Reading, Stoneham and Wakefield Schools – Stoneham, MA
A one-size-fits-all-situations lockdown procedure is becoming a thing of the past at Reading, Stoneham and Wakefield schools. “The previous policy was a straight lockdown situation,” said Reading Superintendent John Doherty. “With ALICE, there are options available to the adult and the students based on the situation.” ALICE is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. The concept is that students and faculty are given the necessary information about a dangerous situation to decide whether to go into lockdown, evacuate or, as a last resort, proactively try to stop an armed intruder. “With ALICE, there is a lot more communication, not only at the school but between police and administration,” Doherty said. “It gives the staff members more choices with the information they have. Those who are injured or killed the most are more static, they didn’t take advantage of an opportunity [to evacuate] when they had it.” Read more
