Preparation is the key to an effective response in case of an emergency. Drills help our staff and students respond quickly, calmly, and safely to a number of situations. Drills throughout the school year include:
- Fire drills are conducted each month.
- Safety drills are designed to familiarize students with how to respond to an emergency.
- Weather-related tornado drills are conducted throughout the year.
The goal of each of these drills is to teach confidence and allow students and staff to be "emergency prepared not emergency scared." Conducting drills allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of our evacuation procedures and determine any necessary changes or adjustments to current practices that may be needed to improve performance.
Reunification
As a result of an emergency response, students may need to be reunified with parents through a controlled release at the school or a reunification at a new location.
We want to reunite students with parents as soon as possible during an emergency situation. We will work with our police and fire agencies to determine when it is safe to reunite students and parents. These situations often take time and planning to ensure you and your child are reunited safely.
Parent Role During An Emergency
In a school emergency, the first instinct as a parent is to pick up the telephone and start calling the school or rush to school to pick up your student. Unfortunately, this reaction only complicates a possible dangerous scene and ties up school staff resources working to resolve the emergency. Individuals too close to an incident often hinder the rescue attempts of first responders on the scene.
The best action parents can take in an emergency is to stay close to their phone/email and to monitor district/school websites for regular updates.
