Emergency Notifications
District 191 uses ParentSquare to communicate with families and staff in the event of an emergency or severe weather event that affects the school day. The contact information used is synced with the district's student information system. Parents may update their information through their ParentVUE account or by contacting your child's school directly.
Severe Weather
When severe weather affects the school day, District 191 does everything it can to keep families in the know.
- Alerts will be posted on the District and all school websites
- Announcements will be posted to Facebook and Twitter accounts
- Information will be relayed through local television and radio stations
- A phone call will be delivered to all phone numbers on file for all students
- An email announcement will be delivered to all email addresses on file for all students
- A text message will be sent to parents
Closures due to cold weather
School will be canceled if the National Weather Service forecast for 6 a.m. on the following morning shows an air temperature of below -25 degrees Fahrenheit OR a wind chill of below -35 degrees Fahrenheit.
Other Emergency Notifications
In the event of all emergencies, including those not due to weather, student safety is always the district's top priority. The district will do everything it can to communicate with the families of the students involved in an accurate and timely manner, and through the channels (phone, email, text, social media, etc.) it deems appropriate depending on the circumstances of the emergency.
LOCKDOWN DRILLS
As part of District 191’s emergency response preparation, all buildings in the district conduct lockdown drills during the school year in compliance with state law. Just like practicing an Evacuation drill in case of a fire, lockdown drills are an important way to make sure students and staff know what to do in the case of a dangerous situation inside the building.
In District 191:
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We follow the “I Love You Guys” Standard Response Protocol in all of our emergency response activities;
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Lockdown drills so that students and staff are not surprised or concerned that it is a real emergency;
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We never conduct “active shooter” simulations with students.
After a lockdown drill, each classroom provides time for students and staff to talk about safety at the school, if students choose. Families may choose not to have their students participate in lockdown drills and should contact their student’s school or program administrator to do so.
Standard Response Protocol
Because the safety of our students and staff is our top priority, District 191 regularly reviews its emergency response plans. This year, in order to ensure a coordinated and consistent response to different emergency situations, the district has adopted the “I Love U Guys” Foundation’s Standard Response Protocol (SRP). This fall and throughout the school year, students and staff will be training, practicing and drilling the protocol.
The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is used in response to all hazards or emergencies, including severe weather and safety concerns inside or outside school buildings. It uses clear common language while allowing for flexibility. The premise is simple - there are five specific actions that can be performed during an incident: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate and Shelter.
Learn more about the five actions, what they mean and when they might be used, by downloading the links below.
As always, the district or your child's school will communicate directly with families by phone, email or text in an emergency situation. Please be sure to update your contact information through ParentVUE.
Student & Family Reunification
In some cases, an event may occur at school that requires parents to pick up their students in a formalized, controlled release. This process is called a “reunification” and may be required due to weather, a power outage, hazardous materials or if a crisis occurs at the school.
District 191 uses a protocol called the Standard Reunification Method (SRM), which makes this process more predictable and less chaotic for all involved. District staff work closely with law enforcement and emergency response professionals in our community to plan for reunification events, and conduct training to improve plans and practice for different scenarios.
If a reunification is necessary, families will be notified through phone, email and text messages with information about the event and directions. Families will also be able to find accurate information and updates posted on the District 191 website at www.isd191.org.
Families SHOULD NOT go to their students’ school in the event of an emergency, unless instructed to do so. The site may be closed off by law enforcement and, in all likelihood, families and students will be reunified at a location other than the school that’s affected. Please wait for and follow directions from the school district.