High School Emergency Procedures

High schools need to be safe places where students can concentrate on their lessons and teachers can work without the fear of violence or danger. However, unforeseen events, including natural disasters, need to be taken into account in a high school's emergency-preparedness plan. Every school needs to have procedures in place for responding to different emergency situations.

Evacuations

• One common emergency procedure is an evacuation in which all students, teachers and staff leave the school building in an organized manner. Evacuations are useful in the event of a fire or the presence of a hazardous material in the school, such as a chemical spill. Each classroom should have an evacuation plan that includes a meeting point outside the school where the teacher can take roll and account for every student. For long-term evacuations, schools determine an off-site location, such as a sports field or neighboring building, where students can wait to re-enter the school or for transportation home.

  A high school's evacuation plan includes multiple points of exit for every classroom, in case the closest exit is unsafe. The school should hold regular fire drills to teach students the proper evacuation procedure and ensure that all hallways and exits are free from obstructions.

Lockdowns

• Another type of high school emergency procedure is the lockdown, where students and staff are directed to stay in their classrooms. Teachers may be asked to lock the doors and close the blinds or drapes. Lockdowns are useful for protecting students if there is a hazardous material or a weapon present. Rather than an alarm, which signals an evacuation, lockdowns are initiated by a code read over the public address system. There also must be a second code to inform teachers it is safe for students to leave the classrooms.

Long-Term Sheltering

• In the event of a major natural disaster, students may need to find shelter at their high school for an extended period of time. High schools construct long-term shelter plans that include provisions for feeding students and providing first aid for any injuries. The procedure should also account for sanitation and sleeping space for the student body in a gymnasium, cafeteria or other large, safe space.

Notification

• Even for minor emergencies, a high school needs a procedure for notifying parents. This can help relieve tension caused by a public announcement of the emergency or notify parents of the need to pick up students. The simplest notification procedure is an automated calling system that relays a phone message to numbers on file with the school. A secondary notification system involving live calls should also be part of the procedure in case the automated system fails, such as during a power outage. Notification procedures may also include radio or television broadcasts to get the news out more quickly.