SAFETY AND SECURITY
OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY
The safety and well-being of every student is our highest priority. We are dedicated to creating secure, supportive environments where all children can learn, grow, and thrive. Keeping our schools safe is a shared, ongoing commitment. It means secure buildings and emergency preparedness, strong partnerships with local police and fire departments, and staff trained to recognize and respond to concerns. It also means a culture where students feel known and cared for, because a truly safe school is built on relationships, not just protocols.
SAFETY & SECURITY STAFF
DEPUTY SVOBODA
Central Attendance Area School Resource Officer
DEPUTY DUNNEBACK
Northern Attendance Area School Resource Officer
DEPUTY CZAIKA
Eastern Attendance Area School Resource Officer
OUR APPROACH
Keeping our schools safe takes more than any single system or policy. It’s the combination of dedicated people, dependable tools, and ongoing preparation working together every day. Together, these efforts, our personnel, infrastructure, and readiness, reflect our ongoing commitment to a safe, secure learning environment for every FHPS student. What’s outlined here is just a highlight; there’s much more happening behind the scenes every day to keep our schools safe.
PERSONNEL
Safety starts with the people committed to it. Everyone in our schools plays a role in student safety, from counselors and social workers to supervisors of student support systems, alongside every teacher and staff member who works with students daily. Forest Hills Public Schools also employs a Director of Safety and Security to oversee districtwide efforts, along with three dedicated School Resource Officers who build relationships with students while providing an on-site law enforcement presence. Our Safety and Security Committee brings together staff and community partners to continually evaluate and strengthen our practices.
INFRASTRUCTURE
We rely on modern technology to support fast, effective response. This includes security cameras across our buildings, staff radios for real-time communication, and a crisis badge alert system that allows every staff member to quickly summon help in an emergency. We also use a volunteer management system that conducts background checks, helping ensure that anyone working with students has been properly screened.
READINESS
Being ready means planning ahead. We follow a Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management framework to identify and respond to potential concerns before they escalate, and we regularly train staff and students in emergency protocols, including the Standard Response Protocol.
STANDARD RESPONSE PROTOCOL (SRP)
Michigan public and non-public schools statewide are required to implement the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), developed by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation. Rather than reacting to individual scenarios, the SRP takes an all-hazards approach built around five plain-language actions—Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter—each paired with a clear directive. This shared vocabulary means that whatever the situation, students, staff, and first responders all know exactly what to do, with no ambiguity and no wasted time. Forest Hills Public Schools was one of the first districts in the state to adopt the SRP, and our teachers, staff, and students have been training on this protocol since 2024.
STANDARD RESPONSE PROTOCOL ACTIONS
HOLD
“In Your Classroom or Area”
Students are trained to:
- Clear the hallways and remain in
their area or room until the “All
Clear” is announced - Do business as usual
Adults and staff are trained to:
- Close and lock the door
- Account for students and adults
- Do business as usual
SECURE
“Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors”
Students are trained to:
- Return to inside of building
- Do business as usual
Adults and staff are trained to:
- Bring everyone indoors
- Lock the outside doors
- Increase situational awareness
- Account for students and adults
- Do business as usual
LOCKDOWN
“Locks, Lights, Out of Sight”
Students are trained to:
- Move away from sight
- Maintain silence
- Do not open the door
Adults and staff are trained to:
- Recover students from hallway if possible
- Lock the classroom door
- Turn out the lights
- Move away from sight
- Maintain silence
- Do not open the door
- Prepare to evade or defend
EVACUATE
“To a Location”
Students are trained to:
- Leave stuff behind if required to
- If possible, bring their phone
- Follow instructions
Adults and staff are trained to:
- Bring roll sheet and Go Bag (unless instructed not to
bring anything with them, dependent on reason for
evacuation.) - Lead students to Evacuation location
- Account for students and adults
- Report injuries or problems using Red Card/Green
Card method.
SHELTER
“State Hazard and Safety Strategy”
Hazards might include:
- Tornado
- Hazmat
- Earthquake
- Tsunami
Safety Strategies might include:
- Evacuate to shelter area
- Seal the room
- Drop, cover and hold
- Get to high ground
Students are trained in:
- Appropriate Hazards and Safety Strategies
Adults and staff are trained in:
- Appropriate Hazards and Safety Strategies
- Accounting for students and adults
- Report injuries or problems using Red Card/Green
Card method.
OK2SAY
OK2SAY is the student safety program that allows students to confidentially report tips on potential harm or criminal activities directed at students, school employees, and schools. It uses a comprehensive communication system to facilitate tip sharing among students, parents, school personnel, community mental health service programs, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and law enforcement officials about harmful behaviors that threaten to disrupt the learning environment.
