School Safety

The Portland Public Schools is committed to the safety and welfare of our students, our staff and visitors in our schools. To ensure that everyone is prepared in the event of an emergency, the district is enhancing its procedures, frameworks and training related to student and staff safety. Our multilayered approach, outlined in our School Safety and Prevention Frameworks, aims to support a more comprehensive approach to ensuring safety, increasing efficiency and effectiveness of staff responses when issues arise, and ensuring compliance with state and local policy. In our safety planning and procedures, the Portland Public Schools works closely and collaboratively with the Portland Police Department.

We are enhancing our safety protocols for the 2023-2024 school year. To ensure schools are proactively prepared to handle the threat of an intruder or active shooter, all staff will be trained in the ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) framework.

Find FAQs related to ALICE

Each of our schools and Central Office will teach these strategies in an age appropriate way and perform various safety drills throughout the year, including fire, evacuation and lockdown. Schools will notify families prior to these drills. We encourage parents/guardians to check in their students about drills and reinforce their importance, and to let your child’s school know if you have any concerns.

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PPS School Safety and Prevention Frameworks

Portland Public Schools is enhancing its procedures, frameworks and training related to student and staff safety. This multi-layered work aims to support a more comprehensive approach to ensuring safety, increasing efficiency and effectiveness of staff responses when issues arise, and ensuring compliance with state and local policy.

School Safety

As a key part of our key district priorities which includes strengthening core instruction and professional learning culture, the Safe and Equitable Schools work entails a focus on

a. Strengthen relationships in our community through the use of community building/restorative circles and de-escalation skill building.

b. Deepen school-wide cultures through the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports and Response to Intervention) to ensure all students (and staff) feel safe, connected and engaged.

c. And advance a shared vision for SEL instruction and integration PK-12 and by creating strategies that embrace alternatives to suspension that put the district on a path to eliminating suspension.

Required Annual and Ongoing Training

PPS will be advancing an improved system for staff professional development across the system that supports employee access to training, as well as tracking certifications (and expiration dates) to aid in the maintenance of credentialing. State mandated training for educators includes the following: suicide prevention, mandated reporting, harassment discrimination and sexual harassment prevention, bullying, affirmative action, confidentiality, freedom of information access law, mandated reporting, harassment discrimination and sexual harassment prevention, workplace bullying.

Incident Response Training

Incident Response Training includes three distinct, but interconnected, frameworks in PPS: CPI, CSTAG and ALICE. While all three have components of direct response to incidents, the focus of these trainings also includes preventive measures.

a. Crisis Prevention Institute, or CPI, is the organization that provides the PPS selected model for restraint and seclusion training (Non-violent Crisis Intervention). CPI provides key educators with the skills to safely recognize and respond to students who are in crisis. The training complies with state legislation and is evidence-based (Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® Training, Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI).

b. Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) is the process for behavioral threat assessment that is a critical component to violence prevention and school safety. CSTAG training is being implemented in PPS to support those who work with students when they communicate that they may pose a risk to themselves or others.

c. ALICE: Is a civilian active shooter response training delivered with a trauma-informed approach in an age- and ability- accessible format. ALICE strategies are supported by peer-reviewed research and have been found to reduce anxiety and build confidence in individuals. Active shooter response training will be available for all schools to ensure systemic protocol and response.

Terms and Procedures for a School Emergency

In the event of a school emergency situation, the district and school staff may use the following terms to ensure a common language. These terms are also used by local law enforcement.

Secured Building

Secured Building

Partial Lockdown

Partial Lockdown

A partial lockdown is used when there is a community or school-based issue that requires restricted access to the school. A partial lockdown means that normal instructional activities continue as much as possible; however, no outside events, field trips or outside activities (including recess) occur. While in partial lockdown, entry and exit to the school will be restricted and only individuals with a pre-existing appointment are permitted to enter the school facility.

Full Lockdown

Full Lockdown

A full lockdown is used to minimize student/staff exposure to a potential threat. In the event of a lockdown, all exterior doors and windows will be locked and no one aside from emergency personnel is permitted to enter or exit the school facility. During full lockdown, no outside activities, field trips or outside activities will occur. The students will be kept safe in individual secure classrooms in the building during the event and are not permitted to go outside. In the event of a lockdown, families will be notified through our district phone, text and email messaging system. Families are advised not to go to the school during a lockdown.

If a situation is not resolved prior to dismissal, students and staff will remain in the building until the situation is cleared by Portland Police. Families will receive on-going communication from the school. Students will receive accommodations such as food, water and comfort while remaining in a building after dismissal.

Evacuation

Evacuation

The District will issue an evacuation of students and staff when leaving the building is the safest alternative. Evacuations may occur in the case of a threat, fire or when the school building is deemed unsafe. Attendance is taken to assure all staff and students are out of the building and arrive at the designation site safely. Each school has a designated evacuation site. School evacuation sites are not publicly available in an effort not to compromise school safety plans. In the event of a school evacuation, the school district will inform parents of the school evacuation site through the district’s phone, text and email messaging system. All contacts, including emergency contacts, will be contacted in the event of an evacuation. Please make sure your contact information is up to date with the office of your child’s school.

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School Safety

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PPS School Safety and Prevention Frameworks

School Safety

Required Annual and Ongoing Training

Incident Response Training

Terms and Procedures for a School Emergency

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Secured Building

Partial Lockdown

Full Lockdown

Evacuation