|
Click on a question to be taken to its answer on this page:
What
is emergency preparedness?
How can I
stay informed?
How will my child’s school handle an
emergency situation?
How
can I see the crisis plan for my child’s school?
What is
lockdown?
In the event of a terrorist attack or other emergency situation, will FCPS
go into lockdown?
What
is shelter-in-place?
What measures are being taken for
students in trailers?
What if a child is exposed to a
biological or chemical contaminant?
What is basic decontamination?
Why are you keeping children from their
parents?
What is a parent reunification site?
Why can’t I be given the evacuation and
parent reunification locations ahead of time?
Are schools stockpiling food and water?
What
if my child is riding a school bus at the time of a crisis?
Can I
pick up my child?
Who can pick up my children?
Can I
contact my child?
What will schools do if there’s a smallpox outbreak?
How will my children know what to do in
the event of a terrorist attack?
Will children be allowed to view events
via live television or radio reports?
How are field trips handled?
What is emergency preparedness?
FCPS has taken steps to ensure your child’s safety while in school. Each
school has developed a crisis response plan. Emergency preparedness is
basically preparing the steps you will take in the event of an emergency
such as contact information, communications and evacuation plans.
How can I stay informed?
FCPS broadcasts emergency messages, when necessary, using a number of
media. General emergency messages, early and late school openings and
closings can be found on the school system’s webpage and on Comcast Cable
Channel 24. Emergency messages are transmitted to local media and parents
are encouraged to listen to radio or television.
How will my child’s school
handle an emergency situation?
All Fayette County Public Schools facilities have an emergency preparedness
plan. The specifics of each plan differ for each location. The response to
each situation will differ based on the specifics of that situation. The
flexibility of the plan is key to the success of the response. In general,
each plan involves the designation of a crisis management team; development
of evacuation, shelter-in-place and lockdown procedures; preparation of a
portable critical response kit that contains key information and supplies;
designation of one or more appropriate evacuation sites; provisions for
training personnel and updating the plan; checklists for dealing with
specific types of incidents; and resources for help before, during and after
an event. All FCPS school plans have been reviewed within the last 12
months and school crisis teams have received training.
Can
I see the crisis plan for my child’s school?
FCPS does not release this type of specific information.
What is lockdown?
An
emergency may prevent the safe evacuation of a school building and require
steps to isolate students and faculty from danger by instituting a school
lockdown. In an interior lockdown situation, all students are kept in
classrooms or other designated locations that are away from the danger.
Faculty members are responsible for accounting for students and ensuring
that no one leaves the safe area. School personnel will also secure
building entrances, ensuring that no unauthorized individuals leave or enter
the building. Exterior lockdown procedures may also be used to ensure the
safety of students when an incident occurs in the community. Parents are
permitted access to the building and to their children if it is safe for
them to do so.
In the event of a terrorist
attach or other emergency situation, will FCPS go into lockdown?
The specific actions taken by FCPS in any emergency situation, both system
wide and at individual schools, will depend on the specifics of the
situation. Any action taken would depend on several factors, including the
level of threat and the advice of local, state, and federal agencies. The
safety of students and staff members will be the primary concern in any
decision.
What
is
shelter-in-place?
Shelter-in-place is a short-term solution to a short-term problem. If an
accident or attack that created contaminated air occurred in the nearby
area, everyone would be brought indoors, including those in trailers.
Building personnel would close all windows and doors and shut down the
heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC). This would create
a neutral pressure in the building, meaning the contaminated air would not
be drawn into the building.
Shelter-in-place is a short-term measure (measured in minutes or hours, not
days) designed to use a facility and its indoor atmosphere to temporarily
separate people from a hazardous outdoor environment. The alternative would
be to evacuate into a hazardous situation, thereby causing harm to all
involved.
No
stockpiling of water and food is needed for shelter-in-place. Any event of
a magnitude that required such stockpiling would require that we all take
our direction from the federal emergency management officials. Parents are
concerned that, during a shelter-in-place activity, they couldn’t pick up
their children and might be separated from them for long periods of time.
That will not happen; if the air outside the school is safe for parents to
breathe, it is safe for their children to breathe. School system personnel
have developed a plan that uses the best possible method for ensuring the
safety of students and staff members in this type of crisis. Remember it is
not the school system’s intention to keep children from their parents. FCPS
personnel are merely endeavoring to keep children safe for parents until the
parents can pick them up.
What measures are being
taken for students in trailers?
If
an accident or attack that created contaminated air occurred in the nearby
area, everyone would be brought into the school building, including those in
trailers.
What if a child is
exposed to a biological or chemical contaminant?
In
the event of an exposure, and the child is showing obvious symptoms of such,
staff members on hand would conduct basic decontamination.
What is basic decontamination?
In
the event that your child shows symptoms of exposure, school staff members
would conduct basic decontamination. The child would be separated from
other children and directed to wash thoroughly with soap and water. If
possible, school personnel would make sure that the child showered and would
provide alternative clothing. The exposed clothing would be put in plastic
bags and the bags would be sealed. Removing a contaminated person’s clothing
effectively removes in excess of 80 percent of contaminants from the person;
the alternative would be to do nothing and thereby cause the person to
suffer pain and possible serious injury.
