Emergency Preparedness

Recent alerts and world events have raised many questions and concerns about emergency preparedness at B-CC.  While we do not want to alarm you unnecessarily, we want to assure you that we have planned and practiced for many types of emergency situations and are prepared to keep all B-CC students and staff as safe as possible.  In fact, MCPS has been credited by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security with having developed a national example of how to respond to crisis situations.

Below are steps we have taken, and steps you can take to help us keep all students safe.  We hope that knowing that these procedures are in place will help reassure you and your students that they are safe and protected.

What we are doing:

§         Principals and administrators from the B-CC and Northeast Consortium Clusters met with the MCPS Security Office and the Montgomery County Fire Department to discuss emergency preparedness.  Officials do not expect a lengthy episode that would sequester children in the school for days at a time.  Rather, officials are preparing for short-term episodes (two to eight hours).  If an event were to go long-term, safety and fire officials assured us that county, state, federal, and Red Cross resources would be made immediately available to the schools.

§         We have emphasized and continue to focus on well-rehearsed drills and careful plans that reduce panic and assure safety.  We have practiced Code Blue (all students in the building and outsiders locked out), Code Red (all students locked in their classrooms and outsiders locked out), and fire drills.  The teachers and students have responded to each of the drills effectively.

§         We have identified a safe area in the school (the lower level) where students and staff would go should that be necessary.  In addition, we have sufficient water and food on hand for everyone.  Depending on the circumstances, we are prepared to shutdown heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems as directed.

What you can do:

§         Update yellow emergency cards and the authorization to pick up children other than your own.  While any parent may pick up their own children without prior written authorization, written authorization is required to pick up someone else’s child.  No verbal instructions can be accepted.  Any individual listed on the yellow index cards you filled out at the beginning of the school year will be authorized to pick up your child in the event of any emergency.  If you would like to update your yellow card or add more authorized individuals, please fill out and return supplementary cards, which are available in the main office.  All authorized individuals will be permitted to pick up designated students once they have presented proper identification.

§         Tell your students to follow instructions they receive at school, rather than any plan you may have made with them in advance.

§         Develop a reunification plan with your children – where you would meet when it was safe to do so and/or the name and telephone number of a person out of the area who you could all communicate with in order to find each other quickly.

In an emergency:

§    Please do not immediately come to school to pick up your students.  Instead, try to learn by radio, television, computer, or other communication device what the schools want you to do.  In many scenarios, students would be safest inside their brick schools and thick doors.  In some situations, no one would be allowed in the building.

§    Please do not try to call the school – we would need open lines for emergency information.

§   Should it be necessary to pick up your child in an emergency, please park in designated spaces so that the driveway is kept clear for buses or emergency equipment and to maintain quick egress for everyone.

§ Should our students have to evacuate B-CC, they would be bused to Walter Johnson High School on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda.

Links to other emergency preparedness information:

MCPS:            http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/info/emergency/

U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/emergencyplan

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