Training

Training is a mainstay in the Medford School District (MSD).   It is important that our staff and students are confident and competent in their ability to respond.  Our safety, security and emergency management training is focused on building specific capabilities as well as the capacity to respond to an incident of an unknown nature.  While we know that we cannot be prepared for every contingency, we focus our effort on the most likely courses of action and the most dangerous courses of action for the school environment.

Consistency, communication and preparedness are key to an effective emergency response. 

We have to do the basics well!

What does training look like in the MSD?

Safe Schools Training - All staff complete numerous online modules at the beginning of each school year on a variety of safety and security topics.

SRP (Standard Response Protocol) Training - We conduct more than 240 drills across the district every school year practicing HOLD, SECURE, LOCKDOWN, EVACUATION and SHELTER. 

ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate) Training  - All staff and students are trained in ALICE at age appropriate levels.  We have more than 60 certified ALICE instructor district-wide that teach at the site level.  The MSD Security Department also trains several hundred staff each year.  ALICE training provides staff and students options and choice when responding to an emergency situation.

AARs (After Action Reviews) - We conduct after action reviews after every training event and real world incident.

Reunification -  Executing reunification is a critical function that every site must be proficient in.  Reunification happens every day following school dismissal; however during critical events and/or incidents reunification needs to elevate to a higher level to maintain security, gain accountability, support law enforcement, provide necessary support to students and staff and ultimately reunite students with their parents/guardians safely.  This may be necessary for severe weather events, police activity in the area, etc.  Sites are trained to conduct onsite reunifications for less severe incidents.  The District trains annually to run an offsite reunification in the event that an incident warrants students and staff being relocated to an offsite location.

NARCAN - NARCAN is an OPIOD antagonist that can temporarily reverse the effects of an OPIOD overdose such as fentanyl.  All staff have access to NARCAN and training for how to administer the nasal spray in the event of a potential overdose.

CPR/First Aid - All schools have CPR/First Aid trained staff onsite and at events.  Trainings are offered throughout each school year.

MSD Security Locker - All staff have access to the MSD Security Locker.  This is where all things safety, security and emergency management live.  Numerous training resources are available at this site that are self-paced and can be accessed 24/7 - 365 days per year.

Safety Stand Down Day - Staff - It's important that staff are trained in key safety, security and emergency management concepts prior to the school year starting.  It's one thing to have knowledge of a concept, but it is another to be able to execute it under pressure in the moment of need.  During the district-wide Safety Stand Down Day all staff are trained in ALICE, resource orientation and do a site walk to discuss hazards and resources specific to their site.  This is a full day of training that culminates with the last two hours being dedicated time for staff member training of choice and the chance to assess their own spaces.

Safety Stand Down Day - Teachers to Students - It's important that we extend the training to students at age appropriate levels.  During one of the first drills of the school year, teachers take the time to train students on SRP, incident response and methods for reporting concerns.

Monthly and Quarterly Security Meetings - We hold monthly meetings with our security teams.  We also know that it is critically important to have open lines of communication and strong relationships with our first responders,  community partners and surrounding school districts.  We meet quarterly to discuss incidents, share best practices and to do skill development.

Incident Command - When the unforgiving moment comes, education leaders need to be able to transition to functioning in the first responder world.  This consists primarily of knowing the structure, being familiar with the roles and responsibilities, understanding response protocols and being able to speak the language.  Key MSD leaders are trained in Incident Command and Unified Command.  We also use the online FEMA training modules and have taken a joint team of MSD leaders, the City Emergency Manager and fire and police personnel back to FEMA's National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland to train on Multi-hazard Emergency Planning For Schools. 

Leadership Development - We know that muscle memory and repetition, repetition, and repetition is the name of the game for proper reinforcement.   We train and reinforce key security topics with leaders in the MSD throughout the school year.