Parents' Role in Emergency

Providing a safe place for students to learn and grow is one of the most important responsibilities of any school system. Along with school officials, teachers, and staff, school families play a critical role in preventing and responding to school emergencies.

A school crisis can take a number of forms including an environmental event, such as a chemical spill or gas leak, a weather emergency, such as a severe storm, or an intruder in or near the school. The nature of  a school crisis dictates whether school officials will call a Shelter-In-Place, Evacuation, Secure Lockout, or Lockdown … or any combination of these protocols, as a means to ensure the safety and well being of students and staff.

In a school emergency, the first instinct as a parent is to pick up the telephone and start calling the school or rush to the school and get your child/children. The truth is, this only complicates matters from a safety and security standpoint. DO NOT call or rush to your child’s school. Your presence could interfere with emergency responders, and your call could clog the phone lines for 911 dispatch.

The best action parents can take in an emergency is to stay close to your phone and e-mail, to receive regular updates and instructions directly from the school district. The district uses the ParentSquare notification system to text, e-mail, and/or voice call parents during bad weather and emergencies.

If the situation requires students to evacuate to an off-site location, the district will give parents details on the location and reunification procedures at that time. We do not share location information in advance, both to protect students and staff (ie. a secondary attack could be planned at the site), and the location may change based upon the nature of the specific emergency.

The most important thing parents can do is make sure your child’s emergency contact information - especially phone numbers - are accurate and current. 

Communicating with Parents/Families during an event

When an emergency occurs at our schools, often the messages that are first circulated come from non-official sources. For example, a student texts a parent about an emergency and then the parent posts the text on Facebook, and the post is then shared by other parents, etc. So, why does it take longer for the school district to send out an official message?

Gathering facts: When an emergency happens, the district works hard to communicate factual information to the public as quickly as possible. But, as no two situations are alike, often there are details we need to verify. This can involve talking to multiple people (such as the police or fire department, or families directly involved with the emergency) and this information-gathering phase takes time. Please know we’re working as fast as possible to get an accurate account of the situation.

Limited on what we can share: Depending on the situation, there are times we are limited on the details we can share. This could be because of privacy laws or an active law enforcement investigation. It is not our intention to seem vague when we say, “We are unable to share specifics regarding XYZ.” Please know that we strive for proactive communication while balancing the privacy of others.

Getting the message out: Once we have the message ready to send, we activate various communication channels. The most used channels are email, text, and the district website. Occasionally we will use broadcast media (TV, radio) or social media. Please note, we are moving away from posting information about emergencies to our district social media accounts. The algorithms of the various social media platforms make it impossible for us to know when or even if members of our community might see these posts. Therefore, during an emergency, we rely on the more immediate and direct methods of communication outlined above.

If you regularly receive non-emergency text messages and emails from GFSD, that means we have an up-to-date email address and phone number for you. If you have not received an email or text message from the district through ParentSquare in the past two weeks, please update your notification settings in ParentSquare or contact your school secretary to provide us with a current phone number or email address. If we do not have a current email address or mobile phone number for you, you will not receive information via email/text in an emergency.

What should you do during an emergency situation?

• Follow the instructions given in our message. This might include an alternate pick-up location for your child or a change to the schools’ dismissal times.
• Help keep the schools’ phone lines open by not calling in and asking for additional information. Feel free to reply to the email you receive and we will try to respond to you as quickly as possible. We will also send updates through the above channels.
• To help cut down on misinformation in the community, share the district’s message with local friends and neighbors who might not have received it — especially those without children attending Glens Falls schools.
• Lastly, please make sure your contact information is always up to date in eSchool and ParentSquare. Your email address and phone number(s) listed in your ParentSquare account are the ones that will receive our messages.

Thank you for doing your part to keep the communication lines open and for sharing accurate and factual messages with those around you.

Please review the district’s “SHELL Sheet,” which describes the quick actions taken in each alert protocol: