Emergency Preparedness

The safety of our students is our top priority. In order to ensure their safety during an emergency, children are supervised and protected by teachers and school staff. When a school emergency occurs, parents have several avenues to obtaining information about the situation and the status of their children. One option is to obtain information via the district´s web page at www.husd.com. This address will provide information about district emergency procedures. Second, email information will be sent to those families using email for communication. Third, parents may obtain information by calling their child´s school directly. Please understand that many parents may be calling at the same time and delays in responding may be encountered.

We ask all families to follow these guidelines in times of emergency:

1. Do not drive to school. We must allow for emergency access is for emergency vehicles. We know that parents are anxious about the safety of their children and want to be with their children as soon as possible, but if large numbers of parents rush to the school site simultaneously, it may interfere with ability of the appropriate agencies to provide the necessary emergency response.
2. Turn to local radio and TV stations for information on what to do and where to respond in order to pick up your child. The school must know the whereabouts of each and every child including those who are picked up by their families or other adults listed on the child´s emergency card. Please work with your school administration in following directions and procedures so that your children can be reunited with your family in a safe, orderly and prompt manner.

Throughout the year, your child will be practicing emergency procedures during recess and/or lunch periods. Evacuation procedures, including lockdown (returning to class), will be practiced. Our training goal is to provide the best atmosphere possible for staff and students in responding to all emergency situations.

In preparation for appropriate emergency responses, all classrooms now have detailed written emergency procedures located on wall-mounted clipboards by the classroom exit door. Every classroom is also equipped with an emergency "red bag", which contains essential supplies to assist both teacher and students during an emergency situation. The district´s first priority is to keep all of its students safe in any emergency situation. We believe that through education, training, practice and experience, we can achieve our goal of a safe, appropriate and prompt response to any emergency situation. If you would like to assist the district in emergency planning or would like to support our efforts to fully equip each school for any emergency situation, please contact your child´s principal.