Safety & Emergency Planning

Welcome to Prince George County Public Schools’ Safety & Emergency Planning homepage. This webpage serves as the place to learn more about the division’s efforts to foster safe and secure campuses for our students, staff, and community.

Overview
The safety and security of the entire Prince George County Public Schools community is our utmost priority. It is important that our students, staff, and community members feel safe when visiting our campuses to learn, work, or participate in activities hosted at our facilities. Our division has a multifaceted, dynamic approach to school safety and security that uses industry-leading technology, standardized protocols, and a robust partnership with local public safety agencies to keep our community safe.

Delay and Closure Information

During the school year, one, multiple, or all of Prince George County Public Schools' campuses may operate under with a delayed opening/closure, or be closed to students and/or staff due to inclement weather or other circumstances. This information, including how these delays/closures are communicated, employee codes, and more, is available on the division's Delay and Closure Information hub by clicking HERE.

Schools & Emergency Response
Each of our campuses has a well-developed crisis management plan that addresses a variety of emergency situations. While these plans are similar between campuses, each school’s individual crisis management plan implements a response that is appropriate, taking into consideration the campus, the age of students, and the specifics of the emergency.

Our schools and their crisis response efforts are supported by our strong partnership with the Prince George County Police Department, Prince George County Fire & EMS, and other relevant community-based organizations.

Examples of Security Measures Present at PGCPS Campuses
Generally, Prince George County Public Schools employ some of the following security elements at our school campuses and support buildings. These measures are compliant with state and federal school safety protocols and ensure our facilities are safe and secure for our school community.

Employee and visitor identification using the Raptor System
Security cameras at elementary and secondary campuses
School Resource Officers and School Security Officers on-site at schools
Video cameras on PGCPS school buses
Standard Response Protocol (SRP) implemented at all schools and support buildings to standardize school incident response during and after an emergency
Encouraging the use of the P3 platform https://www.p3tips.com/ which enables the public to share information anonymously with Crime Stoppers programs, Law Enforcement entities, and schools, among others

Additional security measures may be present at our campuses and support buildings beyond this general list and are not shared to ensure these protocols are protected.

Understanding Standard Response Protocol
Prince George County Public Schools campuses and support buildings use the Standard Response Protocol as part of a standardization of school incident response during and after an emergency.

The Standard Response Protocol, SRP, provides standardized vocabulary with clear actions that are to be conducted during a given protocol. This language allows for:

Teachers and staff to better understand procedures and expected responses/actions during and after an emergency,
Parents to better understand procedures and actions during and after an emergency,
And rapid response determination when an unforeseen situation occurs.

The SRP focuses on five responses to a given incident and has specific student and staff actions: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter. Click the dropdown next to each term to learn more about the selected procedure.

HOLD In Your Classroom or Area. Clear The Halls.

Hold, Defined: Students and teachers are to remain in their classroom or area, even if there is a scheduled class change until the all-clear is given. Typically during a Hold procedure, school staff will secure their area by closing and locking doors, and instruction will continue as normal. Students who may not be in a classroom, such as in a common space like the cafeteria or gymnasium, may be asked to move to an area where they can be supervised and kept safe until the all-clear is given.

SECURE, Get Inside & Lock Outside Doors.

Secure, Defined: The Secure procedure requires bringing students and staff into a secure building and locking all outside access points. The initial directive and practice during the Secure Action is to retain students and staff within the building and prevent entry into the building. School staff will bring everyone indoors and lock outside doors. Typically during a Secure procedure, instruction will continue as normal, and staff will remain vigilant for potential hazards.

Classes being held outside would return to the building and, if possible, continue inside the building. There may be occasions when students expect to be able to leave the building - end of classes, job commitment, etc. Depending on the condition, this may have to be delayed until the area is safe.

LOCKDOWN, Secure Locks, Lights Off, Out of Sight.

Lockdown, Defined: Lockdown is called when there is a threat or hazard inside the school building. The Lockdown Action demands locking individual classroom doors, offices and other securable areas, moving occupants out of the line of sight of corridor windows, turning off lights to make the room seem unoccupied, and having occupants maintain silence. Typically during a Lockdown procedure, instruction would pause to allow for silence in the classroom or space.

EVACUATE, Follow Adult Instructions Regarding Exiting

Evacuate, Defined: Evacuate is called when there is a need to move people from one location to another for safety reasons. An on-site evacuation is conducted usually because of a mechanical failure that would disrupt the school day, such as a power outage. If it can’t be resolved quickly, the school may have to plan for early dismissal.

If students and staff are evacuated off-site, they may be walking to a different location or being transported to the location and there will be an organized reunification of students and parents/guardians at that site. This information would be communicated directly with families via SchoolMessenger, the school website, and social media.

School staff will lead students to a specific evacuation location, account for students and adults, and notify staff of any missing, extra, or injured students or adults.

SHELTER, A Hazard or Safety Concern Is Present

Shelter, Defined: Shelter is called when specific protective actions are needed based on a threat or hazard. These hazards can be natural, such as severe weather, or manmade, such as a hazmat incident near to the building.
School staff will lead the response to the Shelter procedure dependent on the circumstances being responded to, be it a National Weather Service-activated tornado warning (head to the school’s established tornado safety area), a hazardous materials incident (seal the room and follow staff instructions), etc., account for students and adults, and notify staff of any missing, extra, or injured students or adults, as needed.

In the event of a Shelter procedure that requires an evacuation, this information would be communicated directly with families via SchoolMessenger, the school website, and social media.

Learn more about Standard Response Protocol by visiting The "I Love U Guys" Foundation website at https://iloveuguys.org/.

Communications & Standard Response Protocol
Ensuring our families receive timely updates when a protocol of the SRP is activated is essential to our school safety efforts. Communications will be shared with families via SchoolMessenger telephone calls and emails, the school’s website, and social media, as needed during and after an SRP activation. It is important that your contact information is up-to-date to make sure you receive these updates when an incident occurs.

Be sure to review your contact information in ParentVUE to ensure it’s accurate. If changes are needed, you can make those changes via ParentVUE. If you need additional assistance, contact your child’s school office.

Conclusion
In light of the current circumstances in our world, the importance of the collaboration between our schools, staff, local public safety agencies, and our community is essential in ensuring we provide safe and secure learning environments for the children of Prince George County.