Parents and Guardians,
Please understand that our number one priority is student safety.
Today's PVHS lockdown highlighted some deficiencies in our communication protocols during an emergency, so we are going to make some changes.
At the time an event takes place, it is simply not possible for the decision makers to communicate all of the relevant information. Handling the situation is the priority, not communication.
I'm requesting a point of contact at each site to be an active listener to report information to those of us attempting to communicate about the incident with the community. This person will be a part of the communication between school admin and any involved parties but not a participant. Their role will be to listen and report, so we can relay current, accurate information to you.
Another issue is communication about the event to students and staff. Many of our students became anxious about the PVHS lockdown because they didn’t know what was going on.
To prevent this going forward, we will have an emergency communication group with all staff members at each school, so they can receive information about the situation and keep students informed regarding the nature and severity of the event.
Regarding information dispersal, we act as quickly as we can to get the community the information, but we will never be as fast as a student with a cell phone. Please give us grace in this regard and believe that we are doing everything in our power to keep students safe and to keep you informed.
While we do send messages via email, text, and call through Infinite Campus, the I.C. tools are slow and cumbersome. The best way to receive fast, on-the-spot, official updates from the school and district regarding emergencies is to use the NCSD phone app (iPhone & Android). You can set the app to notify you of announcements from specific schools and the district.
Thank you for your patience as we redevelop our communication protocols.
Sincerely,
Robert Williams
Communications Officer
