In the event of a disaster, please follow this process for checking out students:

• Do not call the school.

• Go to Gomes immediately. If this is not possible, contact one of the individuals you have preauthorized on your child's Emergency Release Form to pick up your student. Students will only be released to authorized individuals.

• Once you arrive at school, park on the streets without blocking entrances for emergency vehicles. Remain calm.

• Students will be evacuated to the Disaster Evacuation Area at the fenced baseball fields on the east side of Gomes near Las Palmas (see map). The children will be separated into two groups, (K-3 and 4-6) by room numbers on two fields.

• If we must evacuate the school grounds, a note will be left on the gate that we have moved away from the dangers.

• Parents or caregivers should go to a staff or volunteer Emergency Preparedness Team member at the Disaster Release Center which is set up between the two fields. All faculty and volunteers can be identified by a bright orange vest/cap.

• Once you get there, the parent or caregiver will need to identify him or herself and provide identification such as a drivers license. Tell them the name of the children you wish to pick up. Staff members will check the Disaster Release Form to make sure the individual is authorized before releasing the students.

• Parents or Caregivers will be asked to wait in a separate area while their child is retrieved. No one will be allowed in the baseball fields so that we can ensure a smooth and efficient release process.

• Parents or caregivers must sign the Disaster Release Form and the student and adult will be checked again at the gate to ensure that the adult and child match.

• Staff members will remain with your children. Your child will not be left alone. We have food, water, and other supplies for three days.

• Parent cooperation with our release process is essential for student safety.

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Fire Drill

Fire drills are initiated by the office staff. Sonitrol is alerted of the drill so that the fire department does not respond.

At the sound of the fire alarm:

Students will:

• Stop all activity and listen silently for instruction
• Line up quietly and orderly
• Follow teacher/ or adult instructions
• Exit the classroom in a silent and orderly line
• Proceed to the designated area in line
• Stand silently while teacher/or adult accounts for every child
• Wait silently for further instruction or dismissal by authorized personnel

Teachers will:

• Stop all activity
• Give instructions to students
• Gather emergency supply case and class list
• Ensure that the door is closed after all persons exit the room
• Proceed with class to homeroom evacuation assembly area
• Account for all students
• Report attendance to authorized personnel noting any missing students
• Wait for further instructions or dissmissal

 

 

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Lockdown Communication Procedures

Advance Communication to Parents, Guardians and Students

Parents and guardians shall be notified in advance through school newsletters and other communications of the following:

• Staff will not open doors during a lockdown.
• Visitors will be allowed access to students only if the public safety incident commander determines that the site is secure.
• Information regarding a lockdown will be posted on the FUSD web site at
  https://fremontunified.org/resources/safety/

Initiation

A lockdown must be a response to a clear and present danger to the safety of students or staff at a school site. A lockdown may be initiated by one of the following:

• Public safety officer
• School principal or designee (Site administrators have authority to lock down their site only. Only a public safety officer or the superintendents designee can direct other sites to lock down.)

When a lockdown is initiated, administrators are to Activate the School Safety Plan. The principal or designee is the incident commander for all personnel and visitors at the site and is responsible for alerting everyone on the site of the situation, including visitors, childcare facility staff, maintenance and food service workers.

The following template for announcing a lockdown should be adapted to each work site in the district and included in the school safety plan:

When a lockdown has been ordered, the incident commander or his or her designee shall make the following announcement and repeat it several times in the following manner (insert the most effective communications system(s) at the site, e.g. public address system or bullhorn.):

Attention. A lockdown of the campus has been ordered. Please remain calm. Teachers, please secure your students in your classroom immediately and begin following lockdown procedures. All other personnel, please secure any students in your area by bringing them to (insert a designated area, such as a multipurpose room, cafeteria, gym, childs classroom.) All campus visitors report to (insert designated area such as main office). All office staff remain in or report to your offices. All other staff report to (insert designated area for staff who do not have an office or classroom.) Parents, do not try to locate your children. Your children will be released to you after the lockdown has been lifted. Please report to (insert designated area). Ignore any fire alarms.

Notification

A staff member designated in advance by the principal shall notify the superintendents office immediately that a lockdown has been initiated and shall provide lockdown updates to the superintendents office. The staff member assigned to notification and communication should call the Fremont Police Department dispatch desk at 790-6800 periodically to obtain the most current information available regarding the situation. A principal or designee also may notify neighboring schools that his or her is locked down, but any instruction for the second school to also lock down should come from the district office or a public safety officer.

