Dear Owego Apalachin Families,
As we begin the 2024-2025 school year, we want to inform you about the safety procedures and drills that will be conducted in our schools to ensure the safety of all students and staff. The safety of your children is our top priority, and we are committed to keeping you informed about these important protocols.
Types of Drills and When to Expect Notifications
Throughout the school year, we will be conducting a variety of safety drills to ensure that our students and staff are well-prepared for a range of potential situations. These drills include lockdowns, evacuations, and early release procedures. To keep you informed, we are introducing new notifications that will update you when drills take place. Please note that the purpose of these notifications is simply to keep you informed, not to cause alarm.
Lockdown Drills: In case of an internal or external threat, students and staff practice securing themselves inside classrooms and remaining out of view. Number of Lockdown Drills: ● All schools must hold 4 lockdown drills throughout the school year. ● Each school will hold 2 lockdown drills in the fall and 2 lockdown drills in the spring. How Families Will be Notified: ○ Notification included in an email from the school.* ○ The communication from the principal will be posted on the district website and app through each school’s live feed stream. ● While dates will be communicated in advance, specific times will not be communicated in advance. | Evacuation Drills: Students and staff practice evacuating the building in case of fire or other need. Number of Evacuation Drills: ● All schools must hold 8 evacuation drills throughout the school year. ● Each school will hold 6 evacuation drills in the fall and 2 evacuation drills in the spring. How Families Will be Notified: ● The date of upcoming evacuation drills will be communicated to families within one week (at least 24 hours in advance) through the following channels: ○ Notification included in an email from the school.* ○ The communication from the principal will be posted on the district website and app through each school’s live feed stream. ● While dates will be communicated in advance, specific times will not be communicated in advance. | Early Dismissal Drill: Students and staff practice leaving the school early in an organized manner in case of emergencies requiring an early release.
● All schools must hold 1 early release drill. ● Each Owego Apalachin school building will begin its dismissal process 15 minutes early on October 10, 2024. How Families Will be Notified: ● The early dismissal drill date has been shared in the printed district calendar, and the district digital Google calendar, and is posted on the district website and app events calendar. ● Buildings will also share reminders in their email communication and live stream feed at least one week in advance. |
*Note: Occasionally, a scheduled drill may be postponed due to weather or other events. If this happens, the school building will hold the drill on the provided rain date.
Trauma-Informed Approach
We recognize that emergency drills can sometimes cause anxiety, especially for younger students. All drills will continue to be conducted in a trauma-informed and age-appropriate manner. As part of our annual safety curriculum and training, students learn about the importance of these drills and their purpose.
Emergency Preparedness
Each district decision is made prioritizing the safety of students and staff. We have specific safety practices and procedures developed by safety teams composed of staff and emergency personnel. For more information on our district’s safety plan and the types of drills we conduct, please visit our school website or contact your child’s school directly.
Communications
In the event of a real emergency, we will notify you as quickly as possible through our opt-in alert notification system, which includes phone calls, emails, and text alerts.
It's important to ensure your contact information is current. If you've recently changed your phone number or email, please update your details in the SchoolTool parent portal. For any questions, you can reach out to the district using Let’s Talk! - https://www.oacsd.org/page/lets-talk.
We will keep you informed if there are any changes to the plan above. We appreciate your continued support in helping us maintain a safe and secure learning environment for all students and staff to learn and grow. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.