What is Shelter-in-Place?

One of the instructions you may be given in an emergency is to shelter-in-place. This is a precaution aimed to keep you safe while remaining indoors because it may be safer to stay in your location. Shelter-in-place means selecting a small, interior room, with no or few windows, and taking refuge there.

Shelter-in-place is initiated when school officials believe there is some type of emergency that does not directly impact the interior of the school. Shelter-in-place is typically used when police are engaged in an operation nearby outside of the school, or when a national disaster has been declared. The goal is to keep students and staff safe and indoors. During a shelter-in-place staff and students are instructed to stay inside their classrooms. This measure is designed to prevent anyone from entering the rooms from outside. Windows will be shut, locked, and covered with blinds to obscure visibility, and people are encouraged to stay away from doors and windows.

In the event of a crisis requiring students and faculty to evacuate their respective schools, a school evacuation may take place. Situations such as an evacuation, often challenging, require thoughtful and articulate plans. In such an event, each school is prepared to evacuate and participate in a precise parent/student reunification process at an off site area (reunification site).  A process like this takes time, patience and parent/student cooperation.