Emergency Response Protocol

Occasionally, situations may arise that require students and staff to remain in their classrooms for a time. For example, a medical issue may require that halls be cleared to allow access to outside medical assistance. Or, a disruption in a hallway may require keeping students out of the halls until it is resolved. During situations like these, the HOLD response may be activated.

During a HOLD response, students and teachers remain in classrooms, and learning continues. Classroom doors are shut and locked. Important information regarding the situation will be shared with school staff, as necessary, through the school’s emergency communication system or over the PA system.

 In the event that a threat or hazard is outside the school building, a SECURE response may be activated. Whether it’s due to criminal activity in the immediate neighborhood or perhaps a dangerous animal on the playground, the SECURE response uses the security of the school building to act as a protection.

During a SECURE response, students and staff who are outside are brought into the building and all outside access points are locked. Where possible, classroom activities continue uninterrupted. The initial directive and practice for a SECURE response is to retain students and staff members within the building and prevent entry into the building. There may be a police presence around the building until the situation is resolved.

A LOCKDOWN response is activated when there is a real or perceived threat or hazard inside or in the immediate proximity of the school building. 

During a LOCKDOWN, students and staff in classrooms will immediately lock interior doors, turn off classroom lights, move out of the line of sight of windows, and maintain silence. School, district, and emergency personnel will respond to and monitor the situation until it is resolved. 

During an emergency, parents should stay home and check established district communication channels regularly. These channels include email, text, and phone notifications, as well as the district and school websites, and the district’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Parents should avoid calling the school office in order to keep phone lines open for emergency communication. Parents should not come to the school to see what is happening or try to pick up their children. Access to the school building will be restricted during an emergency, and law enforcement must be able to focus on the urgent situation at hand. 

Please keep in mind, since the safety of our students and staff is our primary concern, communication about the incident may be delayed until we can guarantee that students and staff are safe and the information is accurate. At that point, we will move quickly to communicate important information to parents and the community. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.

A SHELTER response is activated when specific protective actions are needed based on a hazard or threat. For example, it might be activated during a natural disaster such as an earthquake, blizzard, or flooding, or in response to a hazardous materials situation. Depending on the type of emergency, students and staff members will use an appropriate safety strategy for the hazard. For example, during a SHELTER response to an earthquake, students and staff members would be asked to drop, cover, and hold on. A SHELTER response to a hazardous materials situation might require that the classroom door be sealed. 

During a SHELTER response, school, district, and emergency personnel will communicate specific safety directives and monitor the situation until the response is lifted. If it becomes necessary to evacuate the building, a controlled release to parents will take place.

The EVACUATE response is activated when people need to move from one location to another for safety reasons. Most often, evacuations will be necessary when there’s a heating/ventilation system failure, a nearby gas leak, or other potential danger. An evacuation drill is very similar to a fire drill.

When an EVACUATE alert is sounded, students and staff have been trained to quickly and calmly exit the building and proceed in an orderly fashion to the designated safe location. Teachers will take the roll to account for students and then wait for further information and instructions.