To continue to improve safety procedures in Downers Grove Grade School District 58, principals and administrators this summer were trained in the ALICE method of emergency response.
ALICE is a proactive safety standard rooted in research that is recommended by the U.S. Department of Education and law enforcement. ALICE is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate, according to a news release.
Many of the tenets of ALICE are already part of the district’s safety protocols. The training allows administrators to be ALICE trainers for their schools.
“This training is one more step to intentionally and proactively improve our safety measures in order to provide the safest possible environment for our students and staff,” said Superintendent Kevin Russell.
The safety strategies will be implemented in age-appropriate ways. ALICE is important because it gives students and staff options if a violent critical incident were to occur.
Another change will be to deploy color-coded lanyards in the schools. Green will be for staff, yellow for visitors and orange for substitutes. This will allow the district to better identify who is who in the buildings.
There is nothing more important than the safety of our students, staff, and families, according to the release. District 58 is committed to continuous improvement in this area based on the recommendations from local law enforcement as well as governmental agencies. The district will continue to approach the topic of safety in a manner that takes the age of students into account. Additionally the district will always inform parents of mandatory drills.
