Emergency Communication

Communicating in an Emergency 

Dear VCS families,

As you know, your child’s safety is our top priority. In the event that there is an incident or an emergency on your school’s campus – whether it is an individual medical incident, a weather issue, or an investigation into a report of suspicious activity - a principal’s first priority is to secure your child’s campus. They will immediately contact security and respond to any incident that may arise. VCS follows the “I Love U Guys” standard response protocol to respond to a variety of scenarios. This protocol includes the following levels of response:

• Hold: A “hold” means that while individuals are not moving around campus, all doors remain locked and classroom instruction continues. There is not an immediate threat. A school may go into a “hold” for severe weather or to investigate a suspicious report, for example.
• Secure: In a “secure” status, students and staff return to the inside of buildings and do not move around campus. All doors remain locked, and classroom instruction continues. A common example of a “secure” status is when there is off-campus police activity in the area.
• Lockdown: A “lockdown” means that there is an immediate threat and further safety precautions to secure rooms are taken, such as turning off the lights. All doors remain locked. Students are trained to move out of sight, stay quiet, and keep doors closed.
• Evacuate: Students are instructed to evacuate to a specified location.
• Shelter: Sheltering may be required for severe weather.

All students and staff conduct drills to be prepared for any of the scenarios described above.

Parents, you will be notified as soon as possible through a Focus Communication call, text, and email as appropriate to let you know if your child’s school is placed in a hold or lockdown, or is experiencing another incident.

Parents, avoid immediately going to the school during a hold or lockdown because it can interfere with emergency response efforts, block access, pull resources away from addressing the issue, put themselves and others at risk, and disrupt the release process.

Immediately after the “all clear” is received, the school or district will notify you that the hold/lockdown has been lifted. If more details are available at this time, they will be shared.

After an incident, your school will send a more detailed message if necessary detailing the situation. Keep in mind that some scenarios require further investigation and not all details can be shared during this time. Depending on the situation, law enforcement presence may continue on campus as a precaution.

In the event any other notable incidents happen at your school that do not require a change in status as described above, your principal will continue to keep you informed of anything you may need to know that impacts your student.

Thank you for your support in keeping all of our VCS students safe!