What Families Should Do During an Emergency

During an emergency, it is a natural instinct for families to want to rush to their child. Waukee CSD and our parents share the same goal: To protect and safeguard our students. The District’s systematic procedures guide our response to a wide range of crisis situations.

Here are a few ways parents can help us effectively respond to a crisis:

  • Remain calm, follow procedures, and cooperate with school and public safety officials.
  • Do not go to the school. Traffic may block emergency responders from getting to the scene or transporting injured students or staff to emergency medical facilities.
  • Do not call the school. It is essential to keep phone lines open so school officials can make outgoing emergency calls.
  • Remain close to the phone or computer. We will send updates and instructions to you via ParentSquare.

The District may require families to pick up their children at a reunification site other than their school. In this case, please bring your photo ID. The District will communicate the location of the reunification site and further instructions.

Readiness, Response, Recovery & Reunification

Waukee CSD has a comprehensive emergency management plan focused around four principles: Readiness, Response, Recovery and Reunification. While there are certain details regarding our emergency response plan that are not shared publicly, we feel that it is important for families to have an overview of our plan.

Readiness:

  • We have an established emergency management plan developed in partnership with local law enforcement, as well as other appropriate emergency management resources.
  • We analyze our facilities for safety, security, communication, equipment capabilities and other areas of operational and functional ability.
  • We research and preplan to determine the most probable scenarios that could adversely affect our staff and the communities we serve.
  • We require training for our staff members so they can act as a team to mitigate a threat or minimize the impact to our children when a natural or man-made disaster occurs.
  • We utilize Threat Assessment Teams at each building to proactively identify and prevent potential safety concerns.
  • We conduct large-scale drills and tabletop exercises in partnership with police, fire, and emergency response services to test and improve our plans.
  • We are constantly vigilant to make necessary changes when we need to modify protocols or actions.

Response:

  • We will recognize an emergency or disaster early and communicate initial actions to staff, students and parents.
  • We will notify public safety early when appropriate (911, police, fire, rescue, sheriff).
  • We will implement actions that follow a predetermined plan to mitigate a threat or minimize the impact to our students when a natural or man-made disaster occurs.
  • We will work seamlessly with public safety officers when they arrive to maximize positive outcomes.
  • We will use our emergency notification system to alert families with accurate information as soon as possible.
    • To ensure you receive alerts, make sure that you have up-to-date contact information in ParentSquare and notifications are on. If you need assistance, please refer to these ParentSquare instructions or call your school building office.

Recovery:

  • We have predetermined programs in place to provide counseling services to staff, students and parents when a situation and/or need arises.
  • We have the ability to continue operations or the capacity to restore basic services quickly and effectively.
  • We maintain a fiscally sound and financially conservative business model so the organization has a “rainy-day” funding mechanism.
  • We utilize “hot-wash” methodology (immediate review of the response to the situation), so we can continue to reinforce the readiness and response process.

Reunification:

  • We will implement a formalized, controlled release of students to their custodial parents or guardians. This provides a predictable and organized method of reunifying children with their families after an emergency.
    • A controlled release may not be a typical end-of-school-day event, and it may occur at a different location than your child’s school due to the circumstances of the emergency situation. If the reunification is at a different building, we will communicate the alternate location and instructions at the time of the emergency.
    • You will need to:
      • Bring a photo ID.
      • Fill out a reunification card. This card and your identification will be used to confirm custody and help ensure proper and document reunification with your child.
      • Be patient. Reunification is a process that protects the safety of the student and provides for an accountable change of custody. After check-in, a runner will be sent to recover the student while the parent/guardian will step over to the Parent Staging Area.

Reunification Information Card