Our school staff works with the District and public safety providers (local police and fire departments, emergency responders, hospitals, etc.) to keep our school and staff safe. Our policy is to have every visitor sign-in to the front office and get a Visitor's Badge and staff is directed to stop non-employee adults without badges to remind them to go to office and sign-in. We have adult supervisors monitoring before and after-school, and on school yards at recesses and lunch.

Emergency Procedures

Alta Vista has a clearly defined Emergency Plan that focuses on proper planning and action before, during, and after a severe earthquake or school-wide emergency. The Alta Vista Safety Committee has worked diligently with police and fire departments to establish the necessary emergency procedures and staff participates in annual fall training. Fire drills are practiced monthly and other disaster drills periodically during the year.
In addition, the Union School District has provided all schools with disaster preparedness supplies to meet immediate needs if a major disaster strikes during school hours.
 
School-Wide Emergency: The primary responsibility of Alta Vista school staff in an emergency is the safety of all students and staff. Our school site has made arrangements for rescue, first aid, and other support, and is prepared to function in the event of a serious emergency. Each school site coordinates with the District Office, which in turn coordinates with local emergency services.  
 
What Is a "Lockdown?"
If an emergency situation is occurring on or near a school campus, the school may be placed under “lockdown.”  During a lockdown, all school doors and windows are locked and all students and staff remain in their classrooms or buildings.  No one is permitted to leave and no one, including parents, is allowed on campus.  The school and district have protocols and procedures in place for this type of school-wide emergency.
 
If there is a safety situation that takes place in the neighborhood, then the school may be asked to "Shelter in Place," which means instruction continues within a lockdown situation until the school administrator is given that the lockdown/shelter in place has been lifted.  When school administrators confirm that the emergency is over, an “all clear” announcement is made and students and staff are able to resume normal activities.
 
School-wide Release:
Annually, parents received a copy of our school Student Emergency Release Procedures. These procedures are designed to ensure all parents/guardians know where to go to pick up their children in the event of a school-wide emergency or an event that causes students to be released at an unplanned time. We hope we never have a need to implement our emergency plan, but believe in being prepared and ready should the need arise.  It is also important that the school. IMPORTANT: PLEASE KEEP COPIES OF STUDENT RELEASE NOTICE BY THE PHONE AND IN YOUR CAR
 
Safety and Community Alerts:

emergency communication If there is ever an incident within the community that directly impacts the safety of our school and/or students, the police department or emergency services will issue an alert to Union School District to send out to the parents. Depending on the level of alert, the Superintendent and/or principal will communicate the information to parents either through our school messenger service and/or by email, newsletter or other printed form.

While arrests or incidents occurring within surrounding neighborhoods may be of concern to parents living within the area, we cannot speculate or communicate about an incident that involves police or emergency services unless directed to by the police and/or school district. In such cases, the police advise parents to call their local police department for information relating to any incident that may have occurred within their neighborhood.

The numbers for our local police departments are:
Los Gatos non-emergency number: 354-8600
San Jose non-emergency number: 277-8911
 
What Parents Can Do to Prepare for an Emergency:
Make sure Emergency Forms are complete and up-to-date: