The EWSD utilizes an automated emergency notification system in the event of a school closing (due to weather or an emergency), which relies on the most up-to-date information you provide. Please notify each student’s school if any contact information changes (including home/cell work phone, email, addresses, etc.). 

School Closings: In the event of school closings, parents/guardians, students, and employees shall be informed through an automated emergency notification system which will reach out via email, and primary and secondary phone numbers listed with each school. The message will also be shared via the district’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts, mobile app, school websites, and will be shared with local TV and radio.

School closing notification is listed by schools and posted as close to 6:00 a.m. as possible. If school is closed, all daytime and evening school activities, programs (including evening adult classes/programs at CTE), and events are also subject to cancellation, and notification will be posted online. 

Closings after school has started: If school must be closed before dismissal time, due to weather or other circumstances, announcements of the revised closing time will be made using the automated notification system, local radio/television stations, and the EWSD/school websites. If students need to be dismissed before the end of the school day, parents/guardians need to have an alternative plan in place and should communicate that plan to both their student and the school, with respect to who is authorized to pick up their child or who will be home to greet them. Generally, schools follow one of two alternatives:

• Students are dismissed (and transported if applicable), or

• Students are kept at school or at an alternative site (if the building is evacuated) until a parent/guardian arrives.

At the preK-3 level, schools will not send students home without first having confirmed this is the desire of the parents/guardians. At the grades 4-12 level, schools will follow the first alternative and dismiss the students, unless told to do otherwise by the parent/guardian. If the parents/guardians are transporting their student home, they should arrive in a timely fashion.

In most emergencies, students will remain and be cared for at the school. In the rare event an emergency prohibits use of the buildings, or re-entry to the building (such as a broken gas or water main, a fire, or toxic chemical spill), students will be transported via school transportation or walked to an evacuation site.

• Please watch this video on our reunification process 

• Monitor your telephone and email: We will utilize an automated notification system to inform you of the emergency and provide guidance.

• Go online and turn on your radio or television: Check our website (www.ewsd.org) often for updates. We will keep the media informed of any emergency as well. 

• Please do not call the school: We have limited phone lines and they must be used to respond to the emergency.

• Please do not come to the school unless requested to pick up your student: Any emergency may require emergency vehicles, workers, and/or law enforcement to have access to/from the building. During such a time, parents/guardians will be restricted from accessing school grounds. If the emergency necessitates relocation of staff and students, parents/guardians will be informed via a phone call, social media, and the website. Parent/guardian identification may be required to dismiss a student. To dismiss a student to any adult other than the parent/guardian will require written permission from the student’s parent/guardian.

School Safety Drills: School safety drills are conducted monthly during the school year. The various procedures for these drills will be reviewed by teachers and students. There are Crisis Response Plans posted in each of the schools. When a drill is announced, all students are required to follow planned procedures in an orderly fashion. Students must stay with their class (or assigned group) so teachers can check attendance.