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Emergency Plans
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I want to update you regarding our plans to assure the safety of our students
and staff during war and periods of greater risk for terrorist activities.
For many years we have had emergency plans to address traditional crises and
emergencies, such as school fires, accidents, and natural disasters. We have
added to our plans to accommodate for biological, radiological, chemical and
other potential terrorist activities. In planning for all emergencies, we
rely heavily on all levels of government and community safety agencies, such
as the Office of Emergency Preparedness and the New York State Education
Department.
Emergency Closing Email
You can be notified via e-mail or paged when your child's school has an
emergency closing. This service is provided by 13 WHAM TV. To register, log
on to www.13wham.com
and click on "Sign up for e-mail and/or pager alerts," then
"Register now" and complete the online registration form.
Emergencies Outside the School Day
In the event of an emergency, federal, state, local government or I may
decide to close schools before we are in session. These announcements would
be made through the news media and would be on WHAM 1180 AM radio as well as
other local radio and television stations.
Emergencies During the School Day
In the event of an emergency, I will determine whether to evacuate our staff
and students immediately or shelter (lock down) our schools. In both
evacuation and sheltering procedures, communication and cooperation are
essential.
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Emergency Closings
When School
is in Session
If school closes early, please:
1. Listen to the radio.
2. Do not call the school.
3. If there are special child care arrangements that need to be
made, plan now and write a note explaining these arrangements to the
Elementary or High School Principal.
4. Make sure your children can get in the house.
5. K-3 has an emergency phone tree list to alert as many parents as
possible. For more details, call the Elementary School at 659-8317.
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Evacuation
An evacuation could mean a transfer of students and staff from a location on
campus to another location on/off campus. I would determine whether to
evacuate, and if so, the extent and destination based on the circumstances of
the emergency and direction from emergency officials.
Cooperation is Essential
In the event of an emergency, the District would
communicate with the public through television and radio announcements. The
media would relay the timeline for an early dismissal, the location for a
school evacuation, and/or a notice of our plan to stay in place. If needed,
our fleet of buses would transport all students from the school to home, or to
another locationas directed by our governmental
agencies.
How Parents Can Be Informed and Help During an Emergency
In the event of an emergency, the roadways of the School
District must be open for emergency vehicles and bus
evacuations. It is important that parents not rush to the school to pick up
their children. It is also important that parents not call the school offices
and tie up phone lines needed for communications during the emergency
response. In either an evacuation or sheltering, too many people on campus
could hinder our ability to respond appropriately. To obtain specific
information regarding the District's response to an emergency, tune in to
local TV and radio stations (WHAM 1180 AM is an excellent resource) and/or
check the District's Web site at www.kendallschools.org.
Families should have their own “emergency plan.” In case of an evacuation,
parents should be sure children know what to do. Can they enter the home? Do
they know of another place they can go? Children should know how to contact
their parents if they are not home. Please be sure that emergency contact and
caregiver information on file at school is current. If your child is
administered medication at school, be sure that you have an adequate supply
in the Nurse's Office.
Maintaining a normal routine during stressful times is particularly important
for children. Adults need to help children feel safe. You may want to log
onto the National Association of School Psychologists' Web site at
www.nasponline.org for tips to help children cope during troubling times. For
home emergency preparedness, you may want to check out the Red Cross Web site
at www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared.
We are committed to doing all we can to ensure safety in our schools and to
keeping you updated about any new developments.
Sincerely,
Kendall Central School
Superintendent
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