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Superintendent: fire-alarm evacuation moved more than 1,200 students; Education Annex to add 45 pre-K seats
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Zercher reported a fire-alarm evacuation at the district’s elementary and middle schools and praised staff response; she also said the district’s new Education Annex will add 45 pre-K students and announced new website features including an AI guidance page and a routed contact form with translation and 24-hour response target.
Superintendent Dr. Zercher told the South River Board of Education on Sept. 25 that district staff executed an evacuation after a fire alarm required middle- and elementary-school students to relocate to other campus buildings.
"They did a tremendous job, just really following instructions, following directions, getting there quickly," Superintendent Dr. Zercher said, praising students and staff for moving and resuming activities after the building was cleared. She said the district moved "over 1,200 students in a short amount of time" and thanked the high school and the Early Learning Center for providing space.
Dr. Zercher said the district is opening its new Education Annex and will enroll an additional 45 pre-K students there. She said the annex adds capacity; the district currently uses the Early Learning Center for pre-K as well. Dr. Zercher encouraged parents to attend back-to-school nights and literacy events and noted that most back-to-school nights already have taken place.
The superintendent also described upgrades to the district website, including a newly launched AI page that outlines district guiding principles and parent resources for safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence in schools. Dr. Zercher said the website now includes a routed "Contact Us" feature that allows parents to select a specific school or department; messages will be routed automatically to the appropriate recipient, and a translation feature will let parents send messages in their preferred language. She said the district anticipates returning messages within 24 hours.
The superintendent’s full monthly report and department attachments are posted on the superintendent’s page on the district website, she said.
Why it matters: The evacuation and the district’s response show how the district’s emergency procedures operate in a live event; the Education Annex and website changes affect early-childhood capacity and family communication tools.
