Parent Letter
Tornado Procedures
Dear Parent:
This letter is to inform you of the procedure that Lancaster City Schools will follow in the case of a tornado incident within the City of Lancaster. Your child will be instructed on the proper place and posture to take in the event of a tornado. This procedure will be practiced at the school starting with the statewide tornado drill that will be held on March 28th at 9:50 am. This drill will then be practiced every month through the end of May as these months are designated by the state as the most likely times for severe weather and tornadoes.
To ensure the safety of the students and staff, all school buildings will carry out the following procedures:
1) Practice the proper way to protect students' bodies during a tornado and review the proper place in the building to take shelter.
2) When the citywide tornado sirens are activated, the buildings will go into lockdown. This means that all staff and students will be in their designated places of safety and the exterior doors will be locked. Since this will be a lockdown, do not attempt to come to the school if the city sirens are activated. The students and staff will be in their safety areas and admittance to the building will not be possible. Your safety is important to us as well and experts from the National Weather Service and the Fairfield County Emergency Management Agency recommend that you seek safety in a structure that has a basement or if an underground shelter is not available, move to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor and get under a sturdy piece of furniture, away from windows. It is not safe for you or your child to be in a vehicle.
3) At the time of the all clear, all students and staff will be released from the tornado area and the lockdown will be released as well.
We need your help in ensuring that all students stay as safe as possible during a tornado event. Please help us in protecting your child as well as the other children at the schools during the severe weather. We appreciate your help in this matter.