Prioritizing Safety
School safety is a top priority at All Saints Catholic Academy. The school has a robust Emergency Operations Plan designed to address and prepare for various types of emergencies, including weather emergencies, fire or hazardous material emergencies, active shooter/intruder emergencies, and more. The EOP is updated annually to align with evolving best practices and ensure the procedures described within are suitable for the needs of the school.
Critical aspect our emergency prevention and preparedness include:
- Closed campus: Our campus is closed to the community during school hours. All exterior doors remain locked.
- Visitor policy: All visitors must be screened via intercom prior to entrance, and must sign in at the main lobby.
- Safety drills: We participate in regular fire (egress) drills, “Clear the Halls” drills, relocation drills, and ALICE drills.
- ALICE Training: All students and staff are trained annually in the ALICE Training program.
- Medical emergency preparedness: All ASCA staff are required to maintain valid CPR, AED, and First Aid certification. Staff also participate in Stop the Bleed training periodically. We have an AED on site for cardiac emergencies, as well as severe bleeding kits.
- Knox Box: Installed in 2025, this box allows emergency responders to access the building in an emergency.
The ALICE Training Program
All Saints Catholic Academy implemented the ALICE Training program in 2017-2018. ALICE teaches organizations and individuals how to proactively respond to an aggressive intruder or active shooter event. ALICE is an acronym that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. This approach provides users with options, and offers an alternative to the traditional “lockdowns” of the past (lock the door, turn off the lights, and hide in the corner).
Our Head of School, Mrs. Jen Nordenson, is a certified ALICE instructor, and the school partners closely with local law enforcement agencies who assist in emergency training and preparedness. Staff receive both hands-on and e-learning training in ALICE annually.
A huge part of ALICE Training includes how to teach these skills to children in a non-frightening and age-appropriate way. Our school administrators and staff handle this very carefully. Younger students often enjoy listening to the story “I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared” by Julia Cook, which teaches them ALICE strategies through a fun story about a school of ants who must participate in a new school drill called “The Sheep, the Shepherd, and the Wolf.” Older students are taught the five ALICE strategies, so that they will know what to do if ever in a violent critical incident, whether at school or in the grocery store. ALICE drills usually begin as informational and evolve throughout the year depending on student readiness. Many students express that they feel better and safer after learning ALICE strategies.
We want our school to be the safest it can possibly be. It is our goal to create and maintain a positive, healthy, and safe learning environment for each of our students, so we practice and prepare, but we do not anticipate.