Safety & Security

PVSD is strongly committed to school safety. As part of this commitment we are continuously assessing and improving our safety procedures and programs. As a District, we have adopted the Standard Response Protocols (SRP) as outlined by the I Love You Guys Foundation

This SRP provides consistent language, colorful visuals and specific instructions – all of which support our schools in communication and response during emergency situations. Our schools will practice these responses so that students, faculty and staff become accustomed to each of the five actions:

  • Secure: This action is meant to protect students and staff from a threat that is outside the school, and involves making sure everyone is/remains inside the building.  
  • Lockdown: This action protects students and staff from a threat inside the building and involves organizing students inside their classrooms, locking the doors and remaining out of sight. 
  • Evacuation: This action moves students and staff out of the building to escape a threat inside, such as a fire.
  • Shelter: This action occurs during a weather event, natural disaster, bomb or hazardous materials spill. Students and staff move to specified locations within the building and protect themselves.
  • Hold: This action is meant to move staff and students out of hallways and common areas to maintain safe passage; such as allowing first responders clear and quick passage to support someone needing immediate care.

FAQs

The I Love You Guys Foundation provides easy to understand and visual standard response protocols (SRP) free to school districts across the nation.  Within our District, all schools follow the same SRP, allowing us to have a common language and establish a common understanding for how we respond in emergency situations.   

The District addresses safety and security issues on a regular basis through its Finance Committee of the Whole.  This committee meets monthly, during the work session, typically the first Monday of each month.  Safety conversations also occur internally at the building level as part of school safety committee conversation facilitated by building administrators.  Conversations also occur at the district level. 

Each of our buildings practices emergency drills on a regular basis. Posters, like the one on the left, are on display in all district buildings and provide a visual for students and staff as well as promote the use of common terminology across all schools. 

In addition to these steps, our elementary and middle schools focus upon character education and positive school interactions through their Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) frameworks.   Our high school is beginning to implement restorative practices as a way to more positively interact with students and modify behaviors.  All schools maintain an awareness of bullying and work diligently to eliminate it.   

RHF is an additional safety response that the District added to its SRP several years ago. RHF was developed by the Department of Homeland Security and is an options-based approach that allows for flexibility when responding to a crisis. Training encourages situational awareness and encourages participants to think about how their response to a crisis might change in the moment, depending upon the circumstances. 

No, we will not be emphasizing this part of the response in any drill that is practiced. Instead, what we want faculty and staff to impress upon students is to be aware of what is happening around them and know that responses and/or directions for responses may change depending upon the situation. 

The District will make every effort to communicate information in a timely manner via any or all of the following: email, text, phone, district website, social media.

Contact your school principal about the emergency preparedness plan in response to an emergency or crisis in their respective school. Families are also welcome to reach out to Mr. Dean Miller (dmiller@pvsd.org), District Safety Supervisor, with questions about school safety.  Please be aware that, in some cases, we may not be able to share every detail of our emergency preparedness plans for security reasons.  Families are welcome to learn about our basic framework and guidelines.  

Comprehensive emergency preparedness plans include how students exit the building during an evacuation, and where students would report during a shelter in place drill, rally points, reunification, and use of school public address/automatic call systems.  The District collaborates with local law enforcements and fire companies.  

The first step is to be informed about existing plans and procedures. Effective emergency preparedness plans are routinely revisited to identify areas in need of improvement. It is also important to make sure you give school officials accurate contact information for your family.

Talk to your children about what to do, where to meet and how to contact you should an emergency situation arise. Find ways to collaborate effectively with school staff and fellow parents and community members to best prepare for emergency situations. You are welcome to attend Finance Committee of the Whole meetings to learn more about our ongoing efforts. 

Safe2Say Something

In 2019, the state rolled out the Safe2Say Something anonymous reporting system. This system allows school community members to report safety concerns related to school violence and/or student crisis. Below are three ways to report a safety concern.  Click on the image for more information or visit: Safe2Say.