Emergency Preparedness and School Safety

• In the event of an emergency DO NOT CALL THE SCHOOL OR DISTRICT OFFICE, as our first priority is to assist students and staff to safety, and possibly have evacuated. The District's emergency communication system, Parent Square, will communicate to parents/guardians and staff. 
• It is important to remember that each emergency presents a unique set of variables, which will be evaluated prior to a decision to use the District's emergency communication system. Those variables include the nature of the emergency, time of emergency, estimated duration of the emergency, direction given by law enforcement and emergency services agencies, and impact on immediate safety of students and staff. The District's highest priority is to first evaluate and respond to the emergency and ensure the immediate safety of students; and then to notify parents/guardians if the individual emergency dictates.
• The accuracy of the District's Emergency Communication System (Parent Square) is dependent on making sure all information is up-to-date in the school district's database (Q Parent Connection). Any adjustments in your contact information can be made by contacting your local school. It is important to keep your contact information up-to-date at all times, even changes in email addresses.
• The caller ID will be the District's main number (925) 462-5500. Please don't hang up. If you pick up the voicemail at a later date, listen to the entire message. Do not call the school or the District office. If it is an emergency notification, it will include instructions.

• A school building evacuation may occur in the event of a safety threat, such as a fire or earthquake, in which it would be safer for students and staff to be out of the building. Students are guided by staff to a designated area and receive further instructions from school staff. 

• A school may "shelter-in-place" in the event of hazardous materials being released into the atmosphere. Classroom heating and air vents are turned off and covered. Windows are closed. Students and staff shelter-in-place until they receive further instructions from school staff. 

• Secure School is a phrase that will be used when there is police activity in the school area. During a "secure school" staff will lock classroom doors. Exterior windows and blinds will be closed. Gates and/or fences are secured. Administration will keep staff informed as they are monitoring the situation.
• During a secure school, teaching continues and students will likely still travel from class to class, use restrooms, etc.
• Only known persons will be allowed to enter the campus during a secure school. 

• A lockdown indicates there is a potential critical threat directly affecting the site. Staff follow the Intruder Alert Protocol, that was developed in collaboration with our Pleasanton Police Department.
• Depending on the situation, staff may also be directed to Lock down/Barricade their classrooms, and be prepared to follow the Run-Hide-Fight Guidance as outlined by the Department of Homeland Security. 
• As a school system, all staff try to teach these concepts and drills to students in an age appropriate way. As a parent, it might be helpful for you to review some informational resources which are available on the Department of Homeland Security’s website in a variety of languages.
• Each school year, PUSD provides the dates of the scheduled intruder drills to the Pleasanton Police Department, and they try to observe at least one of the three scheduled drills at each school site. They provide feedback to the administrative team following the drill.
• The School District and PUSD also hold quarterly "Police liaison meetings" together, where we review and discuss various trends, procedures and updates. One administrator from each school site attends, as do various District staff, School Social Workers and Child Welfare and Attendance Liaisons (CWA's).

• In the rare instance that students are transported or move to an off-site location due to an emergency, families will be notified of where and when to pick up their child/children. PUSD will notify parents of the pick up location by using our emergency communication systems through the contact information parents provided in the annual registration process. 

 

• It is the priority of the administration and staff at Pleasanton Middle School that every student who attends our site will be included in a positive environment in which the students feel physically and emotionally safe.  We strive to uphold a positive school climate in all activities in and out of the classrooms.  Our administration and staff strive to provide a caring, organized, and nondiscriminatory learning environment in which all students can take pride in their school, be comfortable in their learning environment, and work hard toward personal, academic, social, and athletic achievements.  Our administration encourages staff to teach and discuss equality, equity, human dignity, and mutual respect for others. Our staff supports, maintains, and models cooperative learning strategies that foster positive interactions at our school among students from diverse backgrounds.  The students and staff have opportunities to voice their concerns about school procedures, policies, and practices for our site. It is shared with the entire community of our school that we all have a personal responsibility to make the right choices in solving problems that affect our school. The administration and staff encourage and reward success, achievement, participation in school leadership, clubs, school garden, extra-curricular activities, and positive student conduct. Our staff lead students in social/emotional Wednesday advisory lessons while in remote learning. Our Character Strong curriculum helps guide our teachers through these lessons.  The following programs are in place at our site to maintain a high level of safety: