School Wide Emergencies

In contrast to medical emergencies that typically involve a single student, school-wide emergencies -- fires, violent weather, weapons inside a school, or community disasters -- involve the student-body as a whole. School-wide emergencies do not all require the same response: A fire requires an immediate evacuation; an armed intruder may require locked-down classrooms. A gas or chemical danger may also require remaining indoors. Finding our how your child's school has prepared itself for the unexpected is a good way to protect your child and all students at the school.

[Download free checklist -- PDF format]

Here are three basic questions to pose concerning school-wide emergencies:

• What emergency situations have been identified that might threaten the school or its surrounding community and what is the response for each?
• Have school staff and students received training or participated in drills using the emergency procedures?
• How do new teachers or staff learn and practice emergency procedures?

Resources: For information on procedures to be followed in the event of a school-wide emergency, see the following policies recommended by the Los Angeles School District and the Rhode Island State Department of Education.

Los Angeles Unified School District. Standard Emergency Procedures for Schools, revised December 2001.
http://adultinstruction.org/administrators/ handbooks/emergency.pdf

For School-Wide Emergencies Resources visit:
Emergency Planning and Procedures Guide for Schools
www.dps.state.mn.us/dhsem/uploadedfile/schools.pdf

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