As the summer comes to an end and our children are readied to head back to school, many of us are taking steps to get prepared for this transition back into academia. You, like me, may have even created a checklist to ensure that nothing was forgotten. Amongst the many items on our list were school supplies, new shoes, new clothing, backpack, water bottle and a lunch box. In addition, my son's school asks the parents to supply a change of clothes, a letter addressed to each child, a plastic cup, baby wipes and other basic supplies, in the event there is an interruption.
What is your school doing to be prepared? Do they have supplies on site? Do they have a Crisis Communications Plan to respond to you after an interruption. Do they conduct fire and earthquake drills regularly? Do they have an Emergency Operations Plan?
If you are unable to answer these questions, then we would suggest that you contact your child's school and learn the answers. If you learn that there is room for improvement, then we encourage enlisting the help of the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center. They offer FREE training to schools, school districts and institutions of higher education. To learn more, simply visit http://rems.ed.gov/# and check out the Technical Assistance section to learn more about the resources, tools and training available.
If you would prefer to enlist our help. We would be happy to chat with your school on your behalf and even connect them with REMS. Click on the link below to contact us or you can email us at kelly@ht2consulting.com.