Student Safety & Parent Notification

At the Green Bay Area Public School District (GBAPS) student safety is our highest priority. The District has a comprehensive crisis plan and District administrators coordinate closely with emergency management officials and law enforcement to monitor and update plans on a regular basis.

In addition, schools have well-established security measures to ensure the well-being of students and staff. These include: visitor check-in procedures, locked doors after the start of the day, surveillance cameras, and all sites have school resource officer support.

How can I as a parent or guardian be assured I receive the most up-to-date information from my child’s school?
To ensure every parent has the most accurate contact information in an emergency situation, parent must keep contact information up-to-date in Infinite Campus. Parents/guardians can make changes to their email, phone number(s) and address in the Parent Portal. 

How does the District communicate with parents and guardians in emergency situations?
The District has several ways to notify families in an emergency situation. The District contracts with School Messenger for its parent notification system, which enables the District to send bulk emails, automated phone calls and text messages to parents, guardians and other adults that are identified as emergency contacts.

When and how will I be notified if there is an emergency at my child’s school?
The means and immediacy of communication will depend on the scope of the event and on the potential or actual impact to the safety of the students. While it is difficult to describe all possible scenarios, the information below can be used as a guide to where parents should look for information.

New for 2023-24!
Beginning with the 2023-24 school year when parents/guardians provide their 6th-12th grade student’s cell phone number their students will receive messages for the following:

  • Emergency situations
  • School closures/delays or early releases due to inclement weather
  • Secure the building messages to inform students who may be traveling between schools, arriving late due to an appointment, are off-campus for lunch, etc. 
  • District or school-wide technology failures (e.g., Google not working, etc.)

Secure the Building - Outside Situation

When community situations arise, as a precautionary measure, law enforcement or the District will determine to place a school or schools in “secure the building - outside situation.” The community situation may be a nearby fire, suspicious person in the neighborhood, a police chase, etc. 

When a school is notified that it is to “secure the building” for a community situation, students and staff that are outside for recess, physical education or outdoor learning are directed to enter the building immediately. Doors remain locked and no one is allowed to enter or leave the building once all students are securely inside. 

Within the building the school day will proceed as normal, with the exception that there is no outdoor recess, open campus (if it’s a high school), or outdoor classes. 

The District asks that parents do not drive or walk to the school as this may place them in possible danger and/or impede law enforcement. If parents have a specific concern (i.e., family emergency) that needs immediate attention, they should contact the school’s office. 

Specifically for “secure the building - outside situation” events, the District will send a message to parents through text and email if the event lasts for more than 10 minutes. The message will direct parents/guardians to the District’s website for updates.

Secure the Building - Inside Situation

When a secure the building - inside situation occurs, all students will remain in their classrooms with the doors locked. Teachers will continue to teach. Common reasons this may occur is a missing child or to provide a clear entry for emergency personnel.

The District will send a message to parents through a text message and email. The message will direct parents/guardians to the District’s website for updates.

Emergency Situation that Disrupts the Normal School Day

In the event of an emergency that disrupts the school day, which might include canceling classes or evacuation, the District will communicate in the following ways:

The District will send a message to parents through an automated call, email and text message as soon as possible. The message will direct parents/guardians to the District’s website for updates. 

Parents should be aware that automated phone calls can take time to deliver and the fastest way to receive information is through email or text. 

How You Can Help
If you learn of a situation at school through student text messages/phone calls or media reports, please check the District/school website for information regarding the situation. The District does not post any information until it has been fact checked and verified. 

Be aware that all media reports/tweets and other social media posts are not always fact checked before being published.

Please check the District/school website and/or social sites for information instead of calling school. It is important that phone lines remain available for school personnel to stay in contact with law enforcement, first responders and the District’s response team.

Remain close to your sources of communication, whether phone or email, to ensure you are receiving accurate and timely updates from the District.

Please do not drive to school as this will only increase safety concerns for yourself and disrupt our safety protocols for students. In addition, if the building is in “secure mode,” parents will not be able to enter the building and students will not be allowed to leave.

Evacuations
In situations where students may need to be evacuated from school, it is possible that the students will return to school and normal bus service will resume. If students are sent to a reunification site, parents will receive information regarding the location and pick up protocols. Remember, a student can only be released to an adult who is documented as an emergency contact, and identification will be required at the reunification site. If you are a non-custodial parent, you must be listed with your child’s emergency contact information as a guardian and show proper identification.
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