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Peters Township School District

Dedicated to Excellence

Reunification

Important Reminders for Parents Following a District Emergency

In the event of an emergency in the District, our top priority is the safety of our students and staff. The District will communicate with parents and share as many details as possible throughout the process as they become available.  Some important reminders in the event of a crisis:

  • Our roadways need to remain open for first responders to have quick access to campus. With most of our schools on one road in our township, it is important to keep the roads clear.

  • If you can, please use text to communicate. Cell phone service is important for our staff and first responders to communicate and coordinate during a crisis. Too much cell phone traffic can cause the service to crash and become unavailable for long periods of time.

  • Early on, we may not have many details on the crisis to share. Only information that has been verified will be shared to avoid unnecessarily alarming our families. We have dedicated staff members whose role it is to communicate with parents during the crisis and they will continue to update parents regularly with what we know.

  • Most likely, your children will be brought to an alternate location to be reunified with parents. Detailed information on that process is below and will also be sent out via email when the District is ready to begin that process.

  • As information is verified from the Peters Township Police, we will share it with our parents. Information from local news or social media may be based on individual accounts or speculation. Please refrain from sharing and posting information in these venues as we will be working hard to protect our families who are hardest hit by any crisis.

Reunification With Your Child

Following a crisis, the District will work diligently to account for every child and get them reunified with a parent/guardian as soon as possible. Please note that this process can take hours depending on the number of students involved and the nature of the crisis. It is important that we follow our procedures to ensure the continued safety of our students. Below are some important reminders and steps to take when picking up your child.

  • When notified by the District, come to the reunification site with your photo ID. No child will be permitted to leave with someone who does not provide photo ID and is listed as an emergency contact in PowerSchool.

  • The District will share the location of our reunification center via email, phone message or website link to our parents. We do not share this location publically for the safety of our students.

  • Only those individuals who are listed on a child's emergency forms may pick up a child at the reunification center. This is anyone listed in our student database as a "parent/guardian" or "emergency contact".

  • Reunification may take hours following a crisis. We will have nurses and other medical professionals on site to help keep the students safe and as comfortable as possible. If needed, counselors will also be available.

Marking Your Child "Safe" During a Crisis

For our older students, evacuation may include simply running away from campus. Gaining distance from danger by running to local shopping areas or neighborhoods is a great way to stay safe. This can make accounting for students following an incident a challenge.

The help facilitate that process, the District has provided a link to an online form that will allow parents to mark a child as SAFE. Parents are asked only to do this once you have heard from your child and they are confirmed to be off campus and safe. Parents of students at the reunification site will NOT use this form.
 

Important Links
Student Accountability Form
In the event of a crisis, some students may evacuate campus on foot and not go to the reunification site. To help us account for these students, please complete this form.

Reunification Site
The Bible Chapel
South Hills Campus
300 Gallery Drive
McMurray, PA 15317
Please enter via Door #6.