Schools are among the very safest places for students to be. Staff and students regularly practice emergency lock down and evacuation plans. At school, students are with adults they know; emergency kits are stored in each classroom, and school staff count noses, take roll, and account for everyone during frequent practice emergency drills.
Here are basic things we are doing to enhance safety at school:
- Every school has a standard procedure for evacuation and lockdown--each designed to safeguard whoever is in the buildings and/or get them out of the buildings if evacuation is needed.
- Schools rehearse basic emergency plans to make systematic responses second nature.
- Our staff is watchful for strangers or unusual activity on campus, so please be sure to check into the front office when you visit, and wear your visitor or volunteer badges.
- When students are picked up to leave school during the day, we send them home only with adults you authorize. Please make sure the emergency information about your student is up to date.
Here are some safety precautions the Red Cross and local emergency agencies suggest families can take:
- Make and practice family and neighborhood emergency plans.
- Network with neighbors and family to designate meeting locations and communications channels.
- Remember that you may need to show an ID to re-connect with your child following a school emergency. Support staff for emergencies may come from other schools or emergency agencies. Those people may not recognize you as the authorized adult for your child. Their request to see your ID will be in the interest of safety.
- Avoid driving to a school during an emergency to keep roads open for emergency vehicles. Tune in to local media stations or websites for information before adding another vehicle to the road.
- Pack an emergency kit. A check list families can use to build an emergency supply kit is available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
- Always check in at the front desk when you visit school.