Ways Parents and Guardians Can Help the Situation During a Disaster or Critical Event
- Check and update the emergency card information in the front office of your school any time you or one of the contacts change information.
- If you or any of the emergency contacts are ever asked to pick up a child at the school during a large scale emergency or a medical event for a single child, please remember to bring your identification card. We are unable to release children to any person who does not have proper ID. We are only allowed to release children to those individuals listed on the emergency card, no exceptions.
- Be patient if we have to engage in an emergency reunification process between parents and students. We have many students that we need to keep secure. When working with hundreds of students and parents/guardians this takes time. We will reunify you with your child as soon as we can, but we also need to check every adult to ensure they appear on the emergency card.
- Ensure that you are registered to receive text messages on your cell phone through our emergency notification system. To opt-in, please text “Y” or “Yes” to 67587.
- In any emergency, please remember that we want to keep phone lines open so our first responders such as fire, law enforcement and emergency medical personnel can use the phone lines to get life-saving resources to the scene(s). Therefore, the BEST form of communication between family members and friends during an emergency is texting.
- Do not come to the school during an emergency unless you are asked to do so. You and your car will be blocking emergency personnel from possibly getting life-saving resources to your child. If your child’s school is on lockdown, you will not be able to pick-up your child. We will not be answering the door or allowing people on campus.
- If an incident happens at your child’s school, please know that our staff will first handle the emergency, ensure life safety and then communicate with you. It is critical to take life saving measures before texting about it.
- Be mindful of your social media presence. Please do not post specific information about your child’s school on social media websites. While a majority of people on-line, are good, law-abiding individuals, we know that some may want to use the information you post for harm.
- If an incident happens at your child’ school, follow the instructions of law enforcement and school administrators. We train and exercise for emergencies so are better prepared to guide everyone to the most appropriate actions and facilitate a response that does not cause more stress for our children.
- Be prepared at home! FEMA asks us to “Get a Kit; Have a Plan; Be Informed.” Your children are more likely to experience an emergency at home than at school or in the community. They need to know what to do and they want to be assured that you, as a family, are prepared. Involve them in getting prepared, and putting together an emergency kit. Make it a fun activity for the whole family. Talk to them about how to evacuate their room if there is a fire and where to drop, cover and hold-on if there is an earthquake. If you need suggestions on how to talk to children or activities to help them understand what to do during an emergency, here are resources we recommend:
Launched in February 2003, Ready is a National public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters. The goal of the campaign is to promote preparedness through public involvement. Ready Kids is for both parents and children. It provides activities and games for kids to engage in order to learn more about disasters and how to prepare for them and provides parents guidance on how to talk to children about disasters.
The much-loved Sesame Street characters provide videos, activity sheets, puzzles and games or kids as well as checklists and talking points for caregivers!
Talking to Children About Violent Events
As educators, we see first-hand that children are often times effected by violent events, even when the event isn’t local. Allow children to talk about or demonstrate their emotions through writing, drawing or singing. Please see the following resources that provide guidance on the best ways to talk to children and help them through traumatic events:
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