Safety & Security
Each school in Pendergast has an Emergency Operations Plan, which has been created in collaboration with local law enforcement, communicated with all staff members, and is practiced regularly to ensure that everyone knows their role should a crisis occur. Classrooms have an emergency flip chart that allows teachers to obtain quick and easily accessible step by step instructions in an emergency.
Safety Practices
- At the start of every school year, Pendergast Elementary School District reviews and update their safety plans.
- Each school has a safety committee made up of five to 15 members that meet to discuss facility safety, and emergency response procedures, etc.
- School buildings have emergency first aid kits, lockdown kits and various communication tools.
- Every school practices at least one monthly fire drill, in addition to lockdown and shelter in place drills, with various lockdown scenarios.
- Role play/tabletop exercises are shared with Administrators and practiced with staff during professional development.
- The local fire and police departments inspect all campuses and join in on emergency drills to become familiar with floor plans.
- Protocol is established for Pendergast employees to have ID badges. Visitors are required to obtain a visitor ID badge when coming on campus. Employees will stop and ask anyone without a badge to report to the office.
Pendergast Elementary School District and its twelve campuses are committed to creating safe and secure environments for learning. To this end, each school within the District, as well as the District Office, has crisis management guidelines and a comprehensive plan designed to inform staff and students of what to do in the event of an emergency. The plans are based on the State of Arizona's Emergency Response Plan. The District's Crisis Manual contains vital information necessary to assist in any emergency situation. In addition to the manual, each school and the District Office have Crisis Response Teams that are mobilized in the event of an emergency to assist in providing information to the students, staff, families and the community. Fire and lockdown drills are practiced regularly at each site to ensure that routines and safety procedures are well established and familiar to all. Parents / guardians can expect effective and efficient information communicated in a timely manner regarding school-related situations that may occur on campus.
In the event of a school or District emergency, parents will be notified in the following ways:
- With a message sent home in the school newsletter
- With a special parent advisory sent home from the school; and/or
- With a call, email text and website posting from our Emergency Messaging System