Gilbert Arizona Covid School Safety

Gilbert remains focused on slowing the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to provide our citizens with excellent service. The Gilbert mask ordinance has expired, but the laws of Maricopa County are now valid.

Gilbert took a creative approach to continuing services in a digital or interactive format when the COVID-19 pandemic forced cities across the nation to close facilities. Many of these improvements for both workers and the public have maximized productivity and will continue to be delivered online.

The Safety and Security Department of the Gilbert Public School District is committed to providing all students, teachers, employees, and visitors with a healthy learning and working atmosphere. It is also the responsibility of the Security Department to secure the district's properties as well as to establish and introduce new creative protocols related to security and security.

Gilbert Public Schools continues to follow the instructions of Maricopa County Health. It is not current practice, under these rules, to inform the whole school of a positive event. The parent/guardian notification process is as follows:

• Possible exposure letter sent to parents/guardians of students with a confirmed positive case who have been in class with or on a transport road.
• Parents/guardians of students needed to quarantine obtain a letter and phone call after county investigation.

Please notice that bus route updates are sent to all eligible passengers on those routes. Please also remember that, as a precaution, and in the best interests of our students and employees, the district can decide to temporarily close a particular campus program. Both students and families affected by such a decision will be immediately contacted if this is the case.

 

Gilbert Public Schools Lockdown Drills

What are Lockdown Drills?

For students and staff to develop a "muscle memory" reaction to the lockdown announcement, daily lockdown exercises are a must. The hope is to acclimate students and workers to a process that they will be able to execute easily, efficiently, and safely, as with fire drills. By learning what to do in an emergency situation, these drills are practice to help keep everyone safe. The Arizona Department of Education mandates quarterly lockout drills.

Why conduct unannounced Lockdown Drills?

They are carried out to assess the genuine preparation for a real emergency situation and, if necessary, to make changes to the emergency plans of the school. Unannounced lockdown exercises are not performed among the students or staff of a school to induce fear or anxiety. GPS does not execute exercises against the school with simulated risks, but instead conducts a standard lockdown exercise with the single exception that it is unannounced.

How to speak with your student about Lockdown Drills

It is important to make the experience beneficial for how parents interact with their child with respect to lockdown drills. Find out what your kid knows about drills for lockdowns. In case of an emergency situation, ask them if they know what these drills are and if they know what to do.

Explain what they can encounter during a lockdown drill to your child so that they know what to expect. Reassure your child that, in the very unlikely event that an emergency situation arises in or near the classroom, these exercises, such as fire drills, are only to learn how to stay safe. Inform them to stay calm and obey the instructions of their instructor. Tell your child that there are many individuals whose job it is to protect them and their school.

If your child's anxiety about frightening news events is caused by engaging in school lockdown exercises, find out what they are thinking, what they think they know, and what they fear or worry about.

Kids also have plenty of misunderstandings about things that they see and hear. Any misunderstanding your child has about school events and lockdown drills may need to be cleared up.