Communication

The superintendents office staff will activate the emergency staff notification protocol to include the following:

• Notify other district staff who need to be informed of the lockdown, including but not limited to, senior administrators, principals and department directors.
• Call other high school and junior high school administrations (including ROP and Adult School) immediately if a high school is locked down.
• Provide a brief description of the event to be distributed to key staff via e-mail and to be posted on the
  https://fremontunified.org/resources/safety/

During the Lockdown

• All staff and students are to be in secured rooms, away from windows and visual contact from the outside during the lockdown.
• Students will be permitted to go to the restroom only if the public safety incident commander permits such activity and only if the student is accompanied by a designated school staff escort.
• Any special needs of students or access of parents to students will be addressed through the public safety incident commander.
• The principal will provide frequent communications to the students and staff regarding the status of the lockdown and the need for continued cooperation.
• Rules regarding cell phone use will be strictly enforced.

Lifting the Lockdown

The public safety incident commander will authorize the lifting of the lockdown and communicate that decision to the superintendents office.

The superintendents office will notify the principals at all affected sites to lift the lockdown. If school site staff are notified directly by public safety officers that a lockdown is no longer in effect, staff should still notify the superintendents office before lifting the lockdown.

The superintendents office will contact other district staff who need to be informed regarding the lifted lockdown status, including, but not limited to, senior administrators, principals and department directors.

FUSD website information will be amended to reflect the lifted lockdown status.

After-Event Parent Communications

Principals are to send a factual notice to parents regarding the day, time, duration and reason for the lockdown. The notice should include other information as appropriate such as lunch changes, transportation adjustments, and extra-curricular and co-curricular activity modifications. The notice also is to be posted on the school website.

Terminology

The public safety incident commander is a law enforcement officer or fire department official responsible for managing an emergency situation. He or she may or may not be on site, but will be consulted continuously regarding the threat level to the students and staff.

A public safety officer is a law enforcement officer or fire department official who is participating in the management of an emergency situation but may or may not be on site.

Delineation of Responsibilities

In an emergency situation at a school site, public safety officers and school administrators are expected to share command responsibilities. The public safety incident commander will be primarily responsible for decisions and directives pertaining to the physical safety and security of the students, staff and facility. The principal or principals designee will be primarily responsible for decisions regarding the welfare, comfort and morale of students and staff and for establishing and maintaining communication with the superintendents office.

Application of Procedures

The procedures described above are intended to be applied primarily in lockdown situations, but they may be equally applicable in other circumstances that involve threats to student or staff security but do not specifically require that students be locked in rooms. Such situations may include but are not limited to lockouts and evacuations where a threat to safety may require that students be kept out of the school.

This document was developed by the FUSD Emergency Response Planning Committee in cooperation with the Fremont Police Department and the Alameda County Office of Emergency Services. Questions and comments may be addressed to https://fremontunified.org/about/instructional-services/student-support-services/

Attachments

1. Emergency Staff Notification Protocol
2. Appendix: Sample School-Site Lockdown Procedures

Emergency Staff Notification Protocol

If an event presents a threat to the safety of students or staff in the Fremont Unified School District, the following emergency communications procedures are to be implemented immediately:

• A person designated in advance by the principal at the site or sites directly affected shall immediately call the Superintendents office at 659-2594.
• The Superintendents staff will call the managers
• The managers will call the staff members in their respective departments to ensure that key personnel are aware that an emergency is in progress.

After key staff  have been notified by telephone, the Superintendents office staff will e-mail all other District personnel and all other principals to inform them that an emergency is in progress. It will be their responsibility to identify and contact other staff who may need to be informed of the emergency.

Appendix: Sample School-Site Lockdown Procedures

We provide the following suggested language as a template that individual school sites can reference in developing or revising their safety plans and lockdown procedures. Please note that the template must be individually tailored by each site, in collaboration with law enforcement, to address its unique needs. Please also note that the Comprehensive School Safety Act requires that each item be developed in cooperation with law enforcement in order to ensure that it follows proper protocols and safety measures. Furthermore, the procedures must also be reviewed with students, parents, local community leaders, and school personnel for their input prior to adoption within the plan.

