Emergency Preparedness and Support

August 2010

To:       Parents, Guardians, Students and Staff in Royal Oak Schools
From:    Royal Oak Schools Emergency Planning Committee
Re:       Emergency Preparedness and Support

The School District of the City of Royal Oak continues to take proactive measures to protect the safety of all of our students and staff.  The School District meets regularly with local police, fire and county health department officials to plan our response to our school community's potential threats.

The School District and all school facilities have emergency management plans.  These plans have been developed with the help of school administration, staff, local law enforcement, fire protection officials, and public health officials.  Our plans include procedures for responding to critical incidents, such as fire, tornado, and intruder incidents.  Each school facility practices the emergency procedures regularly, with many drills being supervised by local emergency responders.

The action taken during any emergency situation by school administration or the local emergency responders depends, in great measure, on the specific incident.  For example, schools may evacuate, take cover, or lockdown, according to the nature of the specific threat.  The priority and main objective during any emergency drill or critical incident is the safety of our students and our staff.

School administrators have been trained with a variety of procedures to work with local emergency responders in critical incidents.  Each school emergency plan is reviewed annually and after each emergency drill.  These plans remain flexible in nature to account for changes in the specific incidents, updated staff training, and requirements from federal and state law.  Additionally, School District officials follow direction from public safety officials during any critical incident.

Each emergency management plan includes a parent communication component.  The School District broadcasts information, when necessary, using a variety of media.  When needed, our Emergency Notification System (ENS) broadcasts information by telephone and email to all emergency contacts for Royal Oak students.  Refer to the District website (http://www.royaloakschools.com/) for general information about the School District's Emergency Preparedness Planning procedures.

The following are frequently asked questions about the District's Emergency Preparedness and Support Plan:

Q:      Where can I obtain a copy of the District's Emergency Plan?

Access cannot be provided nor is it accessible to the public.

Q:        What is a Lockdown?

A Lockdown is a procedure for securing student and staff inside the school during an emergency or at a time involving a potential threat.

Q:        Why can't a parent get into the building during a Lockdown?

Presence of non-emergency responders compromises safety of students and staff.

Q:        What is the District plan for an outbreak of a viral or bacterial illness?(direction from OCHD/cleaning protocol/home-school communication)  www.oakgov.com/health

Schools take direction from Oakland County Health Department, and other local Emergency Responders.

Q:        Where may I obtain information about the school evacuation plan?

Access cannot be provided nor is it accessible to the public.

Q:        How will I be communicated with during an emergency incident?

            (ENS/building communication)

The District will broadcast information using the ENS in as timely a manner as possible. The Building Principal will often provide follow-up information through School-Home communications.

Q:        What is the best thing for a parent to do during a critical incident?

Remain calm and patiently await communication from School Officials.

Q:        Who can pick up my children during a school wide early release due to an emergency?

Children will only be released to those adults identified with written permission from the parents. 

Q:        If I need more information during an Emergency, whom do I call?

Do not call either School Officials or Law Enforcement as excessive phone calls congest the open lines of communication and divert attention from the safety of our students and staff.  Information will be provided through our ENS and once is possible to communicate safely.