Safety

When the district determines an emergency has occurred, three possible plans of action occur:

1. Go Home Plan: Returns students to their homes as quickly and safely as possible. Each school maintains information for emergency contacts for each child.

It is very important that parents and legal guardians advise the school office staff every time emergency contact information changes.

2. Shelter-in-Place Plan: Keeps students in their buildings when it is safer to stay inside than to go outside. Typically, inside sheltering is considered a short-term solution. Specific areas of each building are identified as safety zones. 

Part of the shelter plan may be a partial or complete lock down of the school. In this instance, all students remain in their current classroom until otherwise notified. Students in school buildings who are not in classrooms will be escorted by staff to a supervised area and remain there until otherwise notified. No one will be allowed to enter or leave the school for any reason.

3. Evacuation Plan: Requires that all building occupants exit the building and go to a previously-identified, safe alternate location. Evacuation may mean only going outside and away from the building until an all-clear signal is given. In some circumstances, students and staff may need to be transported and housed temporarily in another location.

1. What are the categories of lockdowns and intruder alerts?

There are three categories that are consistent with state language for drills, as noted in the Oklahoma School Security Institute (OSSI) Drill reporting website.

Intruder Alert:

There is an active threat INSIDE the school. It may or may not involve a weapon.

Lockdown (full):

There is a direct threat to the school, or to students or faculty outside the school (e.g., an angry individual attempting to get inside, or someone with a weapon on the grounds attempting to get in or who may appear to be threatening the school).

Modified Lockdown:

There is an indirect threat in the vicinity of the school (e.g., reports of gunshots in area, or a police pursuit that is nearby or may be headed in the direction of the school).

Modified lockdowns are by far the most common occurrence.

 

2. Who determines when a school goes on lockdown?

Any administrative personnel or law enforcement officer can put a school on intruder alert or lockdown if they believe there is a threat. In most cases, a modified lockdown occurs when the Tulsa Police Department calls TPS Campus Police dispatch stating they have an event occurring, and they recommend which schools need to go on lockdown. The area affected may be expanded if needed.

 

3. What area is affected by the lockdown?

The area of a lockdown is determined by the type of incident and its severity. TPD or Campus Police will determine the possible area of threat and designate the area accordingly. If it is an evolving or moving incident, the schools affected may change depending on the direction of travel.

 

4. How are schools and administration notified of lockdowns or intruder events?

After ensuring the affected schools are on lockdown, TPS Campus Police dispatch will put out an email to all critical staff indicating which schools have gone on lockdown and why. Since, in many cases, Campus Police will be communicating with Tulsa Police and dispatching officers as a precautionary measure, our dispatchers can be extremely busy. 

Safety will always take priority over sending out notification messages, so it may be a few minutes before a notification email is sent out.

 

Each email is confirmed by a Campus Police Chief, Commander, or by the TPS Emergency Manager before sending.

 

5. What are the immediate actions for each category taken by the school?

Modified lockdown: All students are brought inside, all exterior doors are locked and no one is allowed in or out of the building except at the discretion of law enforcement or the principal. All activities carry on as usual. Officers may be deployed to the site as a precaution. Lockdown: All students are brought inside, all exterior doors are locked, no one is allowed in or out and all students in the building are moved away from windows or where they might be visible from the outside. Activities may be carried on at the discretion of the principal. TPS Campus Police officers will be deployed to the school. Intruder Alert: Teachers may exercise several options to protect their students; these options are outlined in the Safe School Plan and in the Classroom Emergency Handbooks. Officers will take active response measures under standard law enforcement protocols.

 

6. Are parents notified when a lockdown or intruder alert is called?

Should parents go pick up their child? Notifications are made at the discretion of the principal. However, in most cases, a notification will not be made during the event for a number of reasons:

• Your safety is important to us! While every guardian’s natural instinct in an emergency is to go to the school to safeguard your child, doing so may interfere with the school’s ability to effectively and efficiently respond to the situation. The children inside the school are actively protected.
• Many lockdowns, especially modified lockdowns (the most common kind), may be over in minutes. The police may move out of the neighborhood or quickly determine there is no threat.

