Aurora Public Schools will soon transition from summer break into the 2025-26 school year. We are thrilled to welcome back our students, families and staff while also starting the year off right with a brief look at our Standard Response Protocol (SRP), the foundational element of our safety plan in APS. Safety is always our top priority, and we are committed to keeping our community informed about the support our district provides to ensure students and staff feel safe.
The SRP was developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation, which was established in memory of a high school student who lost her life in a Colorado school shooting in 2006. The student, Emily, sent text messages to her parents that read “I love u guys.” Her final messages sparked the inspiration to create a lasting imprint on how schools and other public places should respond to emergencies and potential threats. The simplicity of the protocol’s action steps — Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate and Shelter — makes it easy to memorize and implement.
APS Director of Safety and Security Kevin Childs believes the SRP, now in its second year at the district, eliminates any potential confusion.
“The second you hear this word you think of the action,” Childs said. “So, adding these five SRPs was something that was super important to me.”
A benefit of a SRP is the flexibility it gives schools to make decisions about the right course of action in any situation. For example, a school leader may notice something in the hallway and feel the need to handle it without interrupting the school day. That leader can activate a Hold right away without waiting for our district security team to act first.
“I love the fact that now we give schools tools to help them manage crises a little better, and I think our building leaders have really appreciated it because it’s like a big ‘time out,’” Childs said. Staff can assess the situation, use their judgement on next steps and maintain as much fluidity and continuity of the day as possible.
The SRP is also supported by some of the grant- and bond-funded safety and security improvements APS made recently, including the installation of new public address systems and software that offer flexibility and scalability for announcements to be broadcast seamlessly across a network. Schools will also have digital displays in classrooms and other places throughout the building to help those who are deaf and hard of hearing. By next fall, that new software will be in all school buildings and will be able to have automated messages played over the PA system for all five SRP protocols. Our safety and security team is working to have the messages delivered in different languages as well.
SRP posters are available in different languages throughout APS to help everyone be educated on the process.
“We’re valuing our kids’ safety and quite frankly, I don’t think there’s a better way,” Childs said.