Why are you keeping children
from their parents?
FCPS does not intend to keep children from their parents if a crisis occurs
during school hours or school activities. It is the school system’s intent
to make sure that children are safe inside their schools until such a time
that the threat has been reduced. Parents will be informed of the
parent-student reunification site location via the school system emergency
messaging system and local media.
What is a parent reunification
site?
If
public safety officials require that a school building be evacuated,
students and staff members will be safely transported by bus to a designated
parent-student reunification site. Parents will be informed of the
reunification location via the school emergency messaging system and local
media. At the reunification site, students will be released to their
parents upon presentation of proper identification.
Why can’t I be given the
evacuation and parent reunification locations ahead of time?
FCPS does not
release this type of specific information. Also, during emergency
situations, circumstances could arise that might force changes to previously
designated locations. Parents will be informed of parent-student
reunification site locations via the local media and through school
resources.
Are schools stockpiling food and
water?
The
school system is taking action to make sure that schools and offices have
the appropriate resources available for a short-term event. In the event of
a large-scale catastrophic situation, FCPS would rely on federal and state
authorities for assistance.
There
has been no request by state, local or federal crisis experts that we
stockpile food or water. The FCPS shelter-in-place plan is to be used only
in the event of a chemical, biohazard or radiological event. In any one of
these situations, which are usually localized (i.e., do not cover a wide
area) persons typically need to remain indoors only a few hours before the
hazard literally blows away. After the danger has passed, children and
staff members will be free to go to their homes.
There
may be other events that would cause people to be housed for longer periods
of time in public buildings such as schools. An example would be a bomb
attack that has destroyed homes, In such an event, other community
agencies, including the Red Cross, would be responsible for providing food
and water.
This
response would be a shelter, not a shelter-in-place.
In
all critical events of this magnitude, the school system becomes part of a
larger emergency response team. The county manager and the county crisis
response team lead this larger team, whose members have been meeting for
over a year and planning the various parts of the response. FCPS has been
charged with providing transportation and shelter for the community. Other
groups are charged with providing food and water.
What if my child is riding a school
bus at the time of a crisis?
School bus drivers will be in contact with the Office of Transportation for
instructions in the event that a crisis occurs while students are in
transport. Bus drivers will be informed to use common sense and not travel
toward the crisis location. Parents will be informed of the parent-student
reunification site location via the school system emergency messaging system
and local media.
Can I pick up my child?
Parents are allowed to pick up their children unless public safety officials
have declared a shelter-in-place response, or there is some other reason why
access to the facility is restricted. During any emergency, school
personnel will maintain as safe and normal environment for children within
the school as is possible. School is not automatically canceled in
emergency situations. Remember, school may be the safest place for
children.
Who can pick up my children?
Children will not be released to individuals who are not authorized on the
student’s emergency care card or who do not have written parent
authorization. The Student Emergency/Safety Information form is completed
by parents and guardians at the start of each school year.
Friends and neighbors may sign a child or children out with written
permission from a parent or parents. Both (or all) parents have to give
permission in writing for the sign out and pickup. Schools prefer to have
written permission on the day that a child’s pickup will change but schools
will also keep written permission on file. School offices will keep the
permission notes, usually they will attach them to the emergency care card(s)
of those involved. Schools will also ask for identification when the child
is released to one(s) mentioned in the permission note. It is advisable to
communicate with the teacher as well, perhaps with a copy of the signed
written note.
Can I contact my child?
Parents are asked not to call the school in emergency situations so phone
lines can remain accessible for handling the specific situation. Parents
will be kept informed via the FCPS emergency messaging system.
What will schools do if there’s
smallpox outbreak?
FCPS is working with the county government and the health department on the
community wide response for mass vaccination.
How will my
children know what to do in the event of a terrorist attack?
Inform your
children that, if a crisis occurs while they are in school, their teacher
will provide them with appropriate instructions.
Parents are also encouraged to prepare a family disaster plan and practice
it so that everyone will remember what to do if a disaster does occur.
Everyone in the household, including children, should play a part in the
family’s response and recovery efforts. Teach your children how to
recognize danger signals. Make sure your children know what smoke
detectors, fire alarms and local community warning systems (horns, sirens)
sound like.
Will children be allowed
to view events via live television or radio reports?
In
the event of a terrorist attack or other crisis, teachers will be informed
as to the appropriate actions to take. Receiving live media coverage in the
classroom about an attack or crisis will be left up to the teacher’s
discretion. Appropriate measures will be taken depending on the age of the
students.
How are field trips handled?
The impact of any critical situation on field trips, both system-wide and at
individual schools, will depend on the specifics of the situation. If the
situation warrants, all field trips will be canceled. All school buses are
equipped with radio communications with the transportation office. If a
field trip is under way and must be recalled, buses would be directed to
return to the school or a designated safe area. Any such decision will be
announced using the FCPS emergency messaging system. |
