School safety is a critical component to enable our students and staff to bring their best to school every day,” Chief Safety and Academic Officer Annette Wallace said. “It is our responsibility to ensure that everyone, including our families, are aware of what to expect and what to do in the event of a crisis. This is precisely why we have placed such an emphasis on training since this summer’s safety summit.”Â
“By providing clear expectations on when and how schools will communicate with families in the event of a school safety status change, we reassure them that our schools are actively and appropriately responding to whatever is occurring,” Coordinator of Public Relations and Special Programs Carrie Sterrs said. “At the same time, families are educated that in these instances, coming to the school is not always the best course of action, and waiting for that additional communication or instruction is the best way they can help in times of crisis.”
In addition to the new protocols, schools will continue to emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious or concerning behaviors within our schools. Worcester County utilizes the Maryland Center for School Safety’s anonymous tipline (833-MD-B-SAFE or https://schoolsafety.maryland.gov/Pages/Tipline.aspx) to provide students, staff, and members of our community with the means to report a tip. Tipline access information is readily available on all school websites.
“Tips that come into the Safe Schools Maryland tipline are completely confidential,” Coordinator of School Safety Shawn Goddard said. “It’s so important that we can provide the means for anyone to report a tip. The earlier we know about potential threats to our school environments, the quicker we can appropriately address them, and as we all know, time is critical in any safety response.”
Additional information about the WCPS’ new School Safety protocols can be found on a newly established page on the school system’s website at https://www.worcesterk12.org/page/school-safety-protocols.Â
