Emergency Compact

Our goal is to notify parents of an incident or emergency as quickly as possible. We strive to provide accurate information in the timeliest manner possible, while ensuring appropriate management of the situation.

We care about your children and have drilled and prepared for a variety of emergency situations. We have lockdown plans, evacuation plans, and reunification plans, but at the begin­ning of an emergency we may not know all the responses that will be required.

When an incident occurs at any of our schools, our school personnel work directly with law enforcement and other First Responders. Our primary focus is protecting students and staff members.

District personnel work first to assist the school and the po­lice and stabilize the situation. Our next focus is to communi­cate with our internal and external stakeholders. The district will use School Messenger, text alerts, e-mail, our website, media, and social media to share information.

News outlets listen to the police scanner and they compete for viewer interest. Typically, news stations will run “we are hearing reports…” which may have no validation. Individu­als and/or reporters who do not have an official role in our schools may post rumors and/or inaccurate information.

Students often text parents during an emergency. In some cases the perspective of an individual witness gives an inac­curate portrayal of an incident as a whole.

The district will not communicate rumors or inaccurate in­formation, because this type of action would jeopardize trust and our credibility.

In the event of an emergency situation, please do not call the school. You may tie up phone lines that are needed for an emergency response. Also, please refrain from going to your child’s school as this can interfere with the ability of First Responders to do their jobs.

We will phone, e-mail, tweet, and post information when there is a serious incident. The information may not provide all the details, but it will give notice.

We must communicate what we know – when we know it – without jeopardizing the investigation or safety of the people within the school. In a serious situation we may send multiple communications as more information becomes available.

This compact was adapted from the Kirkwood (Mo.) School District