Emergency Procedures & Drills

Each room is assigned a specific procedure to follow during various drills that are held throughout the course of the year.  Teachers and students shall be of a serious mind and follow instructions precisely. Anything less than this creates a danger to all concerned.  Evacuation maps must be posted above the light switch in all rooms. For more information about these and other emergency procedures please refer to the MISD Crisis Management Plan posters hanging by your exit door. Substitute folders should have directions for what to do in the event of any of the following:

• Fire - No changes have been made to fire drill procedures since our drills last spring. The campus secretary will sound the alarm.  Teachers will evacuate their rooms in an orderly manner and direct students to the designated exit. Please make sure to shut your classroom door  with the magnet in place and take your red emergency bag.  If your students are in specials classes, please join the specials teachers to support attendance. Teachers will show green or blue card to determine need. Please follow the walkie talkie prompts and make sure all students who are not present are listed on the missing student report. We will regularly create an obstruction that will require some classrooms to use their alternate evacuation route.  Please make sure you are familiar with both routes. Students will move to areas previously designated by the principal and wait until an “all clear” signal is given.  Students will then return to regularly scheduled classes.  

• Reverse Evacuation- If announced, it will take place immediately after a fire drill.  Students and teachers will be timed re-entering the building in an efficient manner.  During a reverse evacuation, it is not permitted to send a student in with your badge to unlock the nearest door.  You must enter the building through a door with a card reader. Due to this, it is important that you are familiar with the locations of the badge readers around the building.  https://youtu.be/djJEoIUwnoc

• Lockdown Procedures – An announcement will be made.. "Locks, Lights, Out of Sight."  Teachers should gather students quietly to a corner of the room that is least seen from the classroom door(s).  Teachers should pull the magnet on their already locked door, and make sure that students stay low to the floor and out of sight.  There is no need to pull down a window cover, close the blinds, or put out color cards anymore.  Just make sure you get out of sight and turn off the lights and your cell phone.

  •  Never, under any circumstance, open your classroom door under lockdown mode.  When Lockdown is over, the administrators will come around to unlock the door to release you.

    • Quickly scan the hallway for anyone needing a location to lock-down in.  

    • Close & pull magnet from the locked door when leaving the classroom and for lock-down drills.

    • Turn off the lights.

    • Move everyone to a safe area in your room where they can not be seen by the window.

    • Stay silent until administrators unlock your door to release you. 

Watch video for clarification of Standard Response Protocols.

• Tornado - Gather students to your assigned area and have them sit in tornado/storm mode.  (Knees on the ground, hands over the back of their neck, and face down towards the ground).

Walkie Talkie Expectations

• Each team leader will have a walkie talkie/charging station in their classroom. 

• If a teacher on a grade level team has a student that requires frequent emergency communication, the TL will allow that teacher to house the walkie talkie.

• It is the TL's or teacher with the walkie talkie's responsibility to keep it charged and take it to drills/recess/lunch. In the event that the teacher with the walkie talkie is absent, another teacher on the team should take charge of the walkie talkie. 

• Channel 2 is used for emergency behavior situations. Teachers should use channel 2 when a student and/or teacher is in imminent danger. Please see the flow chart for when to use Channel 2 radio.

• Administration will always have a first responder with a radio on Channel 2. Administrator will call for back up or CPI team when necessary. 

• SPED case managers will only be pulled to support their IEP case load when absolutely necessary. Administration will work with responder team to do everything they can to avoid pulling SPED teachers from their scheduled classes.

• Channel 1 is used for recess/lunch/dismissal/safety drills 

Safety during morning drop off-NEW

• K-5th parents will be able to walk their child to the classroom the first day of school. 

• All students will enter through the foyer or back door by the cafeteria (bus/daycare/SPED). This will allow the before school monitor to ensure that adults do not get past our foyer without proper check in procedures.

•  The first 2 weeks of school, teachers/staff not on duty should stand in the hallway by their classroom door to help direct students to the correct classroom.

• Parents will be instructed to "kiss, & say goodbye" at the glass doors after the first day of school. Only parents that have followed the correct check in will be allowed to enter the hallways (must have a badge). Parents will not be allowed to check in with a badge to walk their child to class. 

• At 8:05 am all classroom doors should close for morning announcements.

Identification Badges

• All MISD employees must wear their ID badges at all times while in district buildings.  

• Your MISD badge allows you access to McGowen.  Initially, badges will be provided to each employee without cost, but if the badge is lost or damaged you may be charged a replacement fee by the facilities department.  

Safety & Security 

• All teachers should lock their classroom door when away from the room. 

• All teachers should keep their door locked with the magnet in place when in the room. Please do not prop your door when teaching. 

• State exterior door audit is completed weekly. Our armed security guard checks the doors regularly and also watches our building cameras regularly. 

•  All visitors will be required to sign in at the office.

•  McGowen staff members should question any visitors without visitor badges and direct or escort them to the office.  

• Report any suspicious person or activity to the office as soon as possible.  All district employees must wear their MISD ID badge when entering any district school building.  

Child Abuse/Neglect

• Refer to MISD Employee Handbook and MISD Compliance Training. Reporting to CPS must be done within 24 hours now.

Transporting Students

• DO NOT transport students in your personal vehicle.

•  If you do this, you place yourself at risk for personal liability in the event of an accident.

Escorting in hallway/Supervising Students

• Please escort your students/class as they travel through the building to their different destinations.  This will allow supervision of all students and promote hall safety and courtesy. In order to provide supervision to the entire class, teachers should walk in the middle of the line when escorting students. 

• Classroom teachers are to escort their class to and from special areas. Specials teachers should not release students unless a classroom teacher is there to pick them up.  Please be on time.  Also, teachers are to escort students to afternoon dismissal areas.  

• Students must be supervised at all times. This includes to and from specials and recess/lunch as well as arrival and dismissal locations. 

• It is not appropriate for a teacher to leave his/her students unsupervised to make copies or run other instructional errands.

• Please make sure you tell the teacher next to your classroom to watch your students if you are leaving your classroom to go to the restroom. 

Weather Related Closings

• MISD staff will receive a call out message from district office when school is closed. Weather related closing will also be posted on the McKinney ISD Facebook page.

Personal Information/Items

• A list of McGowen Elementary faculty members with their address, phone number, e-mail address, and birthday will be available in the front office. 

•  This is a confidential list and is intended for the use of our faculty ONLY.  

• Please do not share any information on this list without receiving prior permission from the person in question

• Please do not bring large sums of cash or valuable items to school. 

•  Lock your personal belongings in your desk or closet (if available). 

• Keep your room locked when you cannot monitor it.  

• The school and/or school district is not responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen items. 

Maintenance/Repairs

• All repairs must be given to the secretary in writing or through email.  

• Please give the following information when requesting a work order or repair:

  • Your room number/location

  • Nature of the repair

  • Any additional information that would be helpful in fixing the problem

For emergency situations (accidents, spills, vomit, etc.), please call the front office and make sure that you speak with a person to ensure prompt handling of the situation.