2018 Education

2018 EDUCATION MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS MARCH 1, 2018 Page 35 R ecently, 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 LCHS adopts IloveUguys Standard Response Protocol CONTINUED →