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Rockport committee hears overview of school safety teams and a nonpublic emergency operations plan
Summary
Superintendent described district emergency structures — DIRTT and BTAM — regional training, an in-progress CIOP emergency operations manual (nonpublic), and plans for staff training and tabletop exercises.
Superintendent Mark Branko outlined Rockport’s school-safety framework to the committee, describing a district emergency response team (DIRTT), a broader behavioral threat assessment and management group (BTAM) and an ongoing district emergency operations plan (CIOP) that will remain nonpublic.
Branko told the committee, “We have what’s called, affectionately DIRT...the district emergency response team,” and said DIRTT includes the police chief, town administrator, director of student services (who also serves as the school safety liaison), and building principals. He described BTAM as a roughly 20-person team — educators, counselors, psychologists and BCBAs — that meets regularly and runs scenario-based training alongside regional partners. Branko cited a recent regional BTAM training that included an FBI special agent who led a case-study discussion.
The superintendent said the CIOP is a comprehensive manual-size emergency operations plan that will not be made public but will guide internal training; the district plans staged staff professional development and tabletop exercises. Committee members asked about student communication, SRO involvement in assessments, and potential cross-community drill coordination; staff said some details remain operational and cannot be publicly discussed.