A principal may opt to send out a notification after the event using a number of options:

• TPS web site: www.tulsaschools.org (updates are posted on the home page)
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TulsaPublicSchools
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/TulsaSchools
• SchoolConnects (a recorded phone message will be sent to each household when time allows)
• Local news media (be sure to listen carefully for OFFICIAL announcements from TPS)
• Schools may contact you directly. BE SURE THE SCHOOL HAS CURRENT EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO FOR YOUR CHILD.

7. If there is a serious incident, how will parents be reunited with kids?

In the event students must be moved to an alternate location, the school will use a number of communications tools to attempt to advise all parents of the alternate location. Please be sure that the school has accurate and up to date emergency contact information for your child. 
Each school has several alternative locations, depending upon the severity of the emergency and the number of school buildings involved. 
Police, fire and other local response agencies know of the alternate locations for each school. For security reasons, TPS does not disclose alternate locations until an actual emergency occurs.

 

8. Who can cancel the lockdown?

Law enforcement – TPD, TPS Campus Police, Sheriff’s office, etc.

 

9. Why are there so many school lockdowns?

TPS is committed to ensuring that our students have safe spaces to learn and grow. Our Campus Police Officers are in close communication with the Tulsa Police Department, so we are quickly notified when incidents arise involving our schools and surrounding neighborhoods. Increased efficiency in communications with the TPD may contribute to the number of modified lockdowns and full lockdowns.

 

10. How long do lockdowns and intruder alerts typically last?

That is entirely dependent on the type of incident. Most modified lockdowns are over within minutes. An intruder alert, on the other hand, is entirely dependent on the threat level. There are no guidelines as to the length of time.

 

11. Who is responsible to ensure a smooth lockdown occurs?

All parties involved are responsible. A lockdown or intruder alert requires the cooperation of school administration, district administration and law enforcement – both internal and external. In order to ensure that everyone is familiar with the protocols, we hold a minimum of two intruder and two lockdown drills every year at all schools.

 

12. Why should patrons not leave during the lockdown?

In a lockdown, as opposed to an intruder alert, the threat is outside the building. Someone leaving could put themselves at risk by leaving the relative security of the building. If someone does want to leave, it’s done at the discretion of the principal or law enforcement, depending on the circumstances.

In the event students must be moved to an alternate location, the school will use a number of communications tools (see below) to attempt to advise all parents of the alternate location. BE SURE THE SCHOOL HAS CURRENT EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO FOR YOU CHILD.

Each school has several alternative locations, depending upon the severity of the emergency and the number of school buildings involved. 

Police, fire, and county and state authorities know of the alternate locations for each school. For security reasons TPS does not disclose the alternate locations until an actual emergency occurs.

NO — While every guardian’s natural instinct in an emergency is to go to the school to safeguard your child, doing so may interfere with the school’s ability to effectively and efficiently respond to the situation. We strongly encourage parents to NOT come to the school during an emergency unless and until directed by the district to do so. In most cases, school district administration and district and local emergency responders are the only individuals allowed to enter or leave the school campus or building during emergencies.

TPS will use every communications method available to keep parents up-to-date on the status during an emergency. These include:

• TPS web site: www.tulsaschools.org (updates are posted on the home page)
• facebook: www.facebook.com/TulsaPublicSchools
• twitter: twitter.com/TulsaSchools
• A recorded phone message will be sent to each household when time allows
• Local news media (be sure to listen carefully for OFFICIAL announcements from TPS)
• Schools may contact you directly. BE SURE THE SCHOOL HAS CURRENT EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO FOR YOUR CHILD.

Parents can do several things to help keep your kids safe during an emergency.

1. Make sure your child's school has the most accurate emergency contact information on file.
2. Discuss with your child the importance of following directions or school staff during an emergency.
3. DO NOT call or come to the school to pick up your child until notification is given that such pickups are encouraged.
4. Monitor the district communications methods mentioned above.

Make sure you and your family have a personal disaster plan. For additional information on talking to your kids about a disaster, go to:

• www.redcross.org - Prepare Your Home and Family
• www.ready.gov
• www.ready.gov/kids
• store.samhsa.gov/shin/content//KEN01-0093/KEN01-0093.pdf (Talking to kids after a disaster)