Emergency Protocols

Safety Protocol

Evacuation Plan (Fire or Bomb Threat)

The church is equipped with fire alarms. If any of these go off, the following should begin. This is also the procedure in a bomb threat scenario. Main entrance security moves to the Fellowship Hall emergency exit to open the door and hold it. A second security member goes to the middle of the hall to help control the children and teachers. A third security member will go to the rear emergency exit to hold that door and ready for children. Teachers are the last out of the classrooms and will pull the door behind them to signify the area is clear and will grab the attendance sheet off the wall as they go.

Children at the rear end of the hall will dismiss through the rear exit in the following order: Nursery A/B, Classroom G, Classroom F, and Classroom E. They will make a left out of the door and meet in the grassy area next to the parking lot. Security at this door will count them as they exit, then follow. Security in the middle hall is going to check the bathrooms on the way out and then exit with the rear students.

The front classes will exit at the same time as the rear classes, but in the following order: Classroom A, Classroom C, Classroom D, Quiet Room, and Kitchen. Front classes will exit through the Fellowship Hall side door and go straight across the parking lot into the grass.

Teachers will keep their students grouped with them, using the attendance sheet to make sure everyone is present and accounted for. The Head of Security will meet with the Director, Attendance Officer, and the rest of the security team in the field across from the exit to confirm all children are out. In the event of a Bomb Threat, we would all meet at the parking lot across Guaranda Drive next to the tennis courts.

Shelter-In-Place Plan (Active Shooter/Suspect at Large or Tornado)

ACTIVE SHOOTER or SUSPECT AT LARGE:

This could be a shooter at the nearby Science Hill High School or Jeremiah School, or this could be an attack on us. In the event of a shooter, we will lock down the co-op. Students in the halls will report back to the class they are supposed to be in currently or the class they are expected in next if we are in the process of changing classes.

Teachers will lock the doors to their classroom. The security member stationed near the nursery classrooms will check bathrooms for students and bring any students to Classroom F (the Butterfly Room). Nursery and Pre-K will lock their hallway doors, then take the students into the nursery bathroom and lock those doors.

The security team will secure their stationed areas, ensuring all doors are locked and making sure all children are in classrooms as they move toward the Fellowship Hall; once all rooms are secure, they will take shelter in the Kitchen, locking both doors and pulling down the service window shutter. If the classroom contains any large furniture, it should be used to block any windows and barricade the doors.

If a class has moved outside, the security member accompanying them will be responsible for ensuring their safety. If the active shooter is at a nearby school, they will escort them back into their classroom and follow lockdown procedure. If the active shooter is at our facility, they will take them down toward the wooded area below the field and keep moving into the neightborhood behind the church, seeking shelter at any willing home.

TORNADO or DIRECT-FORCE WINDS:

In the event we hear the tornado sirens/alarms, Nursery A/B will shelter-in-place, as will classrooms G (Acorn) and D (Racecar). Classroom F (Butterfly) will join Classroom G, Classrooms E (Flower) and C (Ladybug) will join Classroom D, and Classroom A (Turtle) will move into the Quiet Room. Then all students should go to the wall furthest from the center of the building and sit with their heads between their knees and their hands over their head.

Medical Emergency Policy

All medically compromised children and adults will be asked to wear disposable ID bracelets provided by the co-op and with only the identifying information of a responsible party in the event of a medical emergency written on them. The responsible party must be over 13 years of age. Medically compromised adults must notify at least one board member. This allows us to act quickly to retrieve a party that would best know how to handle the individual’s medical condition or equipment. Families will be approached discreetly and with as little attention as possible to the fact that they are wearing these bracelets.

Bracelets are the family’s responsibility to put on and label each co-op day, they will be made available in the fellowship hall.

Emergency Concerning a Child:

Adult checks for a bracelet and no bracelet is found: This would mean that we have an unidentified medical condition and 911 should be called immediately.

• One adult should use a cell phone to call 911 and the other should radio for help from co-op security/administration. The co-op should send at least 2 people for what needs to happen next; this is to prevent any adult from being alone with the rest of the children.
• While radioing the co-op, the adult needs to check the surroundings:
  • • Is the child in crisis safe?
    • Is there a risk of more damage?
    • If so, the adult needs to best remedy the environment without moving the child or administering anything that could be considered first aid.
    • Time should be noted.

Example: Child falls outside in the parking lot and is now unconscious. The adult in charge would clear the immediate area around them from children playing and would check to see if the child was in the way of oncoming traffic. If there is a risk of possible traffic, the adults would stand with one at the head of the child and one at the foot of the child while waiting for help to make sure the area is seen and avoided by vehicles.

• When help arrives from the co-op, two things need to happen concurrently:
  • • The child is identified and a parent is sent for.
    • The other children in the area are evacuated to the Fellowship Hall.

At NO TIME should either the child in crisis or the evacuated children be alone with a single adult.

• Once the parent arrives, one teacher needs to go out to meet the EMTs to bring them directly to the child.
• Once EMTs and Parent are with the child, co-op adults may then excuse themselves to check on the rest of the class.

Adult checks for a bracelet and a bracelet is found: more than likely this is a known medical condition that a parent can resolve quicker and more efficiently than EMTs. If the adult in charge has any concerns that this is not a known medical condition, such as this emergency is a trauma, protocol for no bracelet should be followed.

• One adult in charge should radio out for help, being sure to tell the co-op who the responsible adult written on the bracelet is; the other adult should be checking the surrounding area for danger to the child in crisis.
• Again, the child should not be moved nor ANY first aid be administered.
• Time should be noted.

Example: The child in question is having a seizure. A soft material (pillow or coat) should be placed under the head to keep the child from concussing themselves on the floor and the area should be cleared so that the child does not hit themselves on anything, causing injury.

The co-op should respond by sending two persons to the child’s area and one to get the responsible party. Once the first two arrive at the area where the children are, all but the child in crisis should be evacuated to the Fellowship hall. Once the responsible party arrives, the adults in charge are to remain in the responsible parties service until dismissed or told to call the EMTs. If told to call the EMT’s one adult should go out to meet the EMTs and bring them directly to the child.

Our policies and procedures are made publically available in good faith. Our by-laws are available upon request to any Board member or Team Leader.