ALICE Parent Letter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Wilmington School System is currently in the process of changing the way we respond to school emergencies. In the past we have practiced “locking down” as a way of keeping students safe in the case of an emergency - such as an intruder entering the building.  Over time we have determined that there are better ways to keep children safe if these types of situations arise.  Through the guidance of the Wilmington Police Department and the Wilmington School Safety Committee we are continuing to utilize a fairly new protocol which we call A.L.I.C.E.  ALICE is an acronym which means Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.

ALICE has already been instituted at our middle and high school. It was introduced last year to elementary parents at an evening presentation on February 25, 2014. All elementary teaching staff was trained on these new procedures back on January 31, 2014. Since then an elementary curriculum guide has been developed to be used for educating our children on the ALICE protocol. Last spring all schools participated in a practice drill. This year we will be continuing to use this protocol. 

On Friday, November 15^th  teachers will be reading and discussing with each child the document entitled, “How I Can Stay Safer At School!” with their students.  The document explains, in simple terms, how and why the ALICE protocol is to be implemented. It stresses the importance of following the teacher’s directions in the case of an emergency, as each situation may require a different teacher response. Before the end of the school year the students will have an opportunity to practice several A.L.I.C.E. drills. On November 18^th, 2014 we will be having the first ALICE practice drill for the school year.

Your child may have questions when they arrive home on this day. Please feel free to review the document with them and reinforce the idea that school is a safe place. We thank you for your support as we implement this important new school safety protocol.

Sincerely

Lisa King

Interim Principal

Shawsheen and Boutwell Elementary