TCAPS Celebrates Safe Schools Week
Dear Staff & Families,
In coordination with Safe Schools Week, TCAPS wishes to provide an update on a variety of ongoing safety and security measures happening across the district. These efforts include the work and collaboration with local authorities, neighboring districts, and all TCAPS staff and students.
Door Numbering
Schools across Grand Traverse County have aligned a door numbering system to provide a consistent layout regardless of the school, district, or building design. This numbering system allows first responders to quickly identify and report to any location within a school.
Drills
Michigan law requires schools to run 10 drills each year and to report out after each. This includes five fire drills, three lockdown drills, and two severe weather drills. Anyone wishing to check the status of school drills can access the content on the district website.
Secure Mode
When a safety issue arises near the vicinity of any school building, the building may go into Secure Mode. During Secure Mode, all students and staff stay inside the building and we verify our perimeter doors are fully secure. We are able to maintain normal class activities during this time, and we continue to monitor the situation.
Lockdown
When there is an imminent threat to the building or presence of a hazardous material nearby, a school will go into lockdown. This provides students and staff maximum safety in the school building or on campus.
Severe Weather
Severe weather can quickly affect school operations. The impact can determine whether to cancel school, shelter in place, or cancel outside recess or activities. Severe weather includes severe thunderstorms, tornados, snow or ice storms, road conditions, forecasted weather.
Severe Storms:
In the event of a severe weather or tornado warning, the school will take shelter immediately. In the event of a severe weather or tornado watch, the district will prepare and continuously monitor the conditions, but will continue with the school day.
Weather Forecast:
Short-term weather forecasts are used to determine severe weather conditions. Temperature, wind speed, and windchill are also factors in determining severe weather decisions.
Road Conditions:
During the winter months “wake-up callers” take shifts to monitor the weather and determine whether or not it is necessary for the “road checkers” to go out and drive the roads at 3:00 a.m. The road checkers report conditions back to the director of transportation who consults with the assistant superintendent of finance and operations. The assistant superintendent discusses with the superintendent for a final decision. TCAPS also works in collaboration with the National Weather Service in Gaylord and the Grand Traverse County Road Commission. The road commission uses technology that analyzes road temperatures and GPS as it relates to the timing of dropping sand/salt. TCAPS’ goal is to make the decision to close or stay open by 5:00 a.m., if possible, and by 6:00 a.m. at the latest.
Reunification
In the event of any emergency requiring a full building evacuation, TCAPS has developed a plan that will assist in bringing students and families back together in an organized and safe way. TCAPS has also held training sessions for TCAPS staff, local schools, and emergency personnel who were able to participate.
TCAPS will update families when it becomes necessary to initiate a reunification plan. Messages will be posted as a pop up screen on all district and school websites, shared via email, text, social media, and provided to our local media partners for community reach.
The process of reunification includes:
evacuating the affected location of all students and staff via TCAPS school buses and transporting them to a predetermined location, known as the reunification site. This location is not shared in advance to ensure a safe and orderly process.
organizing the reunification site by staging students by classroom and closely monitoring attendance, providing students and staff with food, water, and offering physical and mental care as needed.
organizing the reunification site’s exterior perimeter for families regarding where to park, enter, and exit.
Arranging a parent / guardian entrance for parents to check in. Parents / guardians will be asked to show proper identification and must be listed on file with the school as an emergency contact for the student.
Once the parent / guardian has been verified, the district will reunify the student with the parent. They will depart together using a separate exit door.
Many factors can affect the timing of a reunification process. Families will be asked to remain very patient to allow the district to prioritize the safety of every student and staff member. Families will also be asked not to report to the affected site as students will not be released prior to the reunification process. Updates will be provided on a regular basis to ensure families are kept up to date.
First Aid / CPR / AED
Numerous TCAPS staff are trained to respond to emergency situations. CPR certification is provided on site to TCAPS staff. All TCAPS buildings have access to first aid kits, stop the bleed kits, epi- pens, and are equipped with AEDs. Many are also equipped with NARCAN.
If a student or staff member has a medical situation at school, the building may enter into secure mode to ensure safety and privacy.
OK2SAY
TCAPS continues to stress the importance of school safety and for students who hear something, to say something. Students can always talk to any staff member or can anonymously report an incident to the OK2SAY tip line (855-565-2729), text to 652729, or email ok2say@mi.gov. Ensuring students understand the importance of school safety provides an added layer to the safety and well-being of all who attend TCAPS.
We invite you to always ask questions pertaining to your child’s safety and security. Please reach out to your building principal or email our Safety and Security Director Pat McManus at mcmanuspa@tcaps.net