Holbrook Public Schools – Holbrook, MA
Miles and years away from unspeakable school tragedies, such as Columbine and Sandy Hook, the local school district in Holbrook prepares for any potential threat. For the new school year, Holbrook is implementing the ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) program, as recommended by the Massachusetts Task Force Report in its report on school safety, which was presented to Gov. Deval Patrick in July. Holbrook Superintendent Patricia Lally said she was first introduced to ALICE while she was on the Crisis Management Team as principal of Tewksbury High School. “After Sandy Hook, people didn’t want to be sitting ducks anymore,” she said. “This protocol made sense to me to save the kids and to make sure they get out safely. We had talked about it and now we finally have the opportunity to introduce and it gives us something else we can count on in the case of an emergency. ALICE is a program that allows people to defend themselves instead of being victims,” Smith said. Read more
