ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate)
More Information and resources are available below:
School Safety
At the Victor Valley Union High School District (VVUHSD), besides educating your students, our main priority is ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for all students, staff, and visitors. In order to support this priority and ensure everyone is prepared in the event of a school emergency, each school has a safety plan that is unique to the building and aligned with best practices. Each school has a safety team, and all staff receive flip charts outlining emergency procedures. Throughout the year, schools perform various safety drills including fire, bus evacuation, severe weather, building evacuation and lockdown. All schools conduct lockdown drills during which students and staff practice emergency procedures. These lockdown procedures are evaluated for improvements after each drill.
To ensure schools are prepared to proactively handle the threat of an intruder or active shooter, all principals and teachers have been trained in ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate). Active shooter drills with students began in September of 2022. Central Office staff received training in ALICE. Find frequently asked questions related to ALICE.
To support the needs of each of our schools, the Departments of Student Services, Risk Management and Human Resources will be working collaboratively with site principals, local law enforcement, community agencies as well as our families. The District replaced all school classroom doors to ensure they can lock from the inside and are secure. The District also has contracted with both the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department and Probation Department to ensure that our campuses have an on duty officer onsite.
As a parent or guardian of a VVUHSD student, we encourage you to review the District's emergency procedures and become familiar with procedures at your child's school.
What Parents Should do if there is a School Emergency
In the event of a school emergency, parents and families can support the District and their student(s) by remaining calm and waiting for accurate information to be sent through the District's phone messaging system. The message will provide as much detail as is available at the time. Additional messages will be sent alerting families to what is taking place and next steps. In some cases, local media, as well as the District's website and social media sites will be used to communicate information.
Though it is natural for you as a parent or caretaker to want to come to the school or call the school during an emergency, we encourage you to support the District by doing the following:
Please do not come to the school.
We understand your desire to go to the school and the need to see your child especially in a situation that feels uncontrollable. However, arriving at the scene before it is secure can interfere with the emergency response and puts you in danger. Past school emergencies have shown that one of the greatest challenges is how to manage the number of parents and concerned citizens rushing to the scene. By rushing to the school, parents can unintentionally create traffic jams that may block emergency responders from getting to the school or leaving if necessary to transport injured students or staff to emergency medical facilities. Families should not pick up their students unless given the direction to do so from the District.
Please do not call the school.
We ask that families do not call the school. This allows phone lines to stay open for communication with emergency personnel and school officials. It also helps school staff to remain focused on the safety of their students. The school and District will ensure information is shared via our phone messaging system. If a student is injured, the families of those children will be notified directly.
If your child texts or calls you, please keep them calm.
We know that during a school emergency many of our students will try to call or text their parents or guardians. If this occurs, we ask that you stay calm and reassuring. Encourage your student to follow the directions of school staff. To prevent confusion or added safety risks, ask them to turn off their cell phone and refrain from using social media.
ALICE FAQ
The safety and welfare of our students and staff are our highest priority. Throughout the year, schools perform various safety drills including fire, bus evacuation, severe weather, building evacuation and lockdown. All schools conduct lockdown drills during which students and staff practice emergency procedures. These lockdown procedures are evaluated for improvements after each drill.
To ensure schools are prepared to proactively handle the threat of an intruder or active shooter, all principals and teachers have been trained in ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate). Beginning August 2022, students and staff will participate in ALICE drills together to practice the tools and knowledge to respond and escape in the event of an active shooter.
Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding ALICE:
Q: What is ALICE and ALICE training?
A: As part of the district’s ongoing commitment to student and staff safety, a drill called ALICE is being implemented district-wide 7-12. Full implementation will be completed by spring 2023. The goal of ALICE training is to teach students and teachers strategies that will increase the chances that our staff and students survive if a terrible circumstance such as an armed intruder ever were to occur. This training encourages staff and students to respond based on their situation. During ALICE training, staff and students are trained in different options for responding to a school intruder who is intent on doing harm. In certain circumstances, the “lock the door and hide” strategy might be appropriate. In some cases, the teacher and students might take precautions to barricade the entrance(s) of the classroom. Under certain conditions, it might be the best decision for the teacher and students to evacuate the building.
Q: What does ALICE stand for? What does each word really mean?
A.L.I.C.E. is an acronym that stands for:
ALERT: Get the word out that a threat exists
LOCKDOWN: Secure a place to stay as much as possible as a starting point to buy time.
INFORM: Give constant, real-time information throughout the building using all available technology.
COUNTER: This is a last resort. Individuals are unable to escape. Countering may be as simple as creating a distraction to allow opportunities to escape.
EVACUATE: The goal is to move students out of the danger zone. It’s important to be prepared to escape.
