Below are the questions and answers to the top questions asked during the March 13 community conversation.

Do students/staff know the difference between lockdown and lockout?

Yes. Staff are provided two hours of professional development in the fall of each year specifically on school safety. We also provided information to all teachers to share with their classes about the different types of drills. 

Lockdowns are initiated from within the school; lockouts are initiated by the police for an external threat. During a lockout, no one is allowed to enter or exit the school. Classes continue as normal.

Do secondary students practice active shooter/active violence drills?

All of our schools conduct three lockdown drills a year. We do not conduct staged drills for an active shooter situation. The district follows the Secure, Evacuate, Confront philosophy. This practice encourages students to secure the space they are in, evacuate if necessary, and as a last resort confront a threat. Data shows there is potential for a harmful effect of active shooter drills with children of all ages. We are cognizant of all of our learners and we discuss the drills in age-appropriate ways.  

Can the tone played at the beginning of drills/emergencies be different for each type of emergency? Currently the same tone plays for lockdown, lockout, shelter in place (severe weather), and fire drills. 

This question came up this spring after many schools conducted a shelter in place drill. We reached out to our outside security consultants, who agreed that leaving the tone only for lockdown would be a good idea. By the end of March, only the lockdown will play a tone before the principal’s pre-recorded message.

How is emergency training administered? And how often?

Training is conducted annually and required for all staff. It is an online class that takes approximately two hours to complete. New teachers complete the training during the New Teacher Orientation. We are working with EduStaff, who we contract with for support staff, to require the training for all new employees who will work in Fraser Public Schools.

Do students/staff have a designated place to run to in the event of an evacuation? 

We have a reunification agreement with Meijer at 15 and Utica. The evacuation locations vary based upon the situation.

What is the communication protocol for emergencies?

During an emergency, a district communication will be sent through School Messenger to the families impacted. This will include email, phone call and text message. Parents/guardians must opt-in to receive text messages from the district by texting the word ‘Yes’ to 67587.

In Fraser Public Schools, we take a proactive approach to ensuring our schools and students are safe. Every member of our staff works to create a culture of belonging for each student.

Mental Health Supports
Fraser has a longstanding commitment to the mental health and safety of students. The district has the highest ratio of trained mental health staff to students in any public school district in the county. The mental health teams work closely with building leaders to address all threats that are reported.

The district also provides social-emotional screenings several times a year. This data helps to place the students on the correct tier in our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. It also allows the teachers and mental health teams to monitor the progress of and provide support for each student, as well as identify any changes or causes for concern.

We incorporate the Second Step program into all of our K-8 classrooms. Teachers share weekly, age-appropriate virtual lessons during class time with students to help them with various social and emotional skills.

Physical Safety
In late 2019, FPS partnered with Secure Education Consultants (SEC), an independent school security company, to review all the safety measures in place throughout the district. Teams from SEC observed each school and building and found the district had many strong security measures in place. The team from SEC also helped develop the Emergency Response Protocols flip books, which provide quick access to addressing a variety of emergency situations.

All district staff are provided annual professional development that covers various safety scenarios as well as what to do in the event of a real emergency.

Threat Assessments
Using a threat assessment and response protocol, the principal or building leader and mental health team quickly investigate to determine if the threat is substantive or transient. The protocol also outlines when to involve local law enforcement.

We continue to have a strong relationship with the Fraser Police Department, as well as the Roseville and Clinton Township Police Departments. We have a full-time Fraser Police Liaison, Officer Alex McCown. While he has an office at Fraser High School, he works in all of our other schools as part of his duties.