School Safety Information for Parents 

Nevada County school administrators and staff have worked diligently to focus on school safety and to reassure parents that plans are in place in the event of an incident, emergency, or disaster at their child’s school site or in the community.  Collaboration between law enforcement, first responders, and the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Office has improved familiarity with responding agencies, enhanced and updated Comprehensive School Safety Plans, and solidified effective and efficient drills for public, private and charter schools in our county.

Talk to your student about safety:

It is important for parents to be well informed about the safety practices at their child’s school site.  Conversations with your children following scheduled safety drills are essential to help families and students prepare for emergencies whether at school or some other venue.  Understanding the expectation of safety protocols helps to reduce fear and build a trust for the systems in place.  Open conversations between parents, teachers, support staff and students build upon the processes and strengthen the response plan.

Be Alert:

“If you see something, say something!” Nevada City School District promotes this quote, and encourages students, parents and staff to be proactive in reporting any concerns for safety to school administrators or appropriate first responders.  Reports of concern should be made directly to Law Enforcement if there is potential for imminent danger or harm.

Know Your Zone for Evacuation: In the event of a wildfire or other emergency situations, law enforcement and fire agencies will issue evacuation warnings noting the zone impacted. Authorities will use zone names in CodeRED and other emergency alerts. Nevada City School District is in Zone E-252.

COMMUNICATION DURING AN EMERGENCY

Administrators and first responders acknowledge the need for communication before, during, and after an event.  Information is disseminated when it is safe to do so and after it has been verified by responding agencies.  In the event of an emergency at Nevada City School District our communication will be via a telephone all call and district and school websites. Please be sure the school has your current emergency contact information (i.e. phone number(s), cell phone, and/or email. 

• Parents are encouraged to wait at home and anticipate updated information as it becomes available.
• Mass texts and phone calls to students personal cell phones may alert intruders – please refrain from doing so
• Mass texts and phone calls to students personal cell phones may tie up the system and prevent safe and effective response – please refrain from doing so
• Family members proceeding to the school site may block roads and prevent First Responders access – please do not report to the school site unless advised to do so
• Unverified social media texts may cause confusion and misinformation; please use discretion when using social media

Drills:

In compliance with California Education Code, Nevada City School District will hold monthly drills throughout the school year.  Some drills may be unannounced to provide an opportunity to review effectiveness and response of staff and students in a simulated event.  Some drills may include oversight from law enforcement and/or fire services.  Please have conversations with your students following drills to reinforce the safety protocols in place. 

PROCEDURES

If there is an emergency at Nevada City School District   staff have been trained, and will react quickly to protect students and fellow staff.  The following procedures are in place and practiced:

Earthquake

If there is an earthquake, students will duck, cover, and hold on until the shaking stops, and then will evacuate the building to the Evacuation Area, if it is safe to do so.  

Fire

If the emergency is a fire, students will evacuate to their Evacuation Area until authorities determine that it is safe to re-enter the buildings. Students will not return until the buildings have been inspected and are determined to be safe to enter.

Lockdown

Lockdowns may be initiated by law enforcement or school administrators.  Lockdown procedures are based on information received and will vary dependent on incident.  Lockdowns include locking doors, covering windows and silencing cell phones. If there is an imminent threat to the school site, additional procedures are implemented, such as evacuation, if it is safe to do so.  In addition to covering windows and locking doors, barricading classroom doors may be done if evacuation is not a safe option.  The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has confirmed that the Run, Hide, Fight standard for personal protection during an active shooter attack is reasonable and appropriate (Cal OES Enforcement Division, 2/18); school staff is trained in this response.

Shelter in Place

If there is a hazard outside such as a report of criminal activity in the area, a nearby chemical spill, weather hazard or dangerous animal on campus, students will be brought inside where the building itself will help protect them from danger. Schools will act to protect students, and are prepared to shelter the students inside classrooms for hours if necessary. If students are held for a lengthy period of time, there are procedures in place for emergency food, medical and restroom needs – these procedures vary depending on the nature of the danger to students. 

Reunification off site

In rare instances, where more distance is needed to ensure student safety, students may be relocated to another site for reunification with parent/guardians. This includes during a threat of wildfire or other threat to the safety of staff and students. Parents will be advised of reunification sites through via a telephone all call and district and school websites. For your safety and the safety of students, staff and first responders, please:

DO NOT REPORT TO THE SCHOOL - procedures are in place to safely and efficiently reunify students with parent/guardians. 

Have persons authorized to pick up students LISTED ON STUDENT EMERGENCY CARD. No student will be released to any other adult, if not listed on the current emergency card.

Be sure your student’s emergency card is up to date with emergency contact names and numbers.

Have a photo i.d. at the reunification site; it will be required at the time of pickup.