Yankton School District to adopt 'I Love You Guys' protocol, simplifies lockdown language and trains staff

Dr. Kendall, superintendent of Yankton School District 63-3, told parents and community members the district will adopt the I Love You Guys standard response protocol to simplify emergency language and improve communication with families.

"One of the most important things that we can do and we take very serious is the safety of your kids and the safety of our staff here in the school district," Dr. Kendall said, introducing the program and promising follow-up materials and a recorded version of the presentation.

Tony Vester, principal at Lincoln Elementary, described how a Forward 2029 committee traveled to Duluth for training and recommended the district use the I Love You Guys materials in place of some older terminology. Vester outlined the SRP's five actions — hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter — and said the change is meant to reduce uncertainty and anxiety for students and parents.

"We do a lot of things really well," Vester said. "Now that being said, ... we can always do better, and we wanna figure out how." He added the district will provide staff training for bus drivers, custodians and other employees so everyone shares the same baseline.

A school resource officer identified as James explained practical expectations for students and first responders and cited research on incident duration: "70% of these are over within 5 minutes. 90% are over in 10 minutes," he said, using those figures to frame the district's emphasis on rapid response and reunification planning.

Officials described changes to phone-use guidance during incidents: staff will initially silence phones and limit personal communication, but parents can expect controlled, situational opportunities for students to text that they are safe once staff and responders judge it appropriate. Vester said reunification plans (the Standard Reunification Method) are already in place with law enforcement and that multiple reunification sites have been identified but will not all be publicized to avoid crowding.

The district also noted previous training in ALICE (alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate) and said ALICE procedures will continue to be used where appropriate and will be integrated into the broader SRP language rather than discarded.

Vester said the Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security contact Brett Garland has indicated support for statewide I Love You Guys work, which the district expects will add validated resources. Vester announced a full-staff I Love You Guys training in October and additional SRM reunification training to follow.

On notification timing, officials said that law enforcement will assess on-site conditions and determine when transport to reunification sites is safe; once that assessment is made, a principal or the superintendent would notify parents with the location and instructions. Dr. Kendall also pointed to new electronic message boards at school sites as another tool to communicate quickly.

Officials gave examples of prior decisions to notify parents — including a fugitive-related police operation near Beadle Elementary and a local gas leak — to explain why timing and content of messages vary with circumstance. The session ended with administrators promising to send handouts and recordings to attendees and to make themselves available for follow-up questions.

The district did not present any formal policy changes that night; rather, administrators described procedural rollouts, training dates and communication practices. No motions or votes were recorded.