Videos

Parents Guide To School Emergencies

Added Dec 04, 2013 •

Copy this URL:
Embed code:	<iframe class="edlio-embed-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="360" src="//www.ccusd.org/apps/embed/?v=46941" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Change dimensions

Show Transcript

the administrators teachers and staff at every Los Angeles Unified School District school believe that the safest place for children in any community after school everyday District employees work to make sure that schools are safe and secure because they know that they are responsible for the most valuable part of any community the children the purpose of this program is to inform parents about the safety measures that are in place at all Los Angeles Unified Schools and to tell parents what they next to the event that there is an emergency at their child School schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District are constructed to be among the safest buildings in there immunities California schools are designed and built to protect students and teachers from harm a state law called the field act requires that schools be built to stand earthquakes in addition schools must also be built to protect students from fires which includes having fire alarms and fire sprinkler systems School is a regularly inspected for safety by the fire department and the district's office of environmental health and safety in addition to having a safe building all Los Angeles City schools have a safe School plan that is created annually for each school to meet the individual needs of the school the safe School plan and forms the school map about what to do in any kind of Emergency the safe School plan also help School staff to identify and address conditions at school and in the community that could possibly harm students the plan also help schools to be prepared because they must practice the procedures in the plan by doing regular emergency drills once a month that every Elementary School all the students take part in a fire drill at secondary schools they practice every semester in a schools have drills to practice what they will do if there is an earthquake a toxic chemical spill in the neighborhood or the report of a person with a weapon schools so have a public address system to alert the students and staff as well as special radios that they can use to request assistance if the school telephone lines are not working in addition LA City schools have emergency supplies in case students must stay at school for long periods of time each school has a three day apply of water and food as well as first aid supplies and rescue supplies these supplies are kept in an emergency supply bin and the supplies are inspected regularly and use during the emergency drills many schools have additional emergency supplies in every classroom as well because the fire department may not Gable to respond quickly in a major emergency Like An Earthquake every year it's teachers and staff at schools practice the procedures that would be used to rescue entry students during an emergency they practice how they will search for and rescue students as well as treat them for any injuries in California all teachers must have first aid certificate to get their teaching credential the fire department the police department and the American Red Cross regularly visit schools to give presentations students are taught how to help themselves and their families during an emergency some of these visits are done as part of a class and other times as part of a school disassembly the Los Angeles Unified School District has its own police force of officers were trained to protect students and staff in an emergency they respond to what's the defendant guard students from harm your child School may even have a school police officer assigned to the school they are there to provide security for the campus schools are also protected by fences that go around the whole campus School gates are locked during the school day and all visitors are directed to enter through play one gate or to the school office these fences are there to keep strangers off the campus and make sure the students are safe if there is an emergency near your child School the school administrators will immediately act to protect your child safety if the emergency involves the school building for example during an earthquake the students will first protect themselves from anything in the classroom that can hurt them they practice this drill every month in their classroom once the shaking stop the students will be moved to a safe assembly area away from anything that can hurt them the students will line up on the play yard or filled with their teacher the teacher will take role to make sure everyone is present  both students and staff will remain in the safe area until the building has been inspected and cleared for occupancy if on the other hand the hazard to the students is outside the building such as a person with a weapon or a hazardous material spill in the neighborhood spin the school administrators are going to use the school buildings to protect the students the students will be brought inside and sheltered in the classrooms until it is determined that it is safe for students to go outside the school schools are prepared to shelter students for hours if it becomes necessary if you become aware of an emergency in your neighborhood or near your child school you can expect to see one of two things when you arrive at the school either the students will be outside lined up on the play your field where there will be no students visible because they are sheltered in the classrooms if the students are inside the school is waiting for permission from the authorities to release the students schools will not let students out until they are told it is safe to do so by local law enforcement and some cases parents may not be a how to get near the school because the authorities have the area around the school closed parents should know that the school is always work with the authorities to protect students and never do anything to endanger a child student safety is our first priority when the schools are told that it is safe to release students School staff set up a place for parents to request their students called the request gate and another place for parents to meet their student called The Reunion gate as part of safe School plan each School must identify these locations at the beginning of the school year parents can learn more about these locations by attending parent meetings checking the school newsletter or visiting the school off and there will be signs on the school fence that show the location of these Gates schools can only release students to the parents or guardians or to someone who had been specifically authorized in advance by the parent or Guardian schools cannot and will not release a child someone who claims to know the child or claims to be related to the child the only way the school knows who was approved by the parent to pick up a child is by check the emergency card the emergency card is in the registration packet for parents to complete at the beginning of every school year if the parents want to change or ADD the names on the emergency card they are welcome to come to the school and do so schools want to make sure that they follow the parents instructions but they can only release students someone specifically named on the emergency card when a parent guardian or someone who was authorized by the parent comes to the Westgate they will be put their identification this is done to make sure that the school follows the directions given by the parent or Guardian on the emergency card once the person's identity he is confirmed then they sign the check out sheet the student will be summoned to meet their parent at a separate location called The Reunion gate  the school use both the request and a reunion gate to make it easier for parents to meet their children district schools have found that when only one location is used students have become frightened by the crowd of parents having two locations makes the process more orderly and less frightening for students during an emergency parents will often call the school to get information schools will have people manning the telephones but there are always many more parents calling in beginning 2008 ALL Los Angeles Unified School District Schools will have automatic telephone message systems that will call out to parents and tell them about what is going on turn it through child School the automatic dialer will use the contact phone numbers that the parents provided when the student was enrolled parents are asked to make sure that there contact information is up-to-date so that the school will be able to reach them with messages parents should notify the school when they move or change phone numbers District also has a central helpline for parents that they can call and get information generally this line will be activated when there is an emergency vet in pause more than one school parents can find more information on what they can expect their child school to do in an emergency by reading the parent student handbook newsletters from their child School the safe School plan is available at every school for public inspection parents are encouraged to attend parent meetings so they can ask questions and receive information about school procedures parents are also welcome to watch or participate in school emergency drills parents can do the emergency bin as part of the drill every month every elementary school has a fire drill at secondary schools they have a fire drill every semester in addition the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District hold to emergency drills to prepare for earthquakes hazardous material spills or weapons in the parents need to know that schools will always follow the directions of local police and firefighters often when there is an emergency in a community the police are your department will direct the school to protect the students and then they will restrict the access to the school parents may not be allowed to come near the school until the authorities sure that it is safe to do so school's know that this is frustrating for parents who are worried about their child please be assured that students will be held at school until it is play for them to be reunited with their parents students will not be allowed to leave school if there was any danger in the community occasional late Los Angeles School are used as shelters by the American Red Cross to shelter disaster victims who have lost their homes sometimes this is done to shelter victims of an apartment house fire and other time schools are used to shelter victims of much larger events like hurricanes and earthquakes in the Los Angeles Unified School District only Middle School and high schools will be used to shelter citizens from the community LAUSD is happy to help the American Red Cross as it reaches out to assist victims of Master the administrators and teachers of the Los Angeles Unified School District believe that the safest place in the community for any child is at their school we will continue to work plan build and trained to keep all of our students safe during an emergency if you would like more information on the Los Angeles add School District's emergency preparedness program you can call the office of emergency services at 213 to 41394 Vine