Q: Are teachers and staff expected to follow ALICE in order? Are you supposed to Alert, then Lockdown, then inform?
A: ALICE is not intended to be a checklist of things to do. It is a list of choices, with accompanying strategies that are options for our staff to help themselves and students stay safe in the highly unlikely event of an armed intruder. Some may choose to evacuate and some may choose to lockdown and barricade. Others may be forced to counter if an armed intruder is able to enter the space they are in. ALICE trains people to know they have choices in an emergency situation.
Q: Why is ALICE training being implemented?
A: We believe that all VVUHSD schools are the safest place for our students to be. Just like practicing what we should do in a fire with our monthly fire drills, we want to be sure that students and staff are prepared and know what to do if an armed intruder enters a school. All our schools are equipped with a number of safeguards, some seen and others unseen, to keep our students safe. In addition, since we know that violence has become all too frequent in our world, the strategies and mental preparation we use in ALICE preparation are transferable to any public venue our students may find themselves in where a crisis may occur. We have to come to the realization that a violent intruder event can happen anytime, any place and for any reason. There is a new standard-of-care which emphasizes the need for proactive, options-based, strategies, which means that we have a responsibility to those in our care and employment to do all we can to prepare them for this rare event, not only in our location but wherever they may find themselves. The federal government recommendations, as well as major law enforcement associations, support these strategies. ALICE Training is the model upon which these official recommendations were built.
Q: What does it mean to “counter”?
A: The main intent of Counter is to distract the intruder, not try to physically take on the intruder. An example of Counter would be to throw objects at an intruder for a distraction. Being passive or static has typically not shown to be an effective response to most Active Shooter events. There are examples of recent events of school violence where the difference between passive and active responses determined survival chances. A different approach is needed to help keep our students and staff safe. Confronting a violent intruder should never be required in any non-law enforcement job description. How each staff member chooses to respond if directly confronted by a violent intruder is a personal choice.
Q: How will parents be notified if their child’s school is experiencing a real emergency?
A: Notification will be sent out using all methods of school district communication, including a phone call from our robo call system, website updates, media alerts, and social media. Families are encouraged to check with their child’s school to make sure their emergency contact information is up to date. In the event of a true emergency, all emergency contacts will be called.
Q: How will we know my child will be safe after the emergency?
A: In the event of a full evacuation, children would be transported to safe evacuation sites off of school grounds where they will be reunited with parents. Parents will be informed about these locations through direct communication.
Q: Have School Police, administrators, teachers and school staff practiced scenarios and possibilities for an active shooter situation?
A: The District’s School Resources Officers and Campus Security have been trained in the ALICE Protocol. All staff has received training in the ALICE protocol. The training included different scenarios and drills that imitated an Active Shooter situation. Staff will share what they have learned with our students in an age-appropriate way, and teach them the ALICE procedures through the course of the year.
Q: Where can I go for more information about ALICE?
A: The Department of Homeland Security guides the District in our training approach. Additional information is available at their website https://www.cisa.gov/search?g=active%20shooter If you have specific questions regarding your child’s school, please contact your school principal.
Q: Since parents do not participate in safety drills they often find themselves curious about drill procedures. How do you recommend parents learn about how drills are conducted?
A: It is our recommendation that parents engage in age-appropriate conversation with their child or children following all safety drills. Should a parent have a specific question please contact your child’s principal.
Q: Students' readiness for this information varies based on age. How will this be communicated to students in age-appropriate ways?
A: We want our children to be prepared for everything, including if an unsafe person was to enter our school. Administrators, student services staff, and teachers will take the principles and tactics taught in the ALICE training and present the information in non-fearful, empowering ways. We will take into account a child's developmental readiness to ensure that students feel safe and have opportunities to talk about their feelings and reactions.
Q: Should I talk with my child about the ALICE training in advance?
A: The decision to talk with your child about the ALICE training in advance is advised. As with any drill (fire, evacuation, lockdown), it is important that your child knows the importance of listening to their teacher during a drill or an actual emergency. Ultimately, the decision is up to each individual parent. As a parent, you know your child best. It’s important to be calm and keep any information very simple.
Q: Should I talk with my child at home after the training?
A: As a parent, you know your child best. Children may want to process what they learned or ask questions. Older students may be interested in talking about what they would do in an emergency situation. Follow your child’s lead and keep the opportunities to talk openly.
Q: What if my child asks a question about this procedure and I don’t know how to answer it?
A: School guidance counselors and your child’s teacher are good resources. You can say that you’re not sure, but it’s a good question and you’ll help find an answer. You may encourage an older child to ask their teacher because other students may have the same question and ask them to be sure to share the answer with you.