The doors entering the junior and senior hall will be locked.  All visitors after 7:50 a.m. will enter the front door on the left side nearest the office.  All parents and visitors must check into the office and receive a visitor’s pass.  Students checking out for any reason should have a note requesting early dismissal, and they will be called to the office rather than parents going to the classroom. Appointments made by teachers and parents will be honored with a visitors pass.  Please be patient and respectful of our rules, because they are implemented to help assure the security of our students. 

Listed below are our plans for severe weather, fire, bomb-threats, and intruders.

I.                    Severe weather—3 rings, pause, 3 rings, pause, etc.

A.     Students will move to designated safe areas of the main building which will include the hall against the wall in the safest position.

B.     Students will remain in these safe areas until the threat of severe weather is cleared. 

C.     All personnel and visitors will ask to remain in the safe areas until the threat of severe weather is cleared.

D.     Buses will be held until the threat of severe weather is cleared.

E.      Parents are advised not to come in the middle of severe weather in order check students out of school. We will not release students to leave school after the sirens have sounded alerting us of a tornado warning.  Parents are welcome to come and be with us until the all clear signal is given.

F.      Students in the gym and outside will be brought to the main building to a safe area.

II.                 Fire--- 5 rings, pause, 5 rings, pause, etc.

A.     Safe Area—Students, personnel, and visitors will evacuate the building to designated areas.  Teachers have posted in each classroom the exit door they are to take to exit the building.

B.     Anyone supervising students in the building will direct their students to the proper exit and call the roll after the class is in a safe area.  Teachers, substitute teachers, and teacher aides must notify the administrators if a child is missing.

C.     All restrooms, cafeteria, stage area, auditorium, dressing rooms, weight room and other auxillary rooms will be check for clearance by appointed faculty members.

D.     If a fire occurs, 911 will be called to dispatch the Fire Department.

E.      All books and book bags will be left in the classroom during an evacuation drill.

F.      If a fire does occurs students will take their books and book bags with them when they evacuate.  Students will not be allowed to go to the lockers, because that would block passage of other students exiting the building.

G.     If a fire does occur and we are not permitted to re-enter the building, parents will be notified by the calling tree, and parents or persons on the sign-out list on file in the office must sign a release to pick up children. Each teacher will be responsible for signing out their students properly.

III.               Bomb Threat—one long continuous ring, pause, followed by another long continuous ring

A.     Whether a bomb threat is made by telephone or in writing the local authorities will be notified.

B.     The building will be evacuated through front doors. Students will bring their book bags out of the classroom they are occupying and place them at or near the flag pole.  Students will not be allowed to go to the lockers for any reason.

C.     After the students drop their book bags at the flag pole, they will proceed across the road to the parking lot near the stadium.

D.     Teachers will keep their students in line and will call their rolls to account for every student.

E.      Students will remain in the parking lot until buses can be boarded and students are transported to the Carrollton Service Center.

K-6 students will be transported first.

Junior and Senior High students will be transported after the elementary students.

No student may be dismissed to a parent on the campus of Pickens Academy.  Parents may sign their children out with the proper school official at the Service Center.

F.      Students will remain at the center until local officials clear the buildings or parents and/or authorized people on our check out list pick them up.  Teachers will be responsible for checking out their students to the proper people.

IV.              Intruder—notification by code

A.     Teachers notified to lock all doors( by code)

B.     Local authorities notified

C.     Situation assessed by authorities

D.     Evacuation if possible will occur as directed by authorities.

E.      Senior high or junior high students in the gym or on the practice fields will go to the dressing rooms until an all clear is announced.

F.      Elementary students on the play ground will be directed to come into the building, if possible, or be evacuated according to the location of the intruder.

G.     Elementary students in the gym will be directed to dressing rooms for security purposes.

H.     If possible parents will be notified by the calling tree.  We ask that our parents be patient with our accountability requirements.   Each teacher will have to make sure students are checked out by parents or designated people on the check-out list.