Get Ready. Stay Ready.

Those four words highlight the importance of Alief Independent School District’s partnership with Harris County Department of Education’s (HCDE) Center for Safe and Secure Schools (CSSS). That partnership went a step further on Oct. 22, as district administration and department leaders met with CSSS for a tabletop workshop. The teams examined Alief ISD’s emergency management operations and conducted a real-life exercise that featured coordination and collaboration among district leadership to assess an active shooter situation, campus evacuation and student reunification.

Established in 1999, CSSS partners with federal, state and local agencies to take the lead in developing increased safety and security strategies, standards and best practices for K-12 school environments for students and staff. Among its offerings are training and certification programs, safety reviews and audits, and emergency management planning and operations.

With Alief ISD, CSSS Director Leslie Etheridge and her team assessed the emergency management and operations plans, and used the tabletop exercise as an opportunity to go over additions and revisions. District leadership even identified new challenges in real time, and made adjustments during the exercise.

“Today was much needed,” said Dr. Anthony Mays Alief ISD superintendent. “The fact that the team got to unpack some ideas and question some assumptions worked out well. It added clarity to the systems that we thought we had strong that need to be strengthened even more.”

During the workshop, department leaders placed vehicle action figures and labeled signage on district and campus maps. They represented where first responders and emergency personnel would deploy, how school buses would transport evacuating students and posts for command, staging and reunification. Pieces also accounted for translators, media and counseling services.

Following the exercise, the teams discussed areas for improvement and action items to take moving forward.

“The partnership is very important. What they’re is doing is running the scenarios in the background and then bringing them to us so that we can look at them, train for them and prepare,” Alief ISD Chief of Police Eric Robins said. “We hope nothing like this ever happens but thanks to the Center for Safe and Secure Schools, we’re able to see these situations and practice for them.”