"I'm not going to take credit for good luck," Brian Quinn told the Living Sky School Division School Board last week when reporting on the division's critical incident procedures.
This past school year, there was only one emergency response reported, he said, and that was at a perimeter level lockdown. There are also exterior and interior door lockdown levels.
Quinn, one of the division's three superintendents of curriculum and instruction, said since the amalgamation that created Living Sky, the development of the critical incident procedure has been ongoing and is now well established.
It's probably time, he said, to review the handbook and lockdown procedure. In 2008, Quinn attended a national conference on safe schools to find out the latest best practices and he suggested it's time to do so again.
At the time he attended the 2008 conference, it was indicated the next stage would be risk analysis.
"Basically, that's profiling," he said.
Outlining the timeline of the critical incident procedure to the board, Quinn said an emergency response handbook was created in 2006 from the various handbooks of the divisions that amalgamated to form Living Sky.
In 2008, he attended the National Conference on Safe Schools and, with input from the RCMP, a lockdown procedure was developed.
Intercom upgrades were also begun with a goal of establishing up two-way communication in all instructional areas and one-way communication in non-student areas.
In 2009, a protocol was developed for communication within Living Sky facilities and its partners in the case of an emergency response.
The procedure has developed from the use of codes and practice without students to a more expedient use of clear language and student involvement in practices, just as with fire drills, said Quinn.
While the critical incident response system seems to be well established, Quinn said, "I hope it never has to be tested."
