Teach Emergency Preparedness As Well As Reading, Writing and Math to ALL Students

School need to teach a 4^th ‘R” – READINESS For a Disaster

It is unfortunate that I need to write this sort of blog posting. But never the les it is important now as it was back in my school days. I got my first BIG taste of a hurricane in 1972 with Hurricane Agnes that killed 129 persons and was the most damaging storm on record at that time. It was my first taste of mass hurricane damage.

With so many types of disasters compounding life now days from flash flooding, to terrorism not to mention deadly hurricane storms it is important that every person including our youngest children from to our most senior of citizen and national guest be trained in disaster preparedness. That means that we get emergency preparedness tips for our home, workplace as well as when we go on vacation. We all need to have our own personal emergency preparedness kit that addresses our personal needs including our possible medications, hygiene supplies, food and water needs. We also can not abandon o our pets, we have an emotional relationship with them and an ethical responsibility to provide for them as well.

It certainly would be great if our children learned in school the practicalities of developing an emergency preparedness checklist that is based on dependable and reliable disaster preparedness information. With families going in so many directions with soccer practice, dance classes, overtime at work not to mention scouting projects and all the other things that demand our time and bodies away from home, kids often find that they re at some point at home alone. Disasters can happen quickly and certainly with little warning often. If our children can learn in a safe and realistic manner how to take care of themselves in the immediate period during and after a disaster then we will have done a great service to them personally for a lifetime.

When children learn the importance of emergency preparedness then in the days and hours before a hurricane even the youngest child can be much more helpful in the many tasks of preparing for a hurricane. By giving them training in how to prepare survive and recover from a hurricane they will be les frightened and traumatized due to the lack of knowledge and skills to deal with the issues that may face them.

I know that we all want to safeguard our children from the possibilities of unpleasant discussions. We want them to have the ‘Leave It To Beaver’ life experience of a TV show of the 1950s. But that is not our world today. By teaching them how to address such disaster issues in a calm and effective manner we will be gifting them with skills they can build upon the rest of their lives. Those skills will not only help to possibly save their own lives and that of their loved one but may go far in helping to save lives in their own community and beyond.

I’m thrilled that the teachers in the article below are leaning how to deal with disasters in school. We certainly need to encourage all schools to be diligent in that given what happened today unfortunately in a school in Ohio when a 14 year old boy took guns to school and shot others and ultimately dying himself. Schools now days face many kinds of disasters that many of us never dreamed possible when we were growing up.

It is not enough for the teachers to know about how to deal with disasters but students of all ages and their families must also be taught.

Let us start to teach emergency preparedness before it is too late. .

COMMENTS WELCOMED!

Please share your thoughts, emergency preparedness tips and stories here on this blog.

All I ask is that everyone be respectful and sensitive of each other and that identifying information about a person who is not the author be limited to protect their privacy.

Be Safe

Terrie

www.trainforahurricane.com

A Helping Hand

by Michelle Bowles

A federal grant program gives school districts the financial support they need to develop updated, comprehensive disaster plans.

WHO COULD FORGET the harrowing images of Greensburg, KS, after a deadly tornado in May leveled the small town and tore the local high school to shreds?

Just two months earlier, tornados pummeled several towns in neighboring Missouri. In Caulfield, MO, tornados touched down near the town's elementary school, killing 7-year-old Elizabeth Croney. In February, an elementary school in Derby, KS, was forced to go on lockdown while police arrested an armed suspect directly across the street.

And that's just one corner of the normally unperturbed Midwest. All across the country, schools must confront growing threats of every sort, from natural disasters, violent gangs, and would-be terrorists.

On May 10 in St. Louis—in that same quiet Midwest corner that had been on the receiving end of so much destruction— school district staff and administration from around the country gathered to receive training and information on emergency preparedness and response. Their host was the Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, which made a point of explaining to the attendees how it intends to help them.

Every school has internal resources that can be used to improve an emergency plan. For instance, the photo club can help first responders by taking pictures of the school, and prior to an incident, the drama club can assist with emergency drills by acting as victims.

The DoE has created the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools discretionary grant program (REMS)—formerly known as the Emergency Response and Crisis Management grant program. School districts receive REMS funds to be used to implement readiness training plans and update security equipment in their facilities.

Responding to 9/11

The need for government action became frighteningly clear after the terrorist attacks on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

"If you think back to 9/11, there were a lot of lessons learned from that incident," says Sara Strizzi, a program analyst for the DoE in Washington, DC. One of those lessons was the vulnerability of K- 12 campuses. "We realized that within the ground zero vicinity, there were a lot of schools close by."

Strizzi says the DoE discovered that, while many schools had emergency plans in place, very few of those plans reflected current realities. School districts needed help in developing comprehensive plans for emergencies, including natural disasters, violent incidents, and terrorist attacks. According to the department, since the inception of the REMS grant program in October 2003, 413 grants have been awarded to local educational agencies in 44 states and Puerto Rico.

Each year, school districts compete to receive the grant money—the password is collaboration. Applying districts must show that they will partner with local law enforcement, local government, and public health and safety officials to implement security measures.

"All of those partners need to give their buy-in to help foster relationships prior to an emergency situation," Strizzi says. "In the event of a disaster, it helps when school administrators are familiar with law enforcement agencies, and law enforcement agencies are familiar with school layouts."

Plans of All Sizes

Schools that are awarded REMS grants are encouraged to see the big picture and develop a comprehensive, sustainable plan; it's not as simple as adding a CCTV camera here and a DVR there.

PICK ME! PICK ME!

NOT EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT CAN RECEIVE A FEDERAL GRANT. THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFERS THESE TIPS ON HOW TO STAND OUT IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.

* BUILD A TIGHT BOND WITH THE COMMUNITY. Strong community partnerships improve the overall outcomes of grants and ensure sustainability of project activities.

* OBTAIN BUY-IN FROM THE TOP. Getting administrators on board can be challenging, so be creative and brainstorm the best ways to involve them in the grant selection process.

* THINK TOWARD THE FUTURE. Training programs need to be developed with sustainability in mind and should be able to grow as needs change.

* GET AN ESTIMATE OR TWO. Obtaining multiple reliable cost estimates is important before submitting the grant application.

* ASSESS YOUR NEEDS. Successful projects clearly define needs and incorporate activities to address them.

* THINK THINGS THROUGH. Evaluation plans should be well developed, and should outline objectives and measures.