School Safety: On Thursday Iowa City School District to Run Mock Intruder ALICE Safety Drill Training

Heads up parents, if you hear of  an intruder at your local school district on Thursday, it is more than likely than they are supposed to be there as part of a scheduled safety drill.

Iowa City School District Media Release

 On Thursday, August 15th the Iowa City Community School District, in conjunction with local law enforcement, will conduct mock intruder drills with school district staff at several schools throughout the District.  

All District staff had the opportunity to participate in ALICE training (Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate) during the 20120-13 school year. Many staff expressed a desire to further practice the skills that they acquired during the ALICE training.   This drill will allow staff to practice their training in a realistic setting without students.  The classrooms will be empty during the drill because students remain on summer break.

The school has been working closely with local law enforcement agencies on safety planning.  Area law enforcement and fire agencies have previously assisted with table-top exercises at the schools and will be part of these training exercises. Careful planning has occurred between the District and law enforcement for this drill with a focus on protecting students in the case of an intruder.

“The school district has asked for assistance in facilitating and critiquing practical exercises on intruder response.  The Iowa City Police Department and other area law enforcement agencies have dedicated trainers for this purpose.   We have been working collaboratively for the past year in an effort to make the schools as safe as possible.” says Bill Campbell, Lieutenant Iowa City Police.

Superintendent Steve Murley states, “The District and law enforcement have been reviewing building safety plans with staff and this exercise provides the next step in security and safety planning.  This will be an opportunity for building staff to practice their safety plans with the assistance of local law enforcement.”

The two-hour mock intruder drill will take place at 20 school buildings during the day. The rest of the school buildings will conduct a drill at a later time this fall.  All campuses will be closed during the exercise. School and law enforcement officials will be available for the press at 4:15 pm on August 15th at West High School to answer questions.