Emergency Drills

Thank you for choosing Muscogee County Schools to provide educational services to your child. We are proud to be able to serve you and your children, and we will continually strive to provide a safe learning environment for them.

The safety of your child and all children in our schools, as well as the safety of the school staff and support personnel, is extremely important to us. In order to maintain a safe environment for our children to study and learn, it is necessary that we practice our emergency and crisis response plans by having drills designed to exercise our procedures.

We will be conducting various drills throughout the school year. This letter is to promote awareness of the importance of this, as well as to understand each type of drill.

The students and staff of your school will be practicing three (3) primary emergency drills. They are “FIRE DRILLS”; “LOCKDOWN DRILLS”; and “SEVERE WEATHER DRILLS”. Each type of drill is explained below:

FIRE DRILLS
The school will conduct a “fire drill” each month (except for two severe weather months) that school is in session. This is a Fire Code requirement as well as a requirement by Muscogee County Schools. We want each student to understand and be aware of the importance of this drill when the fire alarm is sounded.

LOCKDOWN DRILLS
The school will conduct periodic “Lockdown Drills”. This type of drill will secure the school building and safely shelter all students, staff and visitors inside the building. The purpose of this drill is to keep the students safe from any danger outside or inside the building. During a “lockdown drill” all of the perimeter doors to the classrooms and school building will be locked. They will remain locked until the danger or issue outside or inside the building is removed. To enable everyone to remain safe, no one will be allowed to enter or exit the building until the authorities authorize such a release.

SEVERE WEATHER DRILLS
The “Severe Weather” drill will be conducted twice a year. The purpose of this drill is to prepare students to move to a secure location within the building in case of severe weather or tornados.

Please remember that these safety practice drills are done to help maintain our schools as a safe place to learn and work.

If you have any questions regarding any of these Safety Drills or other safety concerns, please contact MCSD PD or Risk Management.

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Raptor Visitor Management

Muscogee County School District is pleased to announce that we use the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools. In addition to our current comprehensive school safety program, the Raptor system will allow us to identify and screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers entering the schools. This will provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff.

​Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system.

The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor’s name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.

The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor Visitor Management System allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing the school safety protocols in our district.

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Reunification: Release of Students to Parents/Guardians After an Emergency

In an effort to be proactive, the Muscogee County School District is providing the following information to ensure a formalized and controlled means of releasing students to their parent/guardian should a significant situation occur at school. The process of controlled release is called a reunification and may be necessary due to weather, a power outage, hazmat, or if a crisis occurs at the school. The reunification is a protocol that makes this process more predictable and less chaotic for all involved. Because a controlled release is not a typical end of school day event, a reunification may occur at a different location than the school a student attends. Depending on the situation, students and staff may be transported by bus to a reunification site.

Parents will be notified by our Connect Ed announcement system, media, radio and social media. Please make sure that we have your correct phone numbers. If you want your cell phone to be the primary phone number we call, please list this number as the first number on the emergency form that you need to complete at the beginning of each year. Please do not go to your child’s school until a message is sent. This is to assure that you have the correct location of reunification. Students will not be released prior to the reunification site set up and guardianship can be verified.

If a parent or guardian is notified that a reunification is needed, there are some expectations that parents or guardians should be aware of: First, bring identification. That will streamline things during reunification. Second, be patient. Reunification is a process that protects both the safety of the student and provides for an accountable change of custody from the school to a recognized custodial parent or guardian.

When a parent can’t immediately go to the reunification site, students will only be released to individuals previously identified as a student’s emergency contact. Otherwise, the school will hold students until parents can pick up their student. Please make every attempt to pick up your child as soon as possible.
There may instances where a student may not be allowed to remove a vehicle from the parking lot. In this case, parents are advised to recover the student. In some circumstances, high school students may be released on their own.

For students, the school asks that students be orderly and quiet while waiting. Students may be asked to text a message to their parents or guardians. Students are also asked not to send other text messages either in or out of the school or reunification area. Keeping the cellular network usage at a minimum may be important during a reunification.

For parents, there are a couple of steps. If a parent is driving, greater awareness of traffic and emergency vehicles is advised. Parents should park where indicated and stay calm. Parents are asked to go to the reunification “Check In” area and form lines based on the first letter of their student’s last name. While in line, parents may be asked to fill out a reunification card and/or asked to present ID. The card is perforated and will be separated during the process. Some of the same information is repeated on both the top and separated bottom of the card. Parents are asked to complete all parts of the card. In the case of multiple students being reunified, a separate card for each student needs to be completed.

During check in, identification and custody rights are confirmed. The card/s is/are separated and the bottom half given back to the parent. From the “Check In” area parents are directed to the “Reunification” area. There, a runner will take the bottom half of the card/s and take it to the Student Assembly Area to recover the student or students. Parents should be aware that in some cases, they may be invited into the building or other location for further information.

In some cases, parents may be advised that a law enforcement investigation is underway and that interviews are necessary. In extreme cases, parents may be pulled aside for emergency or medical information.
If you have any question please contact us. We will be happy to help you understand this process.

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