A. What is a lockdown?

A lockdown is the confinement of people inside secured rooms for safety measures. It is used when a serious threat exists to the campus that requires students, personnel, and visitors to remain in a locked facility for safety. A lockdown is typically ordered by law enforcement, but there may be situations when a lockdown is ordered by the principal or designee as the person responsible for communicating emergency procedures (e.g. intruder on campus). When in lockdown, the principal is designated as the Incident Commander and should follow the duties set forth in the safety plan.

B. How is a lockdown communicated?

When ordered by law enforcement, police communicate the lockdown directive directly to the school sites Incident Commander. The order suspending the lockdown is likewise communicated by the police directly to the sites Incident Commander.

C. What procedures should be followed?

1. When a lockdown has been ordered, the Incident Commander or his or her designee shall make the following announcement and repeat it several times in the following manner [insert the most effective communication system(s) at the site (e.g. public announcement system, walkie-talkies, bullhorn, etc.)]:Attention. A lockdown of the campus has been ordered. Please remain calm. Teachers, please secure your students in your classroom immediately and begin following lockdown procedures. All other personnel, please secure any students in your area by bringing them to [insert a designated area (e.g. multipurpose room, cafeteria, gym, childs classroom, etc.)]. All students who are not with an adult in class, please walk, do not run, directly to [insert designated area (e.g. multipurpose room, cafeteria, gym, next class etc.)]. All campus visitors please report to [insert designated area (e.g. main office.)]. All office staff remain or report to your offices. All other staff report to [insert designated area for staff who do not have a classroom or office to go to]. Parents do not try to locate your children. Your children will be released to you after the lockdown has been lifted. Please report to [insert designated area (e.g. main office.)]. Ignore any fire alarms.
2. The Incident Commander must alert the District of the lockdown order and keep the District informed about the status.

D. How should a lockdown be implemented?

Teachers

1. Lock the classroom door immediately.
2. Keep all students sitting on the floor, away from the door or windows.
3. Advise the students that there is some type of emergency but you are not certain what it is. Project a calm attitude to help students remain calm. Reassure students that they are safe and that you are in charge.
4. Take attendance and prepare a list of missing students and extra students in the room. Prepare to take this list with you when you are directed to leave the classroom.
5. If there is a phone in the classroom, do not use it to call out. Lines must be kept open, unless there is an emergency situation in the classroom.
6. Ignore any fire alarm activation. The school will not be evacuated using this method. Announcements will be made over the [insert communication system (e.g. public announcement system, walkie-talkie, bullhorn, etc.)].
7. When or if students are moved from the classroom, assist them in moving as quietly and quickly as possible.
8. Remain in the room until the Incident Commander or designee announces the end of the lockdown or a police officer arrives and lifts the lockdown.

Other Personnel

1. Look in your immediate vicinity. If you observe any unsupervised students, bring them to [insert the designated area (e.g. multipurpose room, cafeteria, gym, etc.)].
2. If there are no students in your immediate vicinity, proceed to [insert designated area.]
3. Lock the door immediately after reaching the designated area.
4. If you have students with you:
   • (a) Keep them sitting on the floor, away from the door or windows.
   • (b) Advise the students that there is some type of emergency but you are not certain what it is. Project a calm attitude to help students remain calm. Reassure students that they are safe and that you are in charge.
   • (c) Take attendance. Prepare to take this list with you when you are directed to leave the classroom.
   • (d) When or if students are moved out of the room, assist them in moving as quietly and quickly as possible.
5. If there is a phone in the room, do not use it to call out. Lines must be kept open, unless there is an emergency situation in the classroom.
6. Ignore any fire alarm activation. The school will not be evacuated using this method. Announcements will be made over the [insert communication system (e.g. public announcement system, walkie-talkie, bullhorn, etc.)].
7. Remain in the room until the Incident Commander or designee announces the end of the lockdown or a police officer arrives and lifts the lockdown.

E. When will students be released from a lockdown?

Everyone will remain in the lockdown mode until the police department lifts the lockdown. The Incident Commander or designee will announce when the lockdown is over. After the lockdown is lifted, students may be released to their parents or other authorized adults according to the schools release procedures in the safety plan.

These procedure guidelines were provided to FUSD by Leibert, Cassidy and Whitmore, a San Francisco law firm consulted in regard to the districts legal responsibilities and obligations during a lockdown.