August 15, 2018
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Harlem Middle School. Our primary job is to ensure the safety of our students while providing them a world class education. We continuously review current research and data to support our policies and actions. The U.S. Department of Education, along with local safety agencies, recommends having active plans that include decision making and options, in the unlikely event of a school intruder.
Columbia County Schools have implemented a nationally recognized training program, ALICE. ALICE is a proactive set of responses to an active school intruder event which empowers individuals to make the best decision to protect our students. ALICE stands for:
Alert- Get the word out! Use clear, concise language to convey the type and location of the event.
Lockdown- Good starting point. We will continue to lockdown students in a secure area; however, we will include barricading the area for additional security.
Inform- Communication keeps the intruder off balance and allows for good decision-making.
Counter- Apply skills to distract, confuse, and gain control (last resort and when it’s the only option).
Evacuate- As soon as it is safe to do so, evacuate.
School administrators attended a two day ALICE training session in July. During pre-planning, administrators conducted training with HMS faculty and staff.
Students were initially trained during the second semester of the 2017-2018 school year. Today, the administration and our school resource officer reviewed ALICE procedures with our students. Throughout the year, HMS will have intruder drills including Hard and Soft Lockdowns to practice ALICE protocols.
Our goal is to ensure that, in the event of school violence or an intruder incident, students and teachers will have all the tools to best respond, using information that is available during the event to keep everyone as safe as possible.
For additional information, please see our website or call our school safety coordinator, Marlo Leatherwood at 706-556-5990 Ext. 3411.
Sincerely,
Carl Jackson