Emergency Preparedness

We take student safety seriously in the Gilford School District. To that end, the Emergency Preparedness Committee comprised of school personnel, police, and fire officials in conjunction with the New Hampshire Emergency Management Office has developed an Emergency Operations Plan. This plan provides an organized, systematic, and flexible approach to dealing with emergencies while providing optimum support for students, teachers and staff with minimal disruption of the education process. The plan outlines methods the Gilford School District will use to mitigate, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents.

In the event of an emergency at school, parents are advised to listen to the radio or log onto to the District website for details. (www.sau73.org) Please avoid calling the school as this will tie up emergency telephone lines. You will receive information from the sources above or via our emergency calling system on the place and time you can reunite with your child. Do not, unless instructed, drive to the school as this may inhibit emergency responders.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE (EPC)

Tim Goggin, Assistant Principal
Jessica Bishop - Assistant Principal
Tara Beauchemin - Middle School Principal
Jay Moody - Director of Information Technology
Kelly Caravona, Student Assistance Counselor
The School Resource Officer
Anthony Sperazzo, High School Principal
Kirk Beitler, Superintendent of Schools
Ken Mulleavey, Director of Building and Grounds
Our School Nurse Team
Danielle Bolduc, Elementary School Principal
Eric Bredbury, Corporal Prosecutor Gilford Police Department
Brad Ober, Deputy Chief Gilford Fire Department
Mike Balcom, Captain Gilford Fire Department
Rick Andrews, Captain Gilford Fire Department

 

FAQ Safety

What is Emergency Management?
Emergency management is the processes taken to reduce injury and facilitate the help of emergency workers. Emergency management takes into account events before, during, and after a potential hazard.

What is the Incident Command System?
The Incident Command System (ICS) is a method for managing emergencies. It is a system where specific jobs are assigned to individuals. Each job is known to be needed in an emergency. All three schools and the SAU have ICS posts.

How can I stay informed?
Emergency information, when necessary, would be broadcast using a number of media. Parents are encouraged to listen to local radio and televisions stations. Information may also be posted on the district website. (www.sau73.org)

What is a parent reunification site?
If public safety officials require that a school building be evacuated, students and staff members will be safely transported by bus to a designated parent-student reunification site. Parents will be informed of the reunification location via the local media and through school resources. At the reunification site, students will be released to their parents/ or parent's designee upon presentation of proper identification.

Why can't I be given the evacuation and parent reunification locations ahead of time?
Gilford does not release this information for safety purposes.

Who can pick up my children?
Children will not be released to individuals who are not authorized on the student's emergency card or who do not have written parent permission. School officials will ask for identification before the child is released to the individual(s) in the permission note.

Can I contact my child?
Parents are asked not to call the school in emergency situations so phone lines can remain accessible for handling the specific situation.

What about my child's medication?
The school nurse will take steps to ensure that your child receives his or her medication.

What are the Incident Command Posts and what do they do?

School Commander
The School Commander is solely responsible for emergency/disaster operations and shall remain at the Command Post to observe and direct all operations.

Operations Chief
The Operations Chief manages the direct response to the emergency/disaster which can include:

Site Facility Check/Security
Medical
Student Care
Student Release

Liaison Officer
The liaison officer is the point of contact for agency representatives from assisting organizations and agencies outside the school district and assists in coordinating the efforts of these agencies by ensuring the proper flow of information.


Public Information Officer(PIO)
The PIO acts as the official spokesperson for the school site in an emergency situation.

Site Facility Check/Security
Ensures that no action taken will endanger anyone.

Student Care Director
The Student Care Director ensures the safety of all students except those who are in the medical treatment area.

Medical
The Medical Team Leader is responsible for providing emergency medical response, first aid, and counseling. He or she informs the Operations Chief when the situation requires health or medical services the staff cannot provide and ensures that appropriate actions are taken in the event of deaths.

Logistics Chief
The Logistics Section is responsible for providing facilities, services, personnel, equipment, and materials in support of the incident.

Student Release
Ensures the reunification of students with their parents or authorized adult through separate Request and Release Gates.

Current Safety Measures

The Gilford School District continues to refine its emergency preparedness planning and to be vigilant about the safety of its students and employees. Over recent years the Emergency Preparedness Committee has spent considerable time and effort on various safety measures. Some of those efforts include:

  • Emergency Preparedness Training
  • Development of an Emergency Operations Plan
  • Strict visitor controls
  • Employee IDs
  • Security Cameras
  • School Resource Officers
  • Go Bags
  • Drills: Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, Lock Down, Stay Put, and Drop and Cover, etc
  • Technologies for communication


Basic Drills All emergencies require specific actions to be taken. These actions come down to five basic drills. Schools practice these drills throughout the school year so that like fire drills, the procedures become routine for students.

  1. EVACUATION- When all students and staff need to exit the building
  2. REVERSE EVACUATION- When students and staff are outside and need to return inside the building
  3. LOCK DOWN- When all students and staff need to stay in rooms and out of the halls
  4. DROP AND COVER- When students and staff need to take cover and reduce visibility
  5. SHELTER IN PLACE- When students and staff need to remain inside and the building needs to protect from outside and inside conditions.
The School District of Gilford updated its safety plan to include a safety protocol called ALICE that will be implemented in the unlikely event of an armed intruder in one of our school buildings. This training encourages staff and students to respond based on their situation, rather than rely on centralized instructions in dynamic times of crisis.

ALICE is a federally endorsed safety protocol. The letters ALICE stand for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate:

Alert – inform people of the threat, giving as much information as possible.

Lockdown – Students and Staff can choose to lockdown and barricade the room that they are in if they determine that it is not safe to evacuate.

Inform – pass on as much information as possible to others and to First Responders, including contacting 911.

Counter – an effort of last resort, if an armed intruder is able to get into the space that they are in; students are being trained to use every effort to stop the intruder instead of being passive victims.

Evacuate – If it is safe to do so, all are encouraged to evacuate the building, and remove themselves from the threat.

Learn more about ALICE

Under ALICE training, staff and students are oriented to different options to respond to a school intruder who is intent on doing harm. In certain circumstances, the “lock the door and hide” strategy might be appropriate. In some cases, the teacher and students might take precautions to barricade the entrance(s) of the classroom. Under certain conditions, it might be the best decision for the teacher and students to flee the building. It is the intention of ALICE that the strategies we provide will increase the chances that our staff and students might survive if a terrible circumstance of an armed intruder ever were to occur.


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