D.C. Everest administrators and staff have been proactively working with law enforcement, first responders, and our Superintendent’s Office in Wisconsin to update our Comprehensive School Safety Plans and put into place effective drills that will help prepare us for incidents, emergencies or disasters that may occur at school or within the community. Below is important safety information we encourage you to review prior to the start of the school year.
Talk to Your Student About Safety
It is crucial for parents/guardians to be aware of the safety protocols at their child’s school. Engaging in conversations with your child(ren) about safety drills taking place at school is vital to helping them prepare for emergencies that may take place at school or elsewhere. By helping your student understand the district safety protocols (found below), you can help reduce fear and build a student’s trust in the systems we have in place. Open dialogues between parents, teachers, support staff, and students strengthen our processes and emergency response plans. Below are the district safety protocols to review with your student.
Be Alert
“If you see something, say something!” This proactive approach is encouraged among students, parents, and staff to ensure safety concerns are reported immediately to school administrators or appropriate first responders, especially if there is a potential for imminent danger.
Drills
DCE schools comply with Wisconsin safety drill mandates. Some of the safety drills we conduct are, per the mandates, unannounced. These drills provide the DCE safety team with the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of our responses. We conduct the first of our fire and lockdown drills within the first two weeks of school to ensure our students are informed and prepared for potential emergencies.
For the past several years, D.C. Everest has followed an established protocol in the event an unauthorized person enters the school building. If that occurs, a building-wide alert is announced, and students and staff are instructed to lock their classroom doors, turn off the lights, and hide while remaining quiet.
Research indicates, however, that to increase their chances of survival, students and staff should be provided with additional options when confronted with an intruder. Therefore, DCE has enhanced the traditional lockdown protocols with a new Run, Hide, Fight Training and Instruction that will be implemented across the District. These procedures are endorsed by safety experts across the country, including the Department of Homeland Security.
Run, Hide, Fight
In an active shooter situation, the protocol of Run, Hide, Fight is adopted:
Run
Have an escape route and plan in mind
Leave your belongings behind
Run regardless of whether others agree to follow
Help others escape, if possible
Prevent others from entering an area where the active shooter may be
Call 911 when you are safe
Hide
Lock the door or block the entry to your hiding place with tables, chairs or any other sizable item
Silence your cell phone so you are not detected by the shooter
Fight
Emergency Procedures
Fire: Evacuate and do not return until it is deemed safe.
Lockdown: Take action based on the nature of the threat, which may include locking doors and covering windows.
In rare instances, where more distance is needed to ensure student safety, students may be relocated to another site for reunification with parents/guardians. Parents will be advised of reunification sites through our School Messenger all-call system, websites, and social media channels.
For your safety and the safety of students, staff, and first responders, please:
● DO NOT REPORT TO THE SCHOOL — procedures are in place to safely and efficiently reunite students with parents/guardians.
● Ensure you have persons authorized to pick up your student(s) LISTED ON YOUR STUDENT’S EMERGENCY CARD in Infinite Campus (you can find more information linked HERE). No student will be released to any other adult, if not listed on the current emergency card.
● Have your photo ID with you at the reunification site; it will be required at the time of pickup.
Communication During an Emergency
During an emergency at a D.C. Everest school, communication is distributed through the School Messenger all-call system, the district websites, and our social media channels. To ensure you receive timely alerts, please update your emergency contact information. Please visit the DCE Safety and Security webpage to update your contact information in Infinite Campus.
Parents are advised to:
Remain at home/work and monitor our communication channels (website, social media, email, texts) for updated information.
Avoid sending repeated texts or phone calls to students’ personal cell phones; doing so may alert intruders to your child’s location and may tie up the cellular systems, potentially delaying a safe and effective response
Refrain from proceeding to the site of the emergency — doing so may block roads and prevent First Responders from responding in a timely manner; only proceed to the site if advised to do so by the district or law enforcement
Avoid posting unverified information to your social media channels — this can lead to mass confusion and misinformation
For any concerns or questions, please contact your building principal.
