GFSD Emergency Preparedness Plan

Level Alert and Terrorism Response
• In the absence of a clear, specific local threat to safety, schools will remain open and students will be engaged in learning. Remember that your public schools are the safest places for our children to be during the day.
• The decision to close a school is the responsibility of local school boards and school administrators. The exception is a formal "state of emergency" declared by the Governor that includes a school directive.

Comfort kits for elementary students.
Parents are encouraged to prepare a "comfort kit" for elementary students that will stay at the school for the year. These are very helpful for students in a stressful situation to have items from home. A list of items can be found here for Monte Cristo Elementary and Mountain Way Elementary.

Our Families and Public Should Know:
• All schools practice fire/evacuation, earthquake, and lock-down drills on at regular basis.
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• Each school has a crisis response team in place that has first aid training and can remain at school after hours.
• All schools have counselors trained in emergency response and the District has access to regional counseling services in an event of an large-scale emergency.
• District administrators work and communicate with emergency management officials and local fire and police agencies in emergency preparedness/crisis response plans.
• School maintenance and custodial staff members are trained in each building on the location of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and cooling systems) and building controls systems.
• All schools have communication systems that include cell phones and walkie-talkie radio systems. The District is connected to the state emergency communication system.
• During an emergency, listen to local radio and TV stations for direction or click on the “cloud” on the District website for current information.
• If the school is in lockdown or "shelter in place", no one other than emergency response personnel will be allowed into the school(s). Listen to the radio/TV, or watch the District website (click on the "cloud") for instructions on when to pick you child up. Remember, any adult picking up a child from an emergency will be required to have identification.
• Make sure emergency contact information for your child is current at all schools.
• Additional important links for Homeland Security and Comprehensive Safe School Planning may be found on the OSPI Web site.