Standard Response Protocol

A new safety protocol is in effect at Bemidji Area Schools and TrekNorth Junior and Senior High School. Called the Standard Response Protocol, or SRP for short, this action plan works to minimize confusion and maximize safety.

Hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate, shelter – these five words sum up the new standard response protocol at ISD 31. With this action-based plan, the Bemidji school district aims to make its safety measures easy to understand and implement.

Missy Dodds, a school safety advocate and a survivor of the 2005 Red Lake High School shooting, is excited and grateful for ISD 31’s actions in communicating and utilizing this streamlined crisis plan.

Students and staff have worked on the Standard Response Protocol since the beginning of the school year. This includes the cooperation of Bemidji law enforcement and first responders. Through this effort, most concerns of what to do have dissipated.

Superintendent Tim Lutz encourages parents to look over this new protocol with their children, as the steps apply to the parents as well as the students.

The program comes from the I Love U Guys Foundation. Their crisis response program is utilized in more than 30,000 schools in the United States and Canada. By redefining crisis communication for public spaces, a sixth scenario can be achieved: reunification.

The Standard Response Protocol can be used in different situations, from power outages or hallway disturbances to dangerous threats. The Bemidji school district sent out letters describing the new crisis protocol to every family.

More information about the SRP and the I Love U Guys Foundation can be found on their website.

By — Mary Balstad