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To avoid tying
up telephone lines while urgent contacts are in
progress, please do not call the schools, district
office, or media for information.
School
opening may be delayed for an hour or two for conditions
to improve or for school officials to further assess the
weather/roads. During the delay, students and parents
should listen to the radio in case the delay is extended
or schools are closed. When schools are on a delayed
schedule, teachers will not be at the schools until the
announced time. Therefore, students should not arrive
until the announced opening time. If there is a one-hour
delay, schools will serve breakfast. They will not serve
breakfast on a two-hour delay. 4K morning classes do not
meet if school is delayed.
The
District Two transportation office provides a voice mail
service for updates on bus schedules. To access the
voice mail message, dial 461-9888.
It is the
intent of Spartanburg County school districts to operate
schools only when roads are safe for driving. However,
schools cannot guarantee the safety of road conditions
at any time. The school district administration makes
the decision whether or not to operate schools. Parents
must make the decision whether or not to send their
children to school during bad weather conditions.
All days
missed due to inclement weather will be made up at the
end of the school year or on staff development days, as
appropriate.
Safety Message for Parents
Dear Parents,
Recognizing that schools are not immune to natural and
manmade hazards, Spartanburg School District 2 and our
schools have emergency plans in place for the safety and
well-being of students and staff. These safety plans
include provisions for sheltering in place, for school
lockdowns, and for evacuation to off-site shelters where
parents may be asked to pick up their children in the
event of certain crisis situations. The specific type of
emergency will guide where and what special care will be
provided. The cooperation of parents and the community
will be of utmost importance to ensure security and the
unhampered efforts of emergency responders when
necessary.
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Shelter in place—This
plan would be put into place in the event of a
weather emergency or other unsafe outside condition
that is best avoided by staying inside. During
severe weather conditions such as
thunderstorms/lightning/tornado warnings, students
are brought into the building from outside
activities and held inside until conditions are
safe. Should dangerous weather conditions exist at
the time of school dismissal, students may be
sheltered inside until outside conditions are deemed
safe. Parents who have arrived at the school to pick
up their children may wait in their cars until
students are dismissed, or they may park in a
designated area and enter the school to pick up
their children. Parents will be notified through
media outlets and other available means if students
should be picked up before regular dismissal time.
·
School lockdown—This
plan would be put into place in the event of a threat or
potential threat in the school area. In this plan, the
school is closed to all visitors, and students
are cared for indoors at the school. During a school
lockdown, parents and other citizens are urged not to
come to the school until the lockdown has been lifted.
Opening the school during a lockdown would breach
security and could potentially endanger everyone in the
building. Should an emergency response be called for,
unobstructed access to the campus is very important, as
response time can be a critical factor. In the case
of an extended lockdown, media will be asked to
communicate the situation and keep the public informed.
-
Evacuation to off-site shelter—This
plan would be put into place in the event that it is
not safe for students to remain at the school. In
this situation, the school has predetermined
alternate sites for care. The choice of site is
determined by the specific emergency and what would
be an appropriate alternate site. In the case of
evacuation to an alternate location, media will be
asked to announce the site for parents to safely
reunite with their children. Students will be
released only to authorized persons as specified in
student records. To assure that students are
properly accounted for, an orderly system for
reunification will be established. Parent
cooperation, understanding, and patience will help
to make the process less trying.
The safety of your
children is a priority for us, as it is with you. With
your help, we will do everything possible to keep school
a safe and healthy “home away from home.” The purpose
for sharing this information with you is not to cause
you worry, but to reassure you that we are prepared to
handle all types of emergencies in a way that will
ensure the safety of your child(ren). In the event of
an actual emergency, please do not call the school—it
will be important to keep the lines open. Local radio
and television stations will be notified in the case of
school closings, evacuations, or extended lockdowns, and
other means of communication with parents will be
implemented as possible. If you have questions
regarding this information, talk with the principal or
your child’s teacher.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Notice
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