To prevent possibly risking the safety of your child and their classmates, it is important for parents to understand what the school and local law enforcement require of them during emergency situations. How are emergencies at schools communicated to parents? It also encourages increased mental health support and violence prevention efforts in schools. The American Academy of PediatricsĪdvises active shooter drills instead be conducted like fire drills-which don't simulate an actual fire-using a calm approach to the safe movement of students and staff in the school building. In some cases, students and staff were led to think there was an actual attack taking place.Īlthough well intended, these hyper-realistic drills can be psychologically harmful to students without much proof they effectively prepare them for a crisis. Some of these drills involved real gunfire or blanks, actors posing as shooters, and theater makeup to simulate blood or gunshot wounds. In recent years, many school districts adopted live crisis drills meant to help students and staff respond in the event of a school shooter. While some schools may hesitate to share all parts of their plans and strategies, make yourself aware of the information available to you. You can also ask how often school officials and safety experts meet to discuss safety procedures. While the school staff has been trained and continue to receive guidance on how best to help students, the best advocate for your child is YOU! Ask your child's teacher or a school administrator about the plans the school has in place for emergencies such as fires, blizzards, bomb threats and armed intruders. Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operation Plans gives guidance for each type of community. School faculty and staff are trained to assess the seriousness of incidents and respond according to the plan's established procedures and guidelines. Many school districts have a safety coordinator or director, or have assigned this role to one of the district administrators. These may range from a death or accident affecting a member of the school community to a natural disaster or crisis and affecting a lot of individuals in the school. Read on to learn what schools may be doing to be safer and better prepared for an emergency or crisis, and key questions you can ask.Īll schools should have an organized, systematic emergency operations plan in place to reduce risks or prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from a crisis situation. As a parent, feeling confident in the safety of your child at the school they attend is extremely important.

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