Jeanné Collins
Superintendent of Schools, Burlington
April 18, 2007

School Safety

Burlington schools wishes to send its condolences and concern to the students, faculty and families of Virginia Tech University following this week's tragedy. With every sad and tragic incident that occurs on school grounds, as a district, we stop and review our district safety plans, working with local police and fire departments to ensure we are making our school community as safe as we can. As recently as last week, Burlington schools experienced a modified lockdown of Hunt Middle School and C P Smith School due to a situation that was occurring in the nearby community. This morning, our district safety team met with Burlington Police and agreed to update parents on our procedures should an incident occur in Burlington schools.

The Burlington School District has had a School Safety Committee in place for many years in order to coordinate and practice consistent responses to potential incidents. Each time we practice, we learn something that helps us to become better prepared.

Evacuation Drill: An evacuation drill is used when there is potential threat within the building and it is determined that students would be safer outside.
Fire drills are our most common form of evacuation. Other times when evacuations may be used would include bomb threats or internal building concerns such as a gas leak. Typically, evacuation drills last until we have accounted for all students and we return to the building after it has been determined that it is safe. In rare instances, it may be necessary to relocate students to another site. Parents should listen to TV and radio stations for further information regarding early dismissal or pick-up procedures from the relocation site.

Lockdown Drill: A lockdown drill is used when there is a potential threat within the building or outside of the building and it is determined that students would be safer inside.
When we go into a full lockdown, teachers lock doors to the corridors, secure any outside exits and turn off the classroom lights. Students have been taught to find a location within the room where they are not visible from any doors or windows. Everyone is expected to remain silent during the duration of a full lockdown. Police would be at the scene, command posts would be established, and no one is permitted to enter or leave the building.
A modified lockdown is used when there is potential threat outside of the building and it is determined that students would be safer inside. Last week, we received an alert from BPD that there was possibly an armed person in our immediate vicinity. During a modified lockdown, teachers lock doors to the corridors and secure any outside exits. Students stay in their classroom, teaching continues, and we update students and staff as we learn more information. During a modified lockdown, no one is permitted to enter or leave the building.

During any lockdown, parents should listen to TV or radio stations for further information. Parents should not come to school, as this may interfere with safety procedures that are being implemented. Also, parents should not call the school, as this ties up phone lines that may be needed for emergency purposes. While we have a policy that students not have cell phones at school, we are aware that some students do have cell phones turned off and in their bags or lockers. Students will not be permitted to use cell phones during a lockdown, as the sound of talking or the ringing of a phone could further jeopardize their safety. During a serious incident, it is important that all information is channeled through the trained and informed adults who are responding to the incident. This would typically include Burlington Police and Fire, school administration and district administration.

We believe that the practices that have been implemented will increase student safety and help us in our responses to serious incidents. Please discuss this with your child and if you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me through the Superintendent's office or email. Contact me at 865.5332 or superintendent@bsdvt.org