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Dear Dr. Cherrye,
Children should be safe in our schools. With so much media coverage on school shootings, I am wondering about home school teaching, but to make ends meet in our home, I have to work. Sending my child to school is really my only option. What do you think schools should do about safety?
Dear, what do you think schools should do about safety,
Children should be safe in our schools. I wholeheartedly agree with you, and share your concerns because I’m watching the news as well. Before we get further into this conversation, we must identify staff roles in our schools. We must do this because while we can teach our children drills on safety, ultimately it will be the adults in charge of implementing safety rules and protocols. Wouldn’t you agree?
WHERE TO BEGIN
The administrative team (Principals, especially) should appoint a safety lead person and an alternate. These personnel appointees should be responsible, reliable and known to have great attendance. These individuals should be highly trained on safety protocols, drills and when/how to conduct training drills on their campuses.
It is important for each school campus across our nation to have established rules pertaining to chain of command duties for any and all emergency responses that could occur on campuses. These rules must be carefully discussed, planned, written in plain languages for all (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and etc.) for all to view and understand. In addition, it is vitally important for all students to know the importance of school drills.
PROCEDURAL SAFETY MANUALS
Operations manuals for emergencies should be available in each classroom and placed near the exit doors. In addition, the library, cafeteria, gymnasium and etc. should also display these manuals. All students should know where the manual is located, and the teacher should appoint a student and an alternate to either grab the manual or remind the teacher to grab it on drill days. You’d be surprised how helpful students can be, so give them jobs. They will love it!
Note: Operations should be reviewed annually to ensure that procedures are still appropriate, especially if the layout of the classroom and buildings have changed.
SITE SPECIFIC EMERGENCY PLANS
All campuses should have site specific plans (refer to your state’s Education Code). Ensure that each campus has identified the roles each personnel will have. For example (during fire drills), know what the Fire Code is and who will be responsible for that particular drill. School safety is what matters most! Ask yourselves how and who will keep your students safe?
MANDATORY REPORTING
Did you know that these drills should be reported? Yes, each campus should be fully aware of the laws and codes, and that for auditing purposes safety drills should be reported to their Board of Education. The audits will be sent to the State (in which you reside) every three years (check for accuracy in your specific state, please).
REQUIREMENT FOR SAFETY DRILLS
There are six (6) safety drills that each campus should have trainings. They are:
Secure (Lockout)
An action taken to secure the perimeter of a building and the grounds during incidents that may pose a threat outside the building. The outside is thought to be used as protection while denying entry into the campus to someone posing harm to students and staff.
Lockdown
An action utilized to secure the interior of the building during possible incidents that may pose immediate threats of violence to stakeholders (students, staff, visitors) who are inside the building.
Evacuate
An action utilized to quickly move students and other staff from one location to another location. Campus personnel will want to ensure the safety of all stakeholders moving them away from any possible threats. One commonly known threat is ‘bomb threat’.
Shelter in Place
An action utilized to move all stakeholders indoors for as long as deemed necessary, especially if personnel realizes that it may be safer inside than outside. Safety personnel and teachers may deem it appropriate to move to rooms that have no windows.
Shelter for Severe Weather
An action utilized to move stakeholders indoors for as long as deemed necessary realizing it may be safer inside than outside. Safety personnel and teachers may want to ask students to move to the lowest level floor, or to another safe shelter (identified in advance), especially if there is severe weather. Make sure that personnel realizes what to look for (weather watch or weather warning).
FIRE SAFETY
Ensure that all stakeholders are familiar with evacuation drills and procedures. They should also be familiar with the map in all locations they convene. The map is required by (1) Fire Marshall (check your state’s rules), and (2) local ordinances (check your local rules).
A map of the campus layout should be posted in all classrooms, library, cafeteria, gymnasium and in plain view. The map should reveal predesignated areas for stakeholders to convene. The map should be colored coded showing where the students are located (their classroom, or whichever room they are in at the time).
It is important to practice with students and staff on how to exit the building. Evacuations are necessary in case there is a fire. All stakeholders should know how to exit swiftly, but safely. All practice fire drills should be taken seriously whether it is real, or not. This way, all will know how to respond.
Floor plans should show only one floor per page, please.
Important Notes:
(1) Please hang evacuation maps in accordance with the directional compass. The predesignated assembly areas must be at least 50 feet from the building, and have landmark descriptions (pavilion, fence line, poles, sidewalks, or other agreed upon markers) identified so that students can readily see them.
(2) Please ensure that appointed safety drill personnel realize how often each of these drills should happen throughout the school year (how many times per semester/year), and that they occur timely.
(3) Please ensure that elevators are not utilized during emergency drills of any kind. Stakeholders should be trained to only use the exit stairs. This is important because elevators could malfunction.
(4) Ensure that your leaders know how to properly utilize fire extinguishers. Practice the Pull, Aim, Squeeze and Sweep technique with each of them.
(5) Teachers should ensure that children with special needs are well taken care of. Be certain that trained personnel have been identified and know their roles well. Also, be sure to secure the student’s medication and other needs properly.
INSPECTION CODES/COMPLIANCE
There are two (2) types of inspections that safety trainers should be aware of, and they are:
(1) Fire Safety Inspections and (2) Safety and Security Inspections. Know the violations that could incur for each of these inspections and for the safety of all involved, and please avoid them.
Children should be safe in our schools, but we must remind ourselves and stakeholders as well that safety begins with each of us! Right?
OPEN FOR COMMENTS
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.
IMPORTANT
I have made it my mission to assist parents and educators in resolving the bullying issues children suffer. Offering your feedback and suggestions in the comment section could facilitate meaningful dialogue on this critical issue among ourselves and I encourage this. I will respond to each comment in a timely way. Should you wish to speak privately with me, please email me at cherryeVasquez@gmail.com and I will reply promptly.
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