School Safety

Safety Is Our Priority

Clovis Unified School District is committed to making schools safe for all students and staff. We work closely with local and state agencies including police, fire, emergency medical services and public health officials to ensure that we are well prepared and children are protected. Every school has an up-to-date safe school plan, and so does the District. These plans are regularly practiced and annually reviewed to make sure employees and students know what their role would be in the event of an emergency. Trainings includes both classroom instruction and practice drills that involve local emergency responders. Members of a community who serve on safety committees at each school are also involved in overseeing preparedness efforts.

We train to deal with different kinds of problems, whether caused by natural forces or manmade; and have plans that can be adjusted to meet any circumstance. If a situation is serious enough to require you to leave your home or workplace, we will either ask you to pick your child up or will direct you to a location at which you will be updated on developments. For your safety – and the safety of students and staff – it’s best to wait for additional instructions and only head to school during a lockdown or facility alert if instructed to do so.

STUDENTS FIRST

Should an emergency occur, school officials and emergency responders will first do what is needed to secure a facility for the safety of students, and then work to inform parents with accurate and complete information. We recognize the importance of communicating with parents when an emergency occurs at their child’s school, and make it a priority to reach out to parents quickly using multiple communication channels (telephone, email, text, Internet, etc.). If you hear of an emergency from your student prior to hearing about it from the school site, please know it is because the school staff acts first to secure the safety of students and staff, and next to communicate the situation to parents.

VISITORS

All visitors arriving on a Clovis Unified campus during the school day are expected to sign in at the school’s administrative office and receive a visitor’s badge. School staff are always on the lookout for visitors, and will direct any visitor without a badge to the main office for check-in using our Raptor visitor screening system.

What to do in the event of a school emergency

The District will use its automated phone system, e-mails, district and school websites, the media and text
messages to communicate with parents.
In order for the school district to keep you informed, make sure you keep current contact information on file with your child’s school.
While a parent’s first instinct may be to head immediately to the school campus upon hearing of a possible emergency, your presence may interfere with response efforts.
Before going to the school, check district information sources for directions to parents related to possible evacuation or student pick-up.
Seek accurate information from reliable, official sources. Keep in mind that unofficial sources of information may have only partial, incorrect or unverified details. If you hear of an unverified rumor regarding a school safety issue, please contact the school to clarify the accuracy of the information.
Clovis Unified’s emergency response protocols include processes for identifying rumors and verifying information before it is released to parents.
Parents set the tone for their child’s emotional response to an emergency. Remain as calm as you can if your child contacts you during an emergency.

Tips to Prepare Your Family for an Emergency

Have a plan. Create a family emergency plan, and talk to your children about what your family would do in the event of an
emergency at school or in the community. California’s Emergency Management Agency has lots of information on how to create a Family Emergency Plan at www.calema.ca.gov (search for Family Disaster Plan).

Keep your child’s emergency contact information at school up to date, including alternate phone numbers for you and family or friends authorized to pick your child up at school.
Talk to your child about the importance of listening carefully and following directions in the event of an emergency.
Discuss with your family ways to stay in touch with each other during an emergency whether at school or in the community, and stress to your student the importance of staying off of cell phones unless specifically authorized during an emergency.

CUSD Safety Brochure

Downloads

Terms that may be used during an emergency situation

Click to expand each section below.

Lockdown

A lockdown is called when an immediate, serious threat is present against students or staff of a school. This may include the sighting of someone with a weapon on campus, a threat made against students or staff members, or other imminently dangerous situations that threaten campus safety.

During a lockdown, no one is allowed to leave the facility. Students will be immediately gathered from hallways, restrooms and common areas and moved indoors. Doors will be locked and students will not be allowed to leave with a parent or guardian. All students will be accounted for by staff. Students on buses at the time a lockdown is called at their school would be held on the bus or rerouted to another location and parents informed. Any parents or visitors present when a lockdown is called will be directed to a room separate from the school’s emergency response center until the conclusion of the lockdown. School administrators will consult with local and district law enforcement to determine when it is safe to end the lockdown event.

Q. How do I know if a school is in lockdown?
A. The main entrance doors will be locked, and whenever possible, sign posted in the window. Clovis Unified’s emergency phone notification system will be used to alert parents to the school’s lockdown status.

Q. What should I do if my child’s school is in a lockdown?

A. Parents should:

not go to a school site that is in lockdown, as they will not be allowed to enter, and their presence could jeopardize their safety or the safety of our students.
use the information sources listed on this page (and in the brochure downloadable from this page) to receive updates on the lockdown situation.

Facility Alert

A facility alert is called when school officials are made aware of a potentially hazardous situation that may reach a district facility. If a facility alert is called, a school site is on heightened alert, however, doors will not be locked and students will be allowed to leave with a parent or guardian. Students will be called indoors and accounted for, and movement around campus will be limited and occur under adult supervision. Parents and other school visitors on campus when a facility alert is called are free to leave the facility. A state of facility alert allows school personnel to be prepared to quickly move to a state of lockdown should the possibility of a threat escalate.

Q. What is the difference between a lockdown and a facility alert?
A. In a lockdown situation, all classroom activity stops, and staff and students shelter out of sight. In a facility alert, teachers continue classroom activities, but movement around a campus is limited and supervised by adults.

Evacuation

A campus evacuation may be called when school administrators determine that student safety may be jeopardized by staying indoors. This could occur as the result of a possible fire, a bomb threat or a gas leak. In the event of a bomb threat, an evacuation decision is dependent on information received in the threat and factors influencing the credibility of the report. Each school has procedures in place for partial or complete evacuation, including multiple on- and off-site locations. If necessary, plans are in place to provide transportation for students to alternate locations. Parents would be notified quickly should such an off-site evacuation occur. These notifications would include additional information about where to pick up your child. In the event of an evacuation that requires parent/guardian pickup, parents will be required to sign out their child. Students will be released only to an adult with proper identification who is on file with the school as an authorized emergency contact.

Power Outage

Safety procedures at Clovis Unified schools extend to plans for loss of power. In most circumstances, a power outage of up to four hours can be accommodated and classroom instruction will continue. Classrooms without adequate natural lighting would be relocated to accommodate the continuation of lessons, and lunchroom service would still be provided utilizing Clovis Unified’s alternate meals stocked specifically for possible emergencies. The district maintains a supply of emergency mobile phones, which can be distributed to a school site in the event that a power outage affects telephone and Internet service. Clovis Unified’s automated phone, text and email notification can be accessed anywhere to keep parents informed during a power outage or other school emergency.