Menominee Intermediate School District
Administrative Guidelines
 

8420 - EMERGENCY SITUATIONS AT SCHOOLS (Evacuation, Fire, Tornado, Lockdown, Unusual)

The primary consideration in any emergency situation must be the safety of the students and staff. At certain times, therefore, it may be necessary to ask the staff to perform "beyond the call of duty" in order to provide for the welfare of our students. In the event of an actual emergency situation, all school personnel, instructional and noninstructional, will be required to remain in the building until they are dismissed by the supervisor.

EVACUATION
 A.When an emergency occurs, the supervisor shall, when feasible, consult with the Superintendent/Director of Special Education whether or not to evacuate the school. An announcement will then be made to inform staff and students of the emergency procedures that will be followed.

 B.If a decision is made to send students home or to a preselected site, attempts will be made to notify parents by telephone and/or by radio or TV and the public address system will be used to inform all teachers and students.
  The professional and support staff members will supervise the orderly evacuation of the building.
  1.If time permits, all students will go to their lockers, unlock them, take a coat if applicable, and return to class leaving lockers open.
  2.The custodian will assign and instruct the members of his/her staff to positions that allow "free-flow" of traffic on and off school property.
  3.Teachers should take class rolls, including, addresses and telephone numbers of students as well as emergency information.
  4.Teachers will remain (or return) to their regular classrooms and remain with their students.
  5.Cafeteria personnel will remain in their areas until notified to the contrary by the main office.
 C.In case of bomb threat, the police department will search the building.
  Above all, it is imperative that all personnel remain calm and in control throughout the emergency.

FIRE DRILLS

In accordance with State law, fire drills are to be conducted periodically. A minimum of six (6) fire drills is required for each school year for District buildings that contain grades kindergarten to 12. Four (4) of the fire drills shall be held in the fall and two (2) shall be held during the remaining part of the school year.

Each principal shall prepare and distributed fire drill procedures whereby:

 A.all personnel leave the building during a drill;
 B.the plan of evacuation provides at least one (1) alternative route in case exits or stairways are blocked;
 C.teachers, when the fire alarm sounds, caution students to walk silently and briskly from the building to a specified location, close all windows and doors of room and turn out lights, if possible, before leaving, check to make sure any disabled students requiring assistance are being assisted properly, and conduct roll call as soon as students are at the designated location to make sure that each student is accounted for;
 D.a list is compiled of all disabled students in the building who will require assistance in exiting the building together with the assignment of a staff member or nonstudent volunteer in the student's classroom who will be responsible for providing necessary assistance in an appropriate manner. A person should also be designated to assist a disabled student when the evacuation signal is given and s/he is in another area of the building such as the gym, all-purpose room, or lunchroom.

The supervisor shall document that each fire drill was conducted in a proper manner and submit such documentation to the Superintendent at the end of the school year.

TORNADOES AND SEVERE WEATHER DRILLS

Every spring the District faces the possibility of severe weather and tornadoes. A minimum of two (2) tornado safety drills is required for each school year at the schools in the District. These drills shall be conducted for the purpose of preventing fires and related hazards and injuries caused by severe weather.

Tornado Watch

A tornado watch is a forecast of the possibility of one (1) or more tornadoes in a large area. When a tornado watch is in effect, the District will continue normal activities but move recess and physical education activities indoors. Each building and department shall designate someone to be responsible for continuously monitoring the watch while students are in the building or on the premises. School will not be dismissed early and dismissal time will be at the regular time even if the watch is still in effect.

Tornado Warning

A tornado warning signals that a tornado has been sighted and may be approaching. Staff shall open all classroom windows and doors and proceed with all students to the predesignated tornado shelter areas and remain there with the students until further notice. Disabled students who need assistance are to be assisted by the person designated to assist them for building evacuations. No student shall be allowed out of his/her designated area unless his/her parent comes to the school and requests that the student be released. A student is to be released only to his/her parents.

SCHOOL-WIDE LOCK DOWN PROCEDURES

A minimum of two (2) drills in which the occupants are restricted to the interior of the building and the building secured is required for each school year at a school that operates any of grades kindergarten to 12.

A drill shall include security measures that are appropriate to an emergency such as the release of a hazardous material or the presence of an armed individual on or near the premises. The drill shall be conducted in coordination with the local emergency management coordinator, the county sheriff for the county or the chief of police or fire chief for the municipality where the school is located, or the designee of the sheriff, chief or police, or fire chief and consistently with applicable Federal, State, and local emergency operations plans.

The Board shall seek input from the administration of the school on the nature of the drills to be conducted under this subsection.

UNUSUAL SITUATIONS

The following situations are quite unlikely to occur, but in such an event, use the following procedural guidelines:

 A.Student or staff member held hostage
  1.Isolate the area. DO NOT make a P.A. announcement or sound the fire alarm. The nearest administrator will direct teachers and monitors on duty to notify teachers in nearby classes to take their students to a previously determined area.
  2.Notify the police immediately, giving as much information as possible (e.g. number of terrorists, number of hostages, types of demands being made). Police will be in charge once they arrive.
  3.Notify the Superintendent.
  4.Develop a list of casualties, if any.
 B.Intruders in building or on school property
  1.Ask them to leave.
  2.If they do not leave, remind them of trespassing law.
  3.Notify administrator in charge and the District office.
  4.Avoid any physical conflict or loud verbal altercations.

The supervisor or any staff member who is involved may notify police if intruders do not leave and/or call for the assistance of other members of the staff.

 C.Unauthorized demonstrators or pickets around building before school opens
  1.Follow procedures for intruders.

  2.Attempt to enter building peaceably.
  3.Notify District office.
  4.Hold students on the school buses if demonstrators seem to pose a threat.
  5.Notify law enforcement officers.
 D.Demonstrators or pickets around building at dismissal
  1.Follow procedures for intruders.
  2.Notify administrator in charge.
  3.If demonstrators seem to pose a threat, hold students in class until further notice.
  4.Notify law enforcement officers.
 E.Buses not operating - students in school
  1.Keep all students in class.
  2.Summon all unassigned professional staff members for instruction.
  3.Keep students in school until parents are notified of the problem and transportation for their child arrives.

M.C.L.A. 29.19
MCL 30.409, PA 189; 2006

Revised 9/98
Revised 11/06