As we discussed in our recent “10 Things to Do After a School Crisis” report, parent notification is an important early step to take after a crisis situation forces the evacuation of your school building.
An example of how to do this correctly can be seen in the way Rush County Schools in Indiana notified parents about a fire that sent students at Arlington Elementary home for the day.
Fortunately, the fire at Arlington was contained quickly; it was limited to an electrical panel in the maintenance room, and no students or staff members were hurt in the fire. However, the fire did make the early dismissal of students necessary since it happened around 10:00 AM, created smoke in the building, and caused a power outage.
Click here to listen to the call that Dr. John E. Williams, Superintendent of Rush County Schools, sent to parents around 11:00 AM on the day of the fire. There are five reasons why this message is great:
1. The safety of students is addressed early. Immediately after telling parents there was an emergency situation at Arlington, Dr. Williams states that all children are safe. Then he repeats himself for good measure, and at the end of the call states that children are safe once more. The repetition helps keep parents as calm as possible as they listen.
2. It communicates what happens next. After expressing that students are safe, Dr. Williams explains that students will be sent home on the buses.
3. It asks parents to stay away from the school. Realistically, many parents will go directly to the school when they hear an emergency has happened, regardless of what they are told to do. But Dr. Williams does his best to mitigate this tendency and give first responders room to work by asking parents to stay away. (It’s great that he mentioned students were being sent home on buses before making this request; parents might not have listened to the full call if the request to stay away was made first.)
4. It’s brief. In just 40 seconds, Dr. Williams delivers a calming message that focuses on the most important point: students are safe and being sent home. He doesn’t try to explain every last detail of the situation; instead, he provides only the most relevant information and does his best to prevent parents from rushing to the school.
5. It’s timely. By sending the message just an hour after the fire, Rush County administrators gave themselves their best chance at getting to parents with accurate information before news went live on the radio, TV, or social media.
Emergency notifications like Dr. Williams’ communicate that school leaders are in control of a situation and minimizes the spread of misinformation. A more serious emergency may require the sharing of additional information or instructions to parents, but for a minor emergency like the one seen at Arlington, Dr. Williams’ call hit all the right notes.
If a minor emergency such as an electrical fire, gas leak, or weather-related emergency hits your school, follow Dr. Williams’ lead when creating your parent notification with SchoolReach. And be sure to download our “10 Things to Do After a School Crisis” report for more expert tips on post-crisis operations.
