2018 Education Magazine

LCHS adopts IloveUguys Standard Response Protocol
By Nila Smith

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[March 13, 2018]  Recently, Tim Butterfield, School Resource Officer (SRO) for Lincoln Community High School and an officer of the city of Lincoln Police Department, announced the school has adopted the IloveUguys Standard Response Protocol for all emergency situations within the school. This protocol, according to Butterfield, is easy to understand and can make all the difference in lives saved and also in protecting the community on the whole in times of tragedy. The protocol is all inclusive, including procedures to be followed during school violence scenarios but also in times of natural disaster or other catastrophic events.

The IloveUguys protocol was developed by John-Michael and Ellen Keyes after tragedy struck their lives. The couple’s daughter, Emily was one of seven high school girls held hostage by a single gunman at Platte Canyon High School in 2006. As a result, Emily was shot and killed.

As the girl was being held, she had time to send text messages to her parents. Brief and to the point – “I love U guys.”

The couple turned their grief into a mission to do whatever they were capable of doing to help protect young lives. Butterfield said the two were not educators or psychologists, they were actually ‘computer people’ who had access to research tools that enabled them to learn what was needed.

On their website the Keyes state, “At the inception of The "I Love U Guys" Foundation, the focus was on the arena of school safety. The question was simple, "Can we really help?" We attended symposiums, conferences and events about school safety and did tons of research. The Foundation hosted roundtables of its own, and also contracted an Emergency Management Practitioner to jumpstart the learning curve and make introductions. (Perhaps the best research investment we have ever made).”

In January of 2009, John-Michael left his ‘day job’ and became fully invested in moving the newly formed IloveUguys Foundation forward. Through the work of John-Michael and Ellen Keyes, a large amount of information has been compiled in one central location on the internet and is available free of charge to schools throughout the country. To date, every school in the states of Colorado and Texas utilize the IloveUguys Standard Response Protocol, and it is also gaining popularity throughout the country.

Within the foundation website, the public can read more about the Standard Reunification Method (SRP), a simple and easy to understand design for establishing a protocol for re-uniting families after emergency situations.

The SRP includes procedures for “lockout,” “lockdown,” “Evacuate” and “Shelter.” It defines when these procedures might be used; and how students, facility and the public are to respond to the designated protocol.

As an example, lockout is called when the threat to safety lies outside the school building. This could be an intruder, a weather condition, or a danger that exists close to the school.

Lockdown means that the threat exists inside the school. The key points of a lockdown are to stay inside the classroom, out of sight as best as possible. The teacher is to lock the door and turn off the lights, and students and staff are to remain quiet. No one is to unlock the door until law enforcement or a trusted school official says to do so.

Evacuate means that children and staff are to leave the building in an orderly fashion. Some key tips included in the evacuate protocol is first BRING the cell phone, but leave everything else behind, evacuate quietly and SHOW YOUR HANDS (ie. no hands in pockets).

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Shelter will primarily be used during weather or hazmat situations and the protocol to be followed will be the hazard and safety strategies adopted by the school.

In all cases, one of the primary roles of the teacher will be to grab student roll call sheets and make sure all students are accounted for, and then follow the protocol steps according to the scenario.

Butterfield said that the foundation offers many resources and, while it was designed for the schools, it can be used in any location where there are large gatherings, such as churches. He said that he has started presenting the protocol at local churches and is also looking into creating a power point style video that can be played in public locations such as the local theater.

He added that, when he is ready to do this, he will work with the school technology classes, and once they have a product it will be sent to the foundation where it will be polished and formatted for use, again free of charge.

We encourage everyone to check out the iloveUguys.org website and read through all the information that is available, all free of charge, to anyone who wishes to utilize it.

IloveUGuys.org - http://iloveuguys.org/about_us.html

SRP symbols and quick guide for K12  http://iloveuguys.org/srp/SRP%20K12%20Student%20Parent%20Handout%20v2.pdf

SRP K12 – Operational Guidance for Schools, District, Departments and Agencies http://iloveuguys.org/srp/SRP%20K12%20Operation%20Guidelines%202015.pdf

 

Read all the articles in our new
2018 Education Magazine

Title
CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES
Page
Blending grade levels and finding success 4
Empowering students using a "growth mindset" 9
The benefits of a private school education 12
Adam's School emphasizes the importance of breakfast 18
Rewarding good student behavior and adding a touch of class 21
Kids need to live a healthy active lifestyle too! 24
"I EXCEL" yard signs a conversation starter 26
Dual-credit classes at LCHS prepare students for college 27
Are our children safe in school? 30
LCHS adopts IloveUguys Standard Response Protocol 35
Traditional college not for everyone 38
Are online classes effective 42
A bright future for Lincoln College, its students, and the community 45

 

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