This Week’s SafeSchools Minute

Holding Doors Open: Familiar Faces Still Follow Procedure

Part of the Guided Weekly School Safety Program

How to Use This Week’s Reminder

Share this week's SafeSchools Minute with your staff through your school's usual communication channels.

Use the Ready-to-Send Email below to quickly copy and paste a message into your email, then attach the Reminder PDF before sending.

Each reminder takes about one minute to read and reinforces an important everyday school safety habit..

Included with this Reminder

📄Download Reminder PDF

  • Subject: This Week’s Safety Reminder: Severe Weather and Shelter Areas

    Staff,

    This week’s SafeSchools Minute™ focuses on Severe Weather and Shelter Areas.

    Severe weather may require us to move quickly to designated shelter locations. Those areas may be different from the locations used during other emergency procedures.

    Please make sure you know the severe weather shelter area assigned to your classroom or work location and the safest route to reach it.

    This week, take a few moments to review that route and confirm that the shelter area is accessible, clear of unnecessary storage, and ready for use.

    Please take one minute to review the attached reminder.

    Know your shelter location before the warning is issued.

    Thank you for helping us stay prepared for severe weather before it happens.

  • Familiar faces can create a false sense of security.

    A parent, volunteer, former employee, contractor, or community member may be someone staff recognize, but recognition does not automatically mean they are authorized to enter through a secured door.

    The safest approach is to follow the same access procedure every time. If someone needs to enter the building, direct them to the designated entrance and allow the office or appropriate staff member to verify access.

    Being polite and being secure can happen at the same time.

    Familiarity should not replace procedure.

  • What should you do if someone you recognize asks you to hold a secured exterior door open for them?

    Suggested response:

    Politely direct them to the designated entrance.

    Staff should:

    • Avoid assuming they are currently authorized to enter
    • Allow the secured door to close and latch
    • Direct them to the main entrance or visitor check in area
    • Follow the same procedure even if the person is well known
    • Contact the office if clarification is needed

    Consistency protects both the school and the person requesting access.

  • Pay particular attention to:

    • Familiar parents or volunteers approaching side entrances
    • Former staff members entering through employee doors
    • Contractors or delivery personnel using non designated entrances
    • Staff holding doors open because they recognize the person
    • Visitors bypassing the office during busy arrival or dismissal periods
    • Exterior doors remaining open longer than necessary

    Recognition should not change the normal access process.

  • This week, make a point to follow the same door access procedure with every person, including those you know.

    Ask yourself:

    • Is this person authorized to use this entrance?
    • Are they following the normal visitor process?
    • Am I making an exception only because I recognize them?
    • Did the door fully close and latch behind me?

    Familiar faces still follow the same procedure.

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