2. What is lockdown?
An emergency may prevent the safe evacuation of a school building
and require steps to isolate students and faculty from danger
by instituting a school lockdown. In an interior lockdown situation,
all students are kept in classrooms or other designated locations
that are away from the danger. Faculty members are responsible
for accounting for students and ensuring that no one leaves the
safe area. School personnel will also secure building entrances,
ensuring that no unauthorized individuals leave or enter the
building. Exterior lockdown procedures may also be used to ensure
the safety of students when an incident occurs in the community.
Parents are permitted access to the building and to their children
if it is safe for them to do so.
3. What is shelter-in-place?
Shelter-in-place is a short-term measure (measured in minutes
or hours, not days) designed to use a facility and its indoor
atmosphere to temporarily separate people from a hazardous
outdoor environment. If an accident or attack that created
contaminated air occurred in the school area, students would
be brought indoors. Building personnel would close all windows
and doors and shut down the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
system (HVAC). This would create a neutral pressure in the
building, meaning the contaminated air would not be drawn into
the building. No stockpiling of water and food is needed for
shelter-in-place. Any event of a magnitude that required such
stockpiling would require that the school community as well
as the community at large, would take direction from the federal
emergency management officials. Parents should not be concerned
that, during a shelter-in-place activity, they might be separated
from their children for long periods of time. That will not
happen because if the air outside the school is safe for parents
to breathe, it will be safe for their children to breathe.
School system personnel have developed a plan that uses the
best possible method for ensuring the safety of students and
staff members in this type of crisis.
4. What if a child is exposed to a biological
or chemical contaminant?
In the event of an exposure--and the child is showing obvious symptoms,
trained staff members on hand would conduct basic decontamination
per the emergency training directive.
5. What is basic decontamination?
In the event that a child shows symptoms of exposure, school staff
members would conduct basic decontamination. The child would
be separated from other children and directed to wash thoroughly
with soap and water. If possible, school personnel would make
sure that the child showered and would provide alternative clothing.
The exposed clothing would be put in plastic bags, and the bags
would be sealed. Removing a contaminated person's clothing effectively
removes in excess of 80 percent of contaminants from the person;
the alternative would be to do nothing and thereby cause the
person to suffer pain and possible serious injury.
6. Will I be allowed
to pick up my child?
J.M. Wrightdoes not intend to keep children from their parents
if a crisis occurs during school hours or school activities. It
is the school intent to make sure that children are safe inside
their schools until such a time that the threat has been reduced.
Parents will be informed and reunited with their children as soon
as it is safe to do so.
7. What if my child is riding a school bus at the time
of a crisis?
The transportation service providers will be in contact with the
office for instructions in the event that a crisis occurs while
students are in transport. Bus drivers will be informed to avoid
driving toward the crisis location.
8. Can I pick up my child?
Parents will be allowed to pick up their children unless public
safety officials have declared a shelter-in-place response, or
there is some other reason why access to the facility is restricted.
During any emergency, school personnel will maintain a safe and
normal environment for children within the school. School will
not automatically be canceled in emergency situations because the
school may be the safest place for children to be.
9.
Who can pick up my children?
Children will not be released to individuals who are not authorized
to on the student's emergency card or who do not have written parent
authorization. Parents and guardians are encouraged to update the
emergency care card as needed throughout the school year.
10. What about my child's medication?
If your child takes medication regularly, you the parent, should
make sure that the school has an appropriate amount of additional
medication on hand. Talk with your child's school nurse for more
information.
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