Sticker Shock

Palo Alto Weekly
April 5, 2006

STICKER SHOCK ... So how do police officers get kindergarten students to follow orders in the event of an emergency? It turns out they use stickers. Last week, the Palo Alto City/School Liaison Committee received an update on the city's readiness for emergencies. During the discussion, Carla Holtzclaw, a consultant for the Palo Alto Unified School District and the president of Code Red Training Associates, explained schools' 20-minute evacuation procedure. "It's very, very quick," she said. But the trickiest part is the youngest students. After one drill, one SWAT team leader told Holtzclaw, "We couldn't get the kindergartens out. They all wanted to hold our hands." The answer - Palo Alto SWAT leaders now carry stickers, Holtzclaw said. "If somebody just stands at the end," she said, "all the officers who are evacuating have to say is, 'Go to that officer and you'll get your sticker.' And the kids just go.'"