The San Mateo County Office of Education is launching a school safety training series Friday, July 31, and demand is already outpacing supply.

The first session sold out within a day of being announced.

The SMCOE's Safe and Supportive Schools program posted the training schedule Thursday, July 30, offering sessions running through Tuesday, Sept. 29 that cover emergency preparedness, behavioral threat assessment, and campus response for site leaders, safety teams, and certified trainers. All 23 San Mateo County school districts participate in the Big Five protocol, including the San Mateo-Foster City School District and the San Mateo Union High School District.

Two sessions open the series Friday at the SMCOE campus, 101 Twin Dolphin Drive in Redwood City. The Big Five 2026-27 Update Training, scheduled for 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., covers new laws and protocol changes affecting the county's shared emergency response protocol, including wildfire evacuation and emergency communications planning. That session, open to certified Big Five trainers, was already listed as sold out on Eventbrite as of Thursday.

A second Friday session focuses on wildfire preparedness planning specifically for site leaders in high or very high fire hazard zones. It covers new wildfire response protocols for schools, a decision-making guide, and evacuation communication procedures.

What is The Big Five?

The Big Five is a set of emergency response procedures adopted by all San Mateo County school districts and all local law enforcement agencies. Created by the county's Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities, the protocol standardizes how schools and first responders communicate during emergencies. It has since been adopted by other counties across California.

"Superintendent Magee's unwavering commitment to a culture of safety and disaster preparedness across all educational institutions in San Mateo County has created a model for the region, as well as school systems statewide and beyond," Jake Wolf, assistant secretary for emergency services and sustainability, said in October 2025 when the SMCOE was named "Medium County Office of the Year" by the California County Superintendents.

Remaining sessions

School staff who missed Friday's sessions still have several opportunities:

  • Aug. 6 — Big Five update training for out-of-county trainers
  • Aug. 18 — Big Five School Team Training for site and district safety teams, with tabletop exercises covering hazard responses, trauma-informed practices, student release guidance, and incident command structure
  • Aug. 19 — Student Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Level 1 Team Training, covering risk factors for targeted school violence and completing threat assessment protocols
  • Sept. 9 — Stop the Bleed and Big Five Introduction for new and returning staff
  • Sept. 15 — Identifying Students of Concern overview
  • Sept. 29 — Big Five and Stop the Bleed for after-school and on-campus programs

The Stop the Bleed sessions teach staff to recognize life-threatening bleeding and respond quickly to control it.

Registration for remaining sessions is open through Eventbrite at smcoe.org.