Emergency Communication

Dear parents, guardians, and community members,

Maintaining the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority at Del Norte Unified School District. We encourage all members of our community to become familiar with our crisis communication procedures, which are available below. It is extremely important that ALL our parents and guardians provide updated contact information to their child's school in the event of an emergency. If you have any questions or concerns, please email communications@dnusd.org.

KEY INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARENTS DURING A LOCKDOWN, EMERGENCY, OR CRISIS:

Student Safety is our main concern. It is imperative for the safety of our students that during a lockdown or emergency that parents do not show up at school. Parents coming to their student's school during a lockdown will hinder law enforcement and other emergency service's ability to respond quickly and effectively. Parents will be given instructions if their response is needed during an emergency, until then please wait for communication updates from the district. Learn about the various communication channels the district uses in emergencies in the FAQ below.

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

DISTRICT APP: You will receive push notifications directly to your phone - Click here to Download

Phone Calls (Robocalls): Parents will receive automated phone calls during an emergency containing information and instruction

SMS (TXT Messages): Monitor TXT messages during an incident for basic information and instructions for parents

District Website: DNUSD.org and the website of the affected school will provide detailed information on the front page regarding the incident or crisis

Facebook & Social Media: Information posted to facebook.com/dnusd will be copied from the information found on DNUSD.org; this is a secondary form of communication, with the primary being the front page of DNUSD.org

Email: Parents will receive emails during and after a crisis detailing the events that took place

Radio: We work with our local radio partners (KPOD 97.9 FM and KCRE 94.3 FM) to issue public service announcements to the community during a crisis.

Please contact your school office in order to update your student's emergency contact information (Cell Phone, Email) to ensure you receive important communications!

EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM:

Shelter-In-Place is used to shelter students and staff inside the building.

Hold-In-Place is used to limit the movement of students and staff while dealing with short-term emergencies.

Evacuation is used to evacuate students and staff from the building when leaving the building is the safest alternative.

Lockout secures the outer perimeter of the building. Students who are outdoors are brought inside. All exterior doors are locked, and windows are closed and locked. In a lockout, there is no classroom disruption. Anyone wishing to enter or leave the building must first be cleared by a building administrator and/or police.

Lockdown is used to secure school buildings and grounds during incidents that pose an immediate threat of violence in or around the school.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS) ABOUT SCHOOL LOCKDOWNS

What is a lockdown? 
A lockdown is the confinement of people inside secured rooms for safety measures. It is used when a serious threat exists to the campus that requires students, staff, and visitors to remain in a locked area for safety. A lockdown may be ordered by law enforcement, the school principal, or any school staff who identifies a potential threat.

What happens during a lockdown?
All students, staff, and visitors report immediately to the nearest classroom, gym or cafeteria. All doors are locked and secured. All cell phones are silenced. Everyone remains silent. Rooms remain locked until unlocked by the police.

Who is in charge of a lockdown? 
Once law enforcement arrives on site, they are in charge, and the district must follow their directives. We work closely and collaboratively with local law enforcement to respond to the threat and keep students and staff safe.

Can I pick up my child during a lockdown? 
We understand that the first reaction of most parents is to come to their child’s school. However, we ask that parents and guardians wait until we advise them that it is safe to pick up their child. Parents arriving unadvised to the school may actually hinder the emergency response and could jeopardize their own safety.

Can I call the school during a lockdown?
During a lockdown, staff are not able to answer incoming phone calls as they are following the same safety procedures as the students. During other emergency responses, callers may not be able to get through to the office because of an increase in the volume of calls or because our staff is helping to ensure students and staff are safe.

What if my child calls or texts me during a lockdown? 
In the majority of lockdown scenarios, we advise that students and staff remain as quiet as possible and not use their phones. However, if you are contacted by your child, encourage him or her to remain calm and to follow the directions of teachers and staff.

Will the school or law enforcement provide every detail during a lockdown?
To ensure the safety of our students, the answer is no. Only relevant information will be provided during a lockdown. If the lockdown is caused by an armed assailant and they are monitoring district communication channels, then it could put students in additional danger to publicly describe our plan of action.

How will parents and guardians know what is happening?
The district will notify parents as soon as possible about the lockdown through phone calls, TXT Messages, and push notifications through the District APP, Social Media, as well as the district website dnusd.org. This is why it is vitally important to keep your contact information up-to-date.

Should I believe everything I see on social media during a lockdown? 
Emergency situations are fluid and always changing. Information you are getting from other sources, such as the news media and personal Facebook pages, may be inaccurate.

How can I ensure I am receiving messages sent by the District during a lockdown?
Contact your student's school office to update your emergency contact information, provide them with an email and a primary phone (preferably a cell phone), and review the various emergency communication channels the district uses at the bottom of the page.

When will a lockdown end?
Everyone will remain in lockdown mode until law enforcement has determined the threat no longer exists. Police will then go door to the door unlocking classrooms and notifying students and staff that the lockdown has been lifted. After the lockdown ends, normal school activities may resume or students may be released to their parents or other authorized adults according to the school’s release procedures in the safety plan.