Safety and Security
School Emergency and Drill Information for Parents/Guardians
Our student’s safety is our top priority. School routines can be affected by weather related events, national events and local or on-site emergencies. Twin Cities International Schools utilizes the school phone tree system to communicate to parents via phone call and/or email/text in the event of an emergency Twin Cities International Schools has adopted the Standard Response Protocol.
The nature of the emergency dictates what sort of response protocol school officials will put in place to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, staff and visitors. When a situation arises at your child’sschool, it is important to know these terms:
Drills
Regular safety drills are conducted throughout the school year. Practice drills include: fire/evacuation, tornado, and lockdown. The school is required by the state of MN to hold 5 fire drills, 5 lockdown drills, and one tornado drill annually.
Reunification
In the event of certain emergency situations, student will be moved from the school to a reunification site. This occurs when reentry to the school on the same day is not possible. If this occurs, the school will
provide this information to parents through the phone tree system, the school’s website and potentially by our local media outlets. Students will be released only to parent/guardians who are documented as emergency contacts and who present a picture ID. This procedure is necessary to account for the whereabouts of all students. The reunification process can be time-consuming, so parents are urged to be patient.
As a parent/guardian, what do I do in an emergency?
In a school emergency, the first instinct as a parent/guardian is to pick up the telephone and start calling the school or your child or rush up to the school to get your child(ren). However, this can often complicate matters from a safety and security standpoint. Here are some tips for parents/guardians to follow in an emergency.
DO:
- Stay close to your phone and wait for the phone tree call/text
- Monitor local radio and TV report for updates and instructions
- Rely on official communication from the school
DO NOT:
- Rush to the school, as your presence could interfere with emergency responders
- Phone your child or your child’s school. For safety reasons, it is important to keep lines of communication open for emergency response.
Prior to any emergency situation, please assist the school by ensuring the emergency contact information on file is complete, accurate and current. This will help the school communicate important information to you in a timely manner and help with a smooth reunification process if necessary.
If you have questions regarding school safety and security, please contact the school administrators, Mr. Abdirashid W., Mr. Ismail A., and Ms. Kelli W. at (612)821-6470