SRP 2021: A Must Read on the Evolution of Our Flagship Program

August 13, 2020 / by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation

pat ian interviews
Left: Pat Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer at Adams 12 Five Star Schools (Colorado)
Right: Ian Lopez, Cherry Creek School District’s (Colorado) new Director of Security and Safety

What Experts Are Saying About the SRP 2021

Recently, we announced the launch of the Standard Response Protocol’s latest update, the SRP 2021. It’s great to see many of our friends and partners out there already downloading the new materials and reaching out to have conversations about this important update.

We spent some time with two people central to the SRP 2021’s creation last week, interviewing them for an upcoming video about this very topic. We thought it would be helpful to hear—in their words—why updating the SRP is so important. 

Pat Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer at Adams 12 Five Star Schools (Colorado) and Ian Lopez, Cherry Creek School District’s (Colorado) Director of Security and Safety had a hand in why we evolved the SRP. 

Here’s the blog post that details the changes of the SRP 2021. The changes in a nutshell are:

  • Lockout is now Secure, increasing the precision of the protocol and clarifying ADA interpretation.
  • Hold is now an additional protocol, moving this important action from SRP Extended (™)  into the main operational guidance.
  • More guidance for law enforcement.
  • Practical, tested, proven, suggestions for effective communication
  • Pragmatic, straightforward, language to use with parents

When it comes to evolving  safety protocols, Pat had this to say:

“The origin of the SRP has always had a home in origin-based information. Through the process of talking with first responders, teachers, parents, students, and administrators from the outset we learned that response protocols like the SRP will always have to evolve. As we unfortunately continue to see acts of violence in our schools, we find the opportunities to learn from them, and to teach something new to our students and our staff. So it’s constantly evolving, and it’s a path of continuous improvement. It will always be that way.

There’s never a good time to make these kinds of changes. But this is important. It needs to change, and changing  now makes good sense.”

As a former police officer, Ian agreed. “If you leave your practices the same you become stagnant.  SRP 2021 allows us to be more flexible, gives us more options. I think it will give our students, staff and administrators a greater understanding of what they can do during different circumstances.

At a meeting The “I Love U Guys” Foundation had with several of the Colorado Front Range Security directors, we expressed that from a law enforcement and school perspective the term Lockout and Lockdown are commonly confused. When I came to the Cherry Creek School District, I commonly heard staff say “We were on lockdown yesterday.” I would ask, “You were? Are you sure you weren’t on lockout?” And they’d say “Yeah yeah yeah, lockout. Well it’s all the same.” They’re not the same. They’re very different.”

Pat was unmistakable in his support for changing Lockout to Secure, the primary change in the SRP 2021.

“If we could go back, we may have used Secure (instead of Lockout) from the beginning. It’s time to make the change, and I’m glad we’re doing it. Lockout (now secure) is actually used fairly frequently, it’s not uncommon to use it three or four times a week. 

We’ve had situations where the dispatcher from one of the law enforcement agencies we work with called for a lockdown instead of a lockout. There’s a significant difference there. A lockdown means there’s an active incident inside the school. 

A lockout (now secure) can mean there’s just something going on in the community, so get the kids inside, keep them safe, go about business as usual. A false Lockdown can mean as much as a day lost of learning and unnecessary emotional expense from our students and staff. Moving from Lockdown to Secure will eliminate this confusion and reduce the impact on our day.”

Ian finds SRP 2021 to actually be in better alignment with his district. “I can tell you as a former law enforcement officer Lockdown was often confused with Lockout. In my role with Cherry Creek Schools, our district has always used the term “Secure Perimeter” instead of Lockout. The SRP is actually more in line with what we use.”

It’s in our DNA to constantly adapt and evolve our programs. You all are the experts. We are but conduits. So please keep us informed about how you’re using the SRP 2021, what you’re finding works, and what might need improvement. Reach out anytime.


Learn more about The “I Love U Guys” Foundation, and follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Categories: All, Updates

Written by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation


Comments are closed.

logo