MEMORANDUM

TO:Portland Public Schools

FROM:Stacey Newton

DATE:March 28, 2012

RE:Suspicious Device Drill

Emergency drills will be conducted at each school site beginning on April 23rd through May 9th. Your school has elected to conduct a suspicious device drill (controlled evacuation). This memo will provide you with an overview of the drill.

A member of SPSG (Stacey, Steve or Mike) will start and end your drill. Please do NOT start or end your drill without their expressed consent. We make every effort to adhere to the drill schedule, but the actual start time may vary slightly from the schedule. Please inform everyone who works in your building that they are not to proceed with the drill until they receive the appropriate signal from the Incident Commander. In this case, staff actually receive face-to-face instructions to evacuate. We suggest one of the following: 1) do not notify staff in advance, or 2) inform staff of the date, but not the time. This will help to eliminate staging for the drill. If the school is obviously staged for the drill, SPSG will wait until everyone returns to their regular ‘station’ before beginning the drill.

The scenario for this drill will be a suspicious device found. A suspicious device will be placed with an adult in the building. The placing of the suspicious device will initiate the beginning of the drill. The drills will be conducted during a class period. The drills will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. The school’s response to the suspicious device found

2. The team’s ability to function at the evacuation site

3. Evacuation procedures (controlled evacuation)

4. Accountability of all students and staff members

We expect that the entire school will come together at the evacuation site. I understand that this may be a new procedure for some schools. Students and staff will proceed to the exit as directed by a team member, and will move toward the assembly area. All team members must be staged in their appropriate area (first aid, search team, runners, reunification, command post, etc.) at the evacuation site. We have created draft emergency maps that indicate the proposed primary evacuation site. If you’d like a copy, please email me.

There will be a debriefing session with the School Emergency Team immediately following the drill. I estimate 10 – 15 minutes for the actual drill and another 15-30 minutes for the de-briefing session. A report with the results and recommendations will be provided to each school.

I recommend the following activities/procedures are put in place before your scheduled drill:

  1. Review roles and responsibilities with all team members.
  2. Review procedures for explosive device found.
  3. Review evacuation procedures – particularly controlled evacuations.
  4. Ensure all teaching stations and offices have an Emergency Attendance Form.

5.Discuss drill procedures with parents. We recommend a note be sent home prior to the actual drill.

Sample Note:

In our continued efforts to create a safe learning environment for your child, we have developed emergency response procedures in order to respond to a multitude of threats or events that may occur on or around the school campus. On (insert date) we will be conducting a controlled evacuation drill. We estimate the drill to last about 15 minutes. During this time you will not be able to enter the school building. We will have a school representative available to meet with you, outside of the school, while the building is locked. This drill, along with our monthly fire drills, ensures that students and staff are familiar with the school’s safety procedures. Please contact me at ______if you have any questions or would like additional information.

We welcome your participation on our school emergency exercises. If you would like to participate in the drill, please arrive at the school 15 minutes prior to the scheduled drill time. Your role in the drill will be explained to you at that time.

Please contact me at if you have any questions or need any additional information.