A message from Superintendent Glen Szymoniak Feb. 16, 2018
The Dillingham City School District Emergency Action Plan
(Building Community Trust and Emergency Response Skills)
In light of recent events such as the earthquake near Kodiak Island, missile scare in Hawaii and school shooting in Florida, I thought it would be appropriate to share what Dillingham City School District has done this year to prepare for emergencies.
The Dillingham City School District is committed to the safety of our students, staff, and community. The District Emergency Action Plan is intended to provide schools a guide for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Families trust schools to keep their children safe during the school day. The reality is that schools may be touched either directly or indirectly by a crisis at any time.
In preparation for responding to emergencies, district employees go through a series of trainings. The first expectation is taking an online FEMA class called ICS 100. The class introduces the employees to the Incident Command System as it applies to schools. The second expectation for staff is to attend a full day of training to learn specialized responder skills and apply the incident command system to emergency situations. The local fire fighters, police, and EMS departments assist with the training. Each school is required to conduct monthly drills to practice their response to a variety of emergencies.
In addition to emergency response training, the District has implemented the following practices to assure safe and welcoming schools:
In addressing the issue of school safety, we must first remember that schools are reflective of the communities that they serve. As such, we can work together to ensure maximum school safety and preventative emergency procedures.
I hope this message helps everyone understand the efforts being taken to provide a safe and respectful learning environment in our schools.
The Dillingham City School District Emergency Action Plan
(Building Community Trust and Emergency Response Skills)
In light of recent events such as the earthquake near Kodiak Island, missile scare in Hawaii and school shooting in Florida, I thought it would be appropriate to share what Dillingham City School District has done this year to prepare for emergencies.
The Dillingham City School District is committed to the safety of our students, staff, and community. The District Emergency Action Plan is intended to provide schools a guide for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Families trust schools to keep their children safe during the school day. The reality is that schools may be touched either directly or indirectly by a crisis at any time.
In preparation for responding to emergencies, district employees go through a series of trainings. The first expectation is taking an online FEMA class called ICS 100. The class introduces the employees to the Incident Command System as it applies to schools. The second expectation for staff is to attend a full day of training to learn specialized responder skills and apply the incident command system to emergency situations. The local fire fighters, police, and EMS departments assist with the training. Each school is required to conduct monthly drills to practice their response to a variety of emergencies.
In addition to emergency response training, the District has implemented the following practices to assure safe and welcoming schools:
- One unlocked entrance to the school building during the school day and school events
- Entrance to the school is monitored by an assigned adult
- Assigned adult supervision at all school activities and events
- Emergency quick reference guide in all classrooms
- Evacuation routes posted in all classrooms
- Dress code policies are being reviewed to require backpacks and oversized clothing to be placed in student lockers
- Threat assessment protocol
- Student Behavior Modification Plan
- District Harassment procedure
- Search and Seizure policy and procedures
- District Counseling response team
- Academic and behavioral intervention teams
- Continual working relationship with community services
In addressing the issue of school safety, we must first remember that schools are reflective of the communities that they serve. As such, we can work together to ensure maximum school safety and preventative emergency procedures.
I hope this message helps everyone understand the efforts being taken to provide a safe and respectful learning environment in our schools.
