Frequently Asked Safety Questions
How does the district handle threats of violence?
School staff follow practiced procedures to ensure that students and the public are safe and secure. All schools have a crisis team to gather information on the type and degree of threat. Office staff have been trained to react to all threats of violence in a prescribed manner. All calls are treated as real, and we report them to local, regional and national law enforcement as appropriate. If a threat is deemed credible, students and staff will evacuate the building and go to a predetermined safe location. Families will be notified through ParentSquare as soon as students have reached the safe location. Evacuation does not necessarily mean that school is over for the day. Notification regarding school being released for the day will ONLY come from ParentSquare and will include the reason for the release and pickup instructions.
When are parents notified about a school emergency?
When a critical incident impacts a school community, we notify parents as soon as possible via Parentsquare. Please make sure your emergency contact information is always up to date at your child’s school. Typically, emergency situations are fluid and multiple agencies are involved. We will provide as much credible, accurate and timely information as possible. Information received from sources other than the school administrator or ParentSquare office may be inaccurate.
Are there times when families aren’t notified about an emergency?
Buildings are sometimes placed in a soft lockdown for a brief amount of time, when a school is, for example, notified by law enforcement about police activity nearby. During a soft lockdown, students are brought in from outdoors, but other activities within the school continue as normal. Most soft lockdown situations are for very short periods and often students are unaware that one is occurring. If a soft lockdown lasts longer than approximately 10 minutes or causes major disruption in the normal school day, we will generally notify families through ParentSquare.
What do I do if I see or hear of a threat after school hours?
All Ingenium staff and members of the community are encouraged to report anything they see, hear or are made aware of if it may impact a school or school program. If you see or hear something, say something: call 911 or your child’s school.
Emergency Procedures
