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District staff member outlines Deer Creek severe-weather and wildfire plans for families
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Summary
A Deer Creek staff member reviewed the district's tornado, wildfire and dismissal procedures for families, emphasizing shelter-in-place during warnings, suspension of check-outs during tornado warnings, bus redirection and coordination with Deer Creek Fire; details on aftercare and event cancellations were also explained.
A Deer Creek staff member told families the district is reviewing its severe-weather and wildfire procedures and urged parents to keep contact and pickup information current.
The staff member said the district closely monitors the National Weather Service and local media and also consults experts the speaker described as "storm chasers" to assess threats. "Whenever there is a risk for severe weather, we are always monitoring what that weather situation is," the staff member said.
The district's tornado protocol calls for sheltering in place when a tornado warning is in effect; the staff member said students would not be available for checkout while a warning is active because ‘‘there will not be staff there to check them out.’’ The speaker added the district will not conduct an early dismissal once school is in session for weather reasons except for site-specific maintenance problems such as power loss or running water.
All school sites have designated storm shelters, the staff member said, naming the high school's shelter as "the pack" and identifying a "FEMA gym" as the shelter used for Deer Creek Academy and concurrent students at the education services center. The staff member emphasized that storm shelters "are not open to the public," although parents already on school grounds would be welcome to shelter.
If severe weather arises during dismissal, buses en route will be redirected to the nearest school for shelter and families are advised to use the MyRite K12 app to track bus locations, the speaker said. Car dismissal will be suspended during a tornado warning and students and staff will move to shelter.
For after-school events, the district will relocate students and spectators to the nearest shelter; if there is a high probability of severe weather before an event the district may cancel or postpone the event and will notify affected families in advance, the staff member said. Students at away locations will follow the host facility's protocols.
On wildfires, the staff member said operations staff monitor proximity and coordinate with Deer Creek Fire. If a wildfire threatens a school, buses will be staged and students relocated; the district will communicate relocation destinations to families.
The staff member closed by encouraging families with site-specific questions to contact their school principal for more information.
