Great Falls Public Schools staff is ready for the new academic year:
The Great Falls Public School District will kick off the 2025-2026 academic year on Wednesday, August 27, 2027.
GFPS safety procedures if there is an emergency:
- Evacuation: Defined as an internal emergency that requires students and staff to leave the building for their safety. Parents should follow emergency notifications.
- Lockdown: Defined as an internal and/or immediate threat. All staff and students are locked in rooms. No one IN or OUT!
- Shelter In Place: Defined as a safety precaution for an external threat that is not an immediate or internal threat.
- Class Hold: Defined as a safety precaution implemented during an incident where students need to be kept in the classroom.
- Release with Care: Defined as a possible threat in the schools’ neighborhoods during arrival and release time. Release with care procedures:
- To ensure safety, the building administrator may ask staff to escort students to/from buses or waiting cars.
- Staff may also be asked to accompany students home.
Student safety: walking to/from school
- Students should walk in groups or pairs
- Students should travel on a designated route, and parents should know the route their student is taking
- Students should check in with a responsible individual when they arrive at home
- Students should be taught to always be aware of their surroundings
- Students should avoid alleys on their designated route to/from school
- Students should walk on designated sidewalks and in well-lit areas
- Parents should notify the school when after-school procedures change
Click here to visit the Safety page on the GFPS website for more information.
GFPS also provides the following information about emergencies:
Unfortunately, there is always the potential of unforeseen emergencies such as threats, natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, tornadoes), hazardous material breaches (chemical spills, gas leaks, refinery accidents), and unpredictable weather. While the potential exists, all students, parents and school employees should assume, even during emergencies, that school will be in session and buses will be running as scheduled unless there is official notification from the Superintendent to the contrary.
To achieve the maximum safety for all children and the efficiency of operations, the Superintendent may order the:
- Cancellation of some or all bus routes
- Delay of some or all bus routes
- Closure of school(s)
- Delay of school start
- Early dismissal of school
In making these decisions, the District believes schools are a safe place for students. The District also believes that school buses are very safe for children as they are heavy, well maintained and driven by well-trained and qualified individuals. It is also important to note that the closure of school is a serious decision and one that is rarely made. The District will take a variety of factors into consideration.
