The safety and well-being of all Christopher Columbus High School students, faculty, staff and visitors is a high priority.  Should a significant emergency or dangerous situation develop that presents an immediate threat to the health or safety to persons on campus, Columbus administration will immediately respond, evaluate and confront the threat.  Upon confirmation that a threat exists, emergency notification and updates will be sent to parents via email.  Continuing efforts to prevent incidents that lead to emergency situations is the main goal here at Columbus.

 

In the event of a campus emergency, the Miami-Dade County Police Department along with other appropriate response agencies (e.g. fire department, etc.) will immediately respond and investigate the threat.  Please take a few moments to review this material and become familiar with what happens on campus in an emergency situation. 

 

Christopher Columbus High School’s closure policy for inclement weather normally follow Miami-Dade County Public School closures, unless otherwise announced. Please tune in to local television and radio stations for the latest updates that may impact our area. Columbus will also activate an ‘Alert Line’ to provide faculty, staff, students and parents with up-to-date information on storm progress, instructions regarding campus preparations, announcements about closing and reopening of school, and other relevant instructions. In addition, Columbus’ website and all social media accounts will be updated with vital information.

 

In the event of a fire on campus, the alarms will be sounded and all buildings will be evacuated. Maps showing individual evacuation routes are posted in each class room. The elevators shall not be used to evacuate the building unless directed to do so by Miami-Dade County Fire Department personnel. However, elevators may be used by mobility impaired students if there is a fire wall separating the elevator from the fire danger area. In the event of a fire alarm/fire drill, all on campus occupants are required to evacuate all buildings and the evacuation should be done in a timely manner.

A lockdown at Christopher Columbus High School is a response to a clear and present danger to the safety of students or staff on campus. If a lockdown is initiated, Columbus administrators are the incident commanders for all campus personnel and are responsible for alerting everyone of the situation, including visitors, facility, staff, maintenance and food service workers. An announcement will be made via email to alert all those on campus of the situation. A staff member designated in advance by administration shall notify police and the Marist Brothers USA office immediately that a lockdown has been initiated and shall provide lockdown updates.

Designated Christopher Columbus High School staff members will administer first aid procedures as indicated by the nature of the accident and parents are notified if necessary. If the injury is major or life-threatening, either the first staff member attending to the Columbus student or an administrator will call 911 immediately.

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) is committed to protecting students inside and outside of the classroom.  In partnership with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) we are working to respond to a growing concern that while reports of child abuse are going down in Florida, in actuality child abuse may be increasing – however, many systems of supports and identification have been sidelined with the varying instructional mediums.
 

To contact the DCF Report Abuse Hotline, dial 1-800-962-2873.