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What Parents Should Do During A School Emergency

HELP US KEEP YOUR CHILDREN SAFE! What you need to know if there is an emergency at your child’s school:

  • Review this information carefully. Following the steps provided will help school officials, police officers, firefighters, and other responders do their jobs and focus on the safety of all involved.
  • Keep your child’s emergency contact information up-to-date. Inform your child’s school immediately if your phone number, address, or email address changes. You may be called and emailed during an emergency. Additionally, children will only be released to adults listed on the emergency information form.
  • Talk with your child about listening and following directions at all times and especially during an emergency.
  • Report any safety concerns you may have to your child’s school principal.

What Parents/Guardians Should Do During a School Emergency

  1. Wait for information from the District. The latest information will be provided by phone, text, and email via the District’s messaging system (School Messenger). The first priority of school and district personnel is to address the emergency at hand. You will be informed as soon as the information is available. If it is an ongoing event, updates will be provided as new information is available. 
  2. Try not to call the school. Telephone lines may be needed for emergency communication.
  3. Do not go to the school, or evacuation site, until notified to do so. During extreme emergencies, students will be released only at designated locations at the school or evacuation site. It is important that no other pickup point be utilized (e.g., do not try to go directly to your child’s classroom), as we need to be able to account for every child at all times. Please emphasize with your child the need to remain with school personnel until you arrive or somebody you authorize to pick up your child arrives.
  4. Know that in the event of a serious emergency, students will be kept at their schools or evacuated to a prearranged alternate site. When the time comes to pick up students, only you or a responsible adult you have pre-identified (i.e., your child’s emergency contacts on file with the school) will be permitted to pick up your child.
  5. Impress upon your child the need for them to follow directions of any school personnel in times of an emergency.

School Safety Efforts

The Elizabethtown Area School District takes the safety and security of our students and staff seriously. As such, the District employs a multifaceted approach to school safety that places emphasis in five critical areas: Fostering a safe, supportive school LEARNING ENVIRONMENT for our students; PREVENTING a tragedy through secure facilities, the use of technology, and routine review of best practices; PREPARING for an emergency through training, drills, and an Emergency Operations Plan; maintaining comprehensive PARTNERSHIPS with local first responders; and being prepared to employ robust, proactive strategies to COUNTER an armed intruder. Highlights of our school safety efforts are as follows: 

Current Security Measures

The Elizabethtown Area School District currently uses the following safety and security equipment and resources.

  • Full-time School Resource Officer
  • Safety & Security Coordinator and Assistant Safety & Security Coordinator(Non-Sworn Certified SRO)
  • Additional security coverage by local Law Enforcement Officers and Event Staff during after school events
  • Security cameras  
  • Secure vestibule preventing unauthorized entry beyond the primary, locked, exterior door 
  • School Gate Guardian Visitor Management system in all schools that checks visitors against national sexual offender databases and allows schools to produce visitor badges with photos
  • Electronic “key cards” at all buildings for access control
  • Emergency procedures and protective actions posted in all offices and classrooms
  • Fire alarm systems installed in all schools
  • Two-way radio communications within each building and districtwide
  • Individual building safety committees
  • Monthly fire drills and other regularly scheduled safety drills in partnership with local first responders
  • Safe2Say Something Anonymous Reporting System