Student safety is important to the school, especially in emergencies. But what exactly are the rules and procedures for every situation? As students, our safety is one of the school’s top priorities, so we have asked our administration about procedures for potential emergencies and weather events.
What would we do in the event of emergencies such as severe weather?
“ It depends on what the severe weather is. If it’s a tornado warning, then we follow our crisis plan instructions and everyone moves to our 2 tornado shelters.” Head Principal Kim Garrett said
When is it acceptable to take out phones during an emergency?
“If we have a severe situation and once the student is safe, then it’s appropriate to text or call a parent to let them know,” said Garrett. ” It is not advisable to use a phone during a crisis because that prevents the student from listening to instructions, responding appropriately, and possibly blocking cell usage for first responders.”
What would we do in the event of something strange, like a meteor shower or dust storm? Do we even have procedures for that?
“We would seek advice from our district Crisis Manager,” said Garrett. “Remaining calm and sheltering inside is always the first response while we wait for additional information. We have a very safe building and very informed district personnel to assist in events that we may not be expecting.”
What if we get a “high-risk” storm? – What would we do?
“When we get information that we may have a high-risk storm moving into our area, our district first evaluates the timing of the storm and the level of risk,” said Garrett. “If it’s very high, they can choose to cancel school for the day. If it’s not as high or the threat is later in the day, then we will have multiple people in the district constantly assessing the situation and talking with national weather experts to be sure that we are prepared. We can dismiss school early, but we seldom do that because we cannot put students on buses to go home early without parents to let them in. Our schools are built with tornado shelters because this is the safest place for most people. Parents always have the ability to keep their children home on days that there is a high-risk storm possibility.”
When will the school stop trying to implement rules and just let students run away?
“Being out in severe weather, whether walking or in a car, is one of the worst places for anyone to be in a high-risk storm,” said Garrett. ” We are not trying to implement rules, but implement procedures to keep students and staff safe.”
What would we do if all the power and internet went out in a rainstorm – would we be free to leave and have our phones or not?
“What’s important is knowing why the power and internet went out in a rainstorm,” said Garrett. ” Sometimes, just a power line was cut, or maybe a tree fell on a line. Again, remaining inside our building is usually the safest place for everyone. We never just allow students to walk out without parental permission or district dismissal instructions. Our district sends mass messages to parents when situations happen so that all parents get the same information at once. “
What would we do if a burst pipe happened in the middle of the school day? “First, we would assess the extent of the water problem,” said Garrett. “If it could be contained, then we would do so by just shutting down the plumbing in that area and closing that area. If we could not contain the water, we would follow our crisis plan to evacuate those classrooms, or possibly the entire building, to an alternate location, such as the Nancy O’Brien next door. Our crisis plan has the outline of procedures to do this efficiently and safely.”
