January 24, 2017
Dear Parents/Guardians of Indian Lake Students,
We understand that many of you may have questions about the safety procedures and training provided at Indian Lake Schools after the recent tragedy at West Liberty Schools. We would like to share with you some of the plans and procedures in place to keep our students and staff safe. Please keep in mind, we may not share every detail of our emergency plan in an effort to keep its integrity intact.
As a first line of defense, Indian Lake Schools operate daily in what we call a “lock down” environment. To gain entry during school hours, visitors must go to the designated entrance located at the front of each building, use the intercom to speak with someone in that building’s office and be buzzed in. We ask that when you come to a building during school hours, please do not allow anyone else to walk in with you if he or she has not used the intercom to state their business. In addition, doors and windows to classrooms are locked from the inside.
You may have heard the term ALICE used recently in the news. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. Our staff is trained in this active shooter response method and know how to help students react in their classrooms.
Should Indian Lake Schools be faced with an emergency situation, we would provide information to parents/guardians using several methods as quickly as possible. We would initiate the all-call and text system. We would also provide appropriate updates through social media (@IndianLakeSchools on Facebook and @IL_Schools on Twitter), our webpage (ils-k12.org) and local media (WPKO Radio and the Bellefontaine Examiner newspaper). As many of us are parents as well, we understand the panic you would experience if an emergency situation occurred, but we ask that you resist the urge to call the schools or come to campus until you receive word that the area is safe.
If Indian Lake Schools are forced to evacuate, we again ask for your patience. Students would be relocated to one of several possible reunification sites, depending on the circumstances. You would receive notification of the reunification site by one or all of the above communication methods described. Parents, legal guardians or contacts listed on an emergency card would be required to sign out students.
We would love to say with full confidence that no similar scenario would ever happen in our district, but we have learned to expect the unexpected. We can only say that we have taken every precaution we can think of to keep our students and staff as safe as possible everyday.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at 686-8601.
Sincerely,
Patrick O’Donnell
Superintendent of Indian Lake Schools