Emergency & Crisis Vocabulary

Webster CSD may utilize one or more of the following responses to a crisis: Early Dismissal, Evacuation, Hold-in-place, Lock Down, Lock Out, School Cancellation, or Shelter-in-place. These terms, and other crisis-related terms, are defined as follows: 

EARLY DISMISSAL - Students are dismissed from the building and united with their families or with some responsible surrogates who have been designated by the parents to care for the child, returning students to their homes or other appropriate locations before the end of the school day. 
 
EVACUATION (“BUILDING EVACUATION”) - Moving students and staff for their protection from a school building to a predetermined, outside or off-campus Safety Zone location in response to an emergency. All building occupants are required to exit the building and wait a safe distance from the building at the designated Safety Zone.
 
GINNA – Evacuation of the district population to a predetermined Safety Zone (see EVACUATION) due to an emergency or perceived emergency at the Ginna Nuclear Power Plant.
 
HOLD-IN-PLACE - Limit movement of students and staff in hallways while dealing with short-term emergencies.
 
LOCK DOWN - This emergency response is used when walking through the building would endanger the health and safety of students/staff. In the event of a dangerous person or intruder, students, and faculty are to proceed to the nearest lockable room, lock the doors, and remain there until the district’s administrators or law enforcement officials open the door.
 
LOCK OUT - This emergency response is to be used when evacuating the building would endanger the health and safety of students/staff. In the event of a dangerous person on or near the school grounds, students and faculty are to remain inside the building. Building entry doors and windows should be locked to keep potential intruders out of the building.
 
SCHOOL CANCELLATION - A determination by school officials that a school or schools should not be in session for one or more school days due to an emergency.
 
SHELTER-IN-PLACE - Keeping students and staff in school buildings and providing them with shelter when it is deemed safer for students to remain inside rather than to return home or be evacuated (ie. air pollution problems, chemical spills, radiological emergencies). Staff and students are held in a designated shelter location or common area inside the building during an emergency or medical emergency until things can be returned to normal or dismissal can be arranged.
 
STUDENT RELEASE AREA/STUDENT REUNIFICATION CENTER - A predetermined location where parents, guardians, or authorized persons (pre-arranged surrogate) can pick-up students during an emergency.