Dear Parents and Guardians: 

The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. To keep everyone safe we have security (safety) procedures that include standard terms, protocols and drills that we practice regularly. 

The emergency response terms used in the district (and across NYS) are: 

• Lockdown: To secure school buildings and grounds if an immediate threat of violence happens in the school or outside. Students and staff move from hallways into rooms. Doors and windows are closed and locked and students and staff move away from doors and windows and remain quiet and out of sight.
• Secure Lockout: To secure school buildings and grounds against a danger outside of the school. All students and staff outside move into the school building. Outside doors and windows are closed and locked. Some visitors to the building may not be allowed inside the building. The school day continues as normal
• Evacuation: To move students and staff from the school building to a safe location in an emergency such as when the fire alarm sounds.
• Shelter-in-Place: To keep students and staff safely inside the building when there is a safety concern outside the building. Students may stay in their classrooms for a continuation of instruction. Sometimes students and staff may need to shelter together in a predetermined safe area of the school, such as for weather emergencies. 
• Hold-in-Place: To keep students and staff in their classrooms while dealing with short-term emergencies, such as a student needing medical help in the hallway. Students stay in their classrooms and instruction continues. 

Our school works with local law enforcement (police), fire departments, and other emergency response partners to make sure we are prepared in an emergency. Part of this work includes:

• A Districtwide School Safety Plan on our website. Link to Districtwide School Safety plan here. 
• A confidential Building-Level Emergency Response Plan in place at each school building. 
• Safety drills in each school to practice and learn what to do in case of an emergency. New York state law requires we have:
  • 8 Evacuation (fire) Drills;
  • 4 Lockdown Drills; and
  • 1 Early Dismissal Drill. This year’s Early Dismissal Drill will be held on Thursday, Oct. 10. All schools will dismiss 15 minutes early on Oct. 10.

Notification of Safety Drills 

Schools will notify parents/guardians via ParentSquare within one week before each safety drill. 

We teach our students and staff about our emergency procedures to be sure that everyone knows what to do in an emergency. In a developmentally appropriate way, teachers and staff talk about the kinds of safety drills we will practice during the school year, how a safety drill will be announced, and what students should do in each type of safety drill. 

When we practice evacuation (fire) drills, the drill is announced by the fire alarm going off. For all other drills, we will tell students and staff that it is a drill and not a real emergency. After drills are completed, we notify families via ParentSquare that a drill has taken place. Students and families are encouraged to ask questions about drills and safety protocols.

If you have any questions regarding school safety drills, please contact your child’s building principal.

Thank you for helping us protect the safety and well-being of our students.

Sincerely,

Jody Monroe, Superintendent