School Evacuation Site Newsletter: Making Sure Every Family Knows Where to Go

In a real school emergency that requires evacuation, every minute families spend trying to figure out where their child is creates hazards. Families who drive to the school when students have been moved to a reunification site block emergency vehicle access. Families who do not know the reunification site location call the school repeatedly during the response. Both outcomes are preventable with a newsletter sent well before any incident.

Primary and Secondary Evacuation Sites

Name both sites. Give the full address of each and, if possible, a brief description of the location: "the parking lot of First Community Church at 4200 Maple Avenue" is more useful than a street address alone when families are navigating under stress.

Explain when the school uses the secondary site. Typically, it is when the primary site is inaccessible due to proximity to the hazard or other logistics. Families who understand this know not to assume the location without reading the notification.

How the School Will Notify Families

Be specific about the alert system. Which platform sends the notification. What the message will say. How quickly families should expect to hear. Families who know what the notification will look like can act on it faster than those who receive an unfamiliar message and spend time deciding whether it is legitimate.

Also tell families what to do while they wait for more information. "Stay off your phone except to monitor school notifications. Do not drive to the school. Wait for the evacuation site notification before leaving." Simple instructions prevent the most common family response errors.

The Student Pickup Process

Describe the reunification process at the evacuation site. Families arrive, show identification, present their name on the authorized pickup list, and wait while the student is located and released. This process takes time. Families who expect to walk in and collect their child immediately will be frustrated. Setting that expectation in advance reduces tension at the site.

Explain what happens if an authorized adult cannot be reached. Who else on the emergency contacts list is authorized? What is the process if no one on the list is available? Families who have thought through this in advance are more prepared.

What Identification to Bring

State this directly: bring a government-issued photo ID. No exceptions are made at the reunification site regardless of how well staff may know a family. This rule protects every student at the site. Families who arrive without ID may be asked to wait while authorization is confirmed. Having a mobile ID or photographed ID on a phone may be accepted in some protocols; check what applies locally.

Keeping Emergency Contacts Current

Include a specific prompt in every evacuation site newsletter: update your emergency contacts if anything has changed. A family that listed a neighbor as a backup two years ago may no longer live next to that person. A family whose phone number changed over the summer may not receive the alert. These gaps are easy to fix before an incident and impossible to fix during one.