***September is National Preparedness Month!***

**10 Easy Ways for Schools to Participate in National Preparedness Month
and Promote Emergency Preparedness Awareness!**

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sponsored its fourth annual
*National Preparedness Month* in September 2007. The purpose of this
campaign is to encourage businesses, families, and schools to prepare
for all types of emergencies. Six hundred and twenty-five national,
regional, state, and local organizations are supporting this year's
campaign efforts. For more information on *National Preparedness Month*
please visit <http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1181763393616.shtm>.

The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical
Assistance (TA) Center encourages school districts and schools to
support *National Preparedness Month* by initiating activities geared
towards increasing emergency preparedness awareness within their school
and local community. Following are 10 ways that schools can promote and
build emergency preparedness awareness within their school and local
communities.

1.  **Address School Emergency Management, Preparedness, and Safety at
    *"Back to***

> ***School Night"***

2.  **Conduct a Lockdown Drill Immediately Before Your First Fire
    Drill!**

3.  **Sign Up for a Listserv or Notification List Addressing School
    Emergency Management**

4.  **Keep Parents, Community Members, Local Emergency Management, and
    the Local Media Informed of the Ongoing Collaborative Efforts that
    Help Keep Your School Community Safe**

5.  **Keep in Touch with Your Community Partners**

6.  **Conduct a Classroom Hazard Hunt Contest**

7.  **Teach and Re-Teach Healthy Behaviors to Students**

8.  **Create a Slogan Campaign about School Safety and Have Kids Make
    Posters**

9.  **Teachers Emergency Preparedness Lessons and Units**

10. **Teach Students to Teach their Families about Emergency
    Preparedness**

**1. Address School Emergency Management, Preparedness, and Safety at
*"Back to School Night"***

> School emergency management is a mutual concern for the school
> district, students, staff, parents, and local community partners, and
> emergency management officials. Districts and schools can build
> emergency management capacity through awareness and preparedness
> campaigns. "*Back to School Night"* is an optimal opportunity for
> reaching a large number of parents and guardians. The event provides a
> forum for communicating the district's and school's emergency
> management efforts, raising emergency management awareness, and
> informing parents what their role is throughout the four phases of
> emergency management.
>
> Following are suggestions for activities for schools to use during
> *"Back to School Night"* to promote emergency management awareness.

-   **Create Portable, Electronic School Documents for Families**

> Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed that having electronic copies of
> essential documents can be instrumental to schools and families
> following an emergency incident. These documents facilitated
> appropriate placement and timely delivery of services to students and
> their families as they assimilated into a new school community.

-   Invite parents to bring essential documents such as birth
    certificates, social security cards, immunization records, insurance
    documents, etc. as well as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive (also
    known as a jump or flash drive) to *"Back to School Night."*

-   Scan these essential documents onto each parent's USB drive (take
    precautionary measures to ensure that personal files are not saved
    onto a school computer and are only saved onto each parent's
    respective USB drives).

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-   **Have Parents and Guardians Complete and Update Student Emergency
    Information Cards**

    -   "*Back to School Night*" provides schools an opportunity to
        ensure student emergency cards are comprehensive and accurate.
        Schools should inform parents of the card, its purpose, and the
        urgency for keeping it up-to-date. Cards should include guardian
        contact information (including an additional adult family member
        or friend out of state), medical information (i.e., allergies,
        medications), and legal information (i.e., custodial rights.)

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-   **Inform Parents of their Roles and Responsibilities During
    Response**

    -   Describe the schools' three types of immediate responses
        (evacuation, lockdown, and shelter-in place).

    -   Provide directives to parents and guardians on the reunification
        processes and requirements.

    -   Notify parents and guardians of how to stay informed during an
        emergency using the following communication systems:

        -   Websites and email;

        -   NOAA Public Alert Radios;

        -   Local radio and cable television channels; and

        -   Emergency notification system, if the district utilizes one.

    -   Teach kids and parents how to create a family emergency
        communications plan.

> If an emergency notification system (instant alert communication
> system) is used by the district, schools should also take this
> opportunity to explain how the system works, and the methods of
> notification (i.e., phone, email, text).

-   **Conduct a fire drill at *Back to School Night***

    -   Demonstrate the schools' capacity to effectively respond and
        care for the school community.

    -   Introduce parents and guardians to first responders and
        community partners.

    -   Provide a joint message underscoring the importance of
        preparedness.

1.  **Conduct a Lockdown Drill Immediately Preceding Your First Fire
    Drill**

> Capitalize on collaboration, coordination, and communication
> opportunities with local emergency management, community partners,
> staff, and students to help build positive working relationships; help
> students become familiar with potential first responders; and offer
> practice, review, data collection, and enhancement opportunities for
> response activities such as fire drills and lockdowns. By conducting
> one exercise immediately after the other, the incident management team
> and community partners save planning time and ease the scheduling
> process. It also benefits students and teachers as it provides fewer
> interruptions and decreases transition time between activities.

