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Student Safety

Ferndale School District is fully committed to the physical, social, and emotional safety of every student we serve. The district and each of its schools has a standard procedure for evacuation and lockdown–each designed to safeguard whoever is in the buildings and/or get them out of the buildings if evacuation is needed. Below please find information about some of the specific programs and strategies that we employ to prepare in advance, address, monitor results, and grow out capacity to create and maintain safe learning environments at all of our school sites.

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TRUST!

  • Direct students NOT to call you and don’t call student cell phones. Here’s why:
    • Students will not know emergency details. They will know only that they’ve been directed to respond to an emergency and to do so in a specific way; they won’t have a full perspective and can’t give you an accurate picture of what is going on.
    • In emergencies, it is vital students follow orders and the prescribed emergency procedures. Parents calling with different instructions for their kids pit parental authority against school authority when safety can best be ensured when everyone follows school directions and responds as drills have been practiced.
    • The noise of cell phones and phone conversations could put students in danger. A school intruder may well be searching for people and be attracted to the sounds of cell phones or talking. During lockdowns, students and staff are to be absolutely silent.
    • Some radio and cell phone frequencies can trigger explosive devices.
    • As soon as possible, the district will use media, web, phones, or other methods to inform the public as much as possible of what is going on. Students who call news media during emergencies create misinformation from an uninformed perspective which creates confusion and takes more valuable time to correct.
  • Stay away from the school! Rushing to where your child might be clogs the roads, inhibits emergency response. The injured child in the ambulance that cannot get to the hospital just might be yours.
  • Be patient with school parent/student reunification procedure. Each student must be released to an authorized adult following an emergency. A rush of worried parents requires more time of staff assigned to reunite parents and students. Understand that, situation depending, parents may not be allowed on-campus access to students.
  • Remember, children demonstrate incredible strength and resilience that can collapse when they see a distraught parent.

Have a plan! Every family should have an emergency plan outlining where to meet, who to call, how to connect with someone out of state.

Have a neighborhood plan! Great way to get to know your neighbors.