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Red Oak ISD says fall safety week tested protocols; district fixed an InformaCast outage
Summary
Chief Prasifka told the Red Oak ISD board that the district conducted a fall safety week the week of Sept. 2 to test its standard response protocol, identified a real-world drill issue and resolved an InformaCast announcement outage; the district also expanded "Stop the Bleed" training.
Chief Prasifka, who gave the board an update on the district's fall safety week, said the district held the exercise the week of Sept. 2 to test all parts of its standard response protocol and to provide campuses flexibility to complete required elements later in the year. "The state requires that we test all parts of the standard response protocol once in the fall and once in the spring," Chief Prasifka said.
The tests included monthly fire drills, which Prasifka said must be held every month when students are in attendance for at least 10 days. He said the district runs two full protocol tests annually—one in fall, one in spring—and allows campuses to schedule remaining test elements at other times in the school year.
Prasifka described one drill where students sheltered in a small built-in closet and were not found during the initial search, which he said illustrates the importance of realistic drills and the potential for outside responders not to know campus layouts. "You test reality, and sometimes reality just finds you," he said.
The district experienced one technical problem during the exercises: an InformaCast overhead announcement system froze on the "lock" slide at some elementary campuses. IT personnel reset the server and installed a pending firmware update, which Prasifka said resolved the issue for the remainder of the week.
Prasifka also said the district added "Stop the Bleed" training this year following recommendations from a district vulnerability assessment. "Sergeant Fullerton, who's a Stop the Bleed instructor, basically did every — he had to teach every class," Prasifka said, noting that the training is a recommended addition rather than a state requirement.
Superintendent Miss Sanford introduced the update and offered the board an opportunity to ask questions; none were recorded in the transcript. Prasifka said the district will complete after-action reports to identify improvements and thanked campus emergency management staff for coordinating the drills.
Less critical details: Prasifka noted there were no door issues this year and that the district intends to continue refining scenario realism in drills.
