How Prepared is Your District?

Ask yourself these questions with regard to your school district’s emergency preparation plan. If the answer to any of these is “no,” there may be some work to do: 1. Were representatives from public safety and emergency agencies involved in the development of your plan? 2. If you have multiple schools, do you have a master protocol that applies to all schools and a set of specific site procedures to spell out how the protocol will be carried out at each school? 3. Has your plan been formatted for user-friendliness? 4. Was a representative from your transportation department involved in the development of the plan? 5. Is the plan specifically tailored to fit the needs of your community rather than copied from another district or bought from a consultant? 6. Does your plan address mutual aid agreements with other schools and school districts to ensure the right amount of resources (such as buses and drivers) for a major disaster? 7. Does your plan detail how key school officials will work within the public safety incident command system? 8. Has your plan been externally evaluated by a qualified agency or school safety service provider? 9. Has your plan been properly distributed and have all personnel been adequately trained on the plan? 10. Has your plan been tested through the use of appropriate emergency operations exercises coordinated through your local emergency management agency? Source: Michael Dorn, a campus safety expert, can be contacted at (478) 477-2969 or m_14_762mm@hotmail.com.