Evacuate: Fire Drill Announcement
The safety and welfare of students and staff are the highest priority at Salt River Schools. We practice safety drills throughout the year to help prepare staff and students for real emergency situations.

This afternoon, Thursday, Aug. 28, the Early Childhood Education Center and Salt River Elementary School practiced an evacuation (fire) drill led by our Safe Schools and Security Team, in partnership with the Salt River Fire Department. We are pleased with the outcome of today’s drills and feel reassured that our safety plans can be implemented effectively by our staff.

Please note: In a real emergency, parents and emergency contacts of students will be notified during and after the event by Salt River Schools administrators through our SchoolMessenger notification system, which includes phone calls, texts, emails, and this website, among other platforms.

It is important your contact information on file be current. If you need to update your contact information, please contact the school’s front office. It is important that parents and emergency contacts do not attempt to directly contact the school, teachers or students during an emergency as that could disrupt phone lines and impact everyone’s safety. Our SchoolMessenger system - and this website - will keep families updated throughout an emergency.

Your student may tell you about today’s drill, and it is important to talk with them about it, and ask what they learned. Our goal, while practicing important safety procedures, is to be sure all students feel confident and prepared.

STANDARD RESPONSE PROTOCOL (SRS-SRP)
Salt River Schools works closely with local and federal authorities to correctly develop and implement safety procedures, which we consistently reevaluate for effectiveness. We conduct emergency drills throughout the school year to improve our ability to protect students, save lives, and reduce injuries. We strive to constantly improve our emergency response plans and skills.

New this school year, Salt River Schools has adopted Standard Response Protocol from the I Love U Guys Foundation. The SRS-SRP incorporates many of the concepts we already use but offers more clarity and consistency in terminology among schools and first responders across the Valley, county, state, and the country. Click here to read a detailed explanation, which was also provided at the most recent Soda With Security event on August 26.

Essentially, the SRS-SRP is based on five actions: HOLD, SECURE, LOCKDOWN, EVACUATE, and SHELTER. Each action is unique and has specific staff and student directives that are easy to understand and remember. For parents and families, this easy guide helps explain these actions.

Salt River Schools adheres to the following drill schedule each school year to ensure the optimal safety of our students and staff: 

• Evacuation (Fire): 10/Year (1/Month)
• Lockdown: 4/Year (1/Quarter)
• Evacuation (Bus): 3/Year (ECEC); 2/Year (SRES); and 1/Year (ALA)
• Reunification (Mass Evacuation): 1/Year

The purpose of conducting these drills is never to cause fear; rather, we want to ensure students and staff know what to do and are kept safe during a real emergency. As with a real emergency, no visitors are allowed on campus while a drill is being practiced.

SAFE & SECURE SCHOOLS
Providing a strong academic environment starts with students feeling safe in school. Salt River Schools has robust safety and emergency plans in place, as well as strong partnerships with local authorities to ensure the wellbeing of students, staff, visitors, and facilities. This takes shape in many ways:

• Students and staff review and practice emergency drills, such as lockdowns, evacuations, and shelter throughout the year. We do our best to communicate with families immediately after these drills take place to avoid confusion/fear and to remind parents to keep their contact information current in case school officials need to reach them in a real emergency.

• A SchoolMessenger notification system that calls, emails and texts families in the event of emergencies, events and other important information throughout the year.

• All outside fences and doors in all of our schools are locked during school hours with only the main entrance door enabled to receive visitors.

• State-of-the-art security camera system at every school building, as well as vape detection equipment installed in restrooms at SRES and the ALA.

• Trained behavioral health counselors who provide students with assistance in social-emotional and academic matters.

• Monthly Soda With Security events that offer families and the Community important course topics including internet and smartphone safety, mental health awareness and suicide prevention, drug use and gang awareness/prevention, active shooter training, and more.

• We offer school- and Community-based leadership and diversion programs to keep students on the right track when it comes to making choices that impact their health and wellbeing, including Junior Don't.

• A close partnership with SRPMIC Emergency Management, the Salt River Fire Department, and the Salt River Police Department. We are blessed to have Officer Dan Brown as our longtime School Resource Officer; he is dedicated to developing strong relationships with all our students, families, and staff in order to create a safe and secure school environment.

• Trained security personnel are actively present in and/or available to every school building, including a robust radio communication system in place between all security and key school staff.

We want families to be our partners in keeping students and schools safe. If you have questions about safety and security at Salt River Schools, please reach out to your school’s administration:

ECEC 480-362-2200 | SRES 480-362-2400 | ALA 480-362-2130

We value and appreciate your comments, suggestions and safety tips anytime at Communications[at]saltriverschools[dot]org.