SOLEDAD — Soledad schools have been working on their emergency site plans and last week approved them during the school district meeting.
Each school from Frank Ledesma to Gabilan Elementary to Soledad High School and Pinnacles worked on comprehensive school safety plans to cover five different scenarios. The scenarios included fire, evacuation, earthquake, code blue and a pandemic for influenza.
The safety plans had to be written by either a school site council or safety planning committee consisting of the school principal, teacher, parent of a student at that school, classified employee and others. The safety team worked to figure out strategies and programs that would continue a high level of school safety and cover the school’s procedures for meeting existing laws for school safety.
In the event of an earthquake emergency, the school would have an evacuation map and a “drop procedure” where students and staff take cover and practice drills. The drills would take place once each quarter in the elementary schools and once per semester in the secondary schools.
School sites also have a required component with procedures for allowing a public agency to use the school building, grounds and equipment for mass care and welfare shelters during an emergency.
On the preventative side for incidents, such as an active shooter situation, the schools have board policies that concern teacher notification of dangerous students, discrimination and harassment policies, prohibiting gang apparel, hate crime reporting procedures and policies and procedures for discipline.
At the Nov. 14 meeting, the school board voted unanimously to approve the emergency plans for the school sites.
