Safety & Emergency Procedures
Emergency Preparedness: Ensuring the Safety of Our Students and Schools
At Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123, our top priorities are the well-being and security of our students, staff, and families. We are committed to proactive emergency preparedness, clear communication, and well-coordinated responses to potential crises. The following information outlines how we maintain a safe school environment, what families can do to stay informed, and how the district responds to emergencies.
We take a comprehensive approach to school safety, working closely with local emergency responders and continuously refining our practices and protocols. Here’s how we ensure preparedness:
- Collaborative Emergency Planning: District leaders and emergency response teams meet yearly to review and enhance safety procedures. Plans are updated based on best practices, district-specific needs, and collaboration with the neighboring school districts.
- Threat Assessment & Prevention: Our multidisciplinary team of school administrators, social workers, counselors, and local law enforcement proactively assess potential threats and work to address concerns before they become emergencies.
- Staff Training & Emergency Readiness: All school staff, including substitutes, receive training on emergency procedures. Quick-reference action guides are readily available in all classrooms.
- Student Safety Awareness: Age-appropriate lessons are delivered at each of our schools within the Second Step program, and help students understand responsible behavior, digital safety, and school protocols, empowering them to contribute to a secure learning environment.
- Confidential Reporting System: Students can report safety concerns anonymously through Safe2Help, ensuring prompt intervention when needed.
- Regular Safety Drills: All District 123 Schools conduct scheduled emergency drills including fire, severe weather, evacuation, and active threat drills, to ensure students and staff know what to do in a crisis.
- Visitor Screening & Secure Entrances: All visitors must check in at the front office of each school using the VisitorAware system. This is where identification is verified before access to the building is granted. Schools maintain secure, monitored entry points to prevent unauthorized access.
Families play an essential role in ensuring a safe and prepared school community. Here’s how you can contribute:
- Keep Emergency Contacts Updated: Ensure that your contact information and designated emergency contacts are current in Skyward Family Access. By keeping this information updated District 123 can send email and SMS Emergency Alerts when necessary.
- Follow School Security Procedures: Visitors must follow entry school-based entry protocols, and parents should reinforce these expectations with their children.
- Model Respectful Conduct: Parents and visitors should engage with school staff and community members respectfully and cooperatively.
- Talk to Your Child About Safety:
- Explain the importance of emergency drills and why staying calm and following directions is essential.
- Encourage your student to report anything unusual or concerning to a trusted adult.
- Stress that threats, even as jokes, are taken seriously and can have serious consequences.
- Remind them that weapons and lookalike items are strictly prohibited at school.
- Develop a Family Emergency Plan: Discuss what to do in case of school closures, early dismissals, or emergencies that occur during transit.
- Official Alerts & Updates: Families will receive emergency notifications primarily via email and text messages. Urgent updates will also be posted at the top of the district website and may also be posted on social media.
- Keeping Communication Lines Open: Parents are encouraged not to call or drive to the school during a crisis, as this can interfere with emergency operations.
- Public Information & Media Coordination: During a crisis or emergency, a designated spokesperson ensures clear and accurate communication with families and media while safeguarding student privacy and security.
Severe Weather Protocols
- Tornado Watches: Students remain indoors, and all activities continue as scheduled.
- Tornado Warnings: Students and staff take shelter in designated areas. Parents will be notified if conditions affect dismissal or pickup procedures.
Secure Building Procedures
- “Shelter-In-Place”: Used when an external hazard (e.g., police activity nearby) requires restricting entry and exit. Any classes that are outside return to the building, and classes continue as usual inside the building.
- “Lockdown”: Used when a situation requires limiting student movement within the school. Classes seek a secure space, and lock doors.
Evacuation & Fire Response
- Used when a hazard inside the school (e.g., fire or gas leak) necessitates relocating students and staff to a safe location outside the building or to an alternate facility.
Active Threat Response (EBRS Protocol)
- In the event of immediate danger, staff and students follow the EBRS framework: Escape, Barricade, Resist, and Survive as appropriate.
- Parents will receive updates as soon as information is verified and emergency response teams have secured the situation.
Threats Received Outside School Hours
- Any reported threats are taken seriously, investigated with law enforcement, and handled in a way that prioritizes student and staff safety. Families will be notified if additional precautions or school closures become necessary.
Talking to Children About Violence
- National Association for School Psychologists
Safe Storage of Firearms
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