2.  **Sign up for a Listserv or Notification List Addressing School
    Emergency Management!**

> Listservs, notification lists, and online publications provide an easy
> opportunity to stay current with policy updates, funding
> opportunities, current research, training opportunities, lessons
> learned, and useful resources. The Federal Government and several
> Federally-funded organizations offer free subscriptions to a variety
> of listservs. Find a listserv that matches your needs and interests
> and sign up today!

-   **The U.S. Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug-Free
    Schools (OSDFS) *Prevention News Bulletin***

> You may sign up on the OSDFS Web page
> <http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/listserv/preventioned.html>[.]{.underline}

-   **REMS TA Center**

> To receive notifications of Readiness and Emergency Management for
> Schools (REMS) grant and training opportunities, as well as
> publications, please send an email to info@remstacenter.org.

-   **National The National Incident Management System (NIMS)
    Integration Center *NIMS Alerts***

> To join the NIMS Integration Center listserv and to receive NIMS
> Alerts as they are posted, please send your email request to
> <NIMS-Integration-Center@dhs.gov>.

-   **The Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and
    Delinquency Prevention's Listserv *JUVJUST***

> You may sign up on the JUVJUST Web page
> <http://puborder.ncjrs.gov/listservs/subscribe_JuvJust.asp>.

# Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) *Dialogue*

# You may access *Dialogue*, the DTAC quarterly bulletin on its web page

> <http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/dtac/resources.asp#dialogue>.

-   **U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Services
    (FSIS) Newsletters, Listservs, and Quarterly Magazine**

> You may sign up on the FSIS website
> <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Email_Subscription/index.asp>.

-   **The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (NYVPRC)
    Safe Youth Listserv**

> You may sign up at the NYVPRC website
> [www.safeyouth.org/scripts/news/listserve.asp](http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/news/listserve.asp).

-   **Ask your local and state partners if their agency administers a
    listserv or disseminates notices.**

> .

3.  **Keep Parents, Community Members, Local Emergency Management, and
    the Local Media Informed**

> The whole community should know about the district's and schools'
> efforts to ensure safety and security. Parents, community, local
> emergency management, and the local media are critical players during
> emergency response efforts. As such, it is important to collaborate
> and identify their roles and responsibilities during an incident.
> Also, districts and their schools can be proactive in creating
> positive working relations with parents, community members, local
> emergency management, and the local media to facilitate effective
> emergency management activities.

-   Present at a parent association meeting night

-   Present to the school board

-   Invite parents, community members, emergency management, and the
    local media to participate in an emergency exercise and after-action
    debriefing to help outline lessons learned after an incident.

-   Write updated letters to keep parents informed using all applicable
    languages and a variety of methods (i.e., U.S. Mail, website,
    emails, and backpack mail).

-   Write letters to community members.

-   Inform and work with your local Citizen Corps Council
    ([www.citizencorps.gov](http://www.citizencorps.gov/))

-   Working with emergency management, integrate your school emergency
    plan with the community emergency operations plan.

-   Proactively initiate dialogue and build a positive relationship with
    the media in advance of an incident.

-   Send the local media press releases and letters to the editor.

4.  **Keep In Touch With Your Community Partners**

> A school or district should collaborate with a wide variety of
> community partners in order to identify gaps or weaknesses in their
> emergency management plan, and to develop strategies for addressing
> the identified gaps or weaknesses. Community partners that should be
> included in emergency planning processes include: emergency
> management, fire and law enforcement personnel, public and mental
> health agency representatives, and hospital personnel, such as
> emergency medical technicians. Other partners may include local
> businesses, non-profit organizations, and the faith community.

-   **Stay in close communication with your community partners by
    implementing any of the following suggestions:**

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-   Routinely give them a call or send them an email*.*

-   Provide community partners with consistent updates on emergency
    management activities and ask for their input.

-   Facilitate strong communication, collaboration, and coordination by
    offering a proactive and stress-free occasion for all partners to
    meet each such as a lunch or a "meet and greet" before a common
    meeting.

-   Work with local Citizen Corps Councils to connect with local
    government, community leaders, emergency management, first
    responders, etc. Find a Council near you at www.citizencorps.gov

5.  **Host a Classroom Hazard Hunt Contest**

> Students and teachers can be trained on everyday hazards (i.e.,
> unstable bookshelves) that present a potential risk to students,
> school staff, and school property. Using a checklist, students can
> perform a "Hazard Hunt" to identify materials used in classrooms,
> building specifications, barriers to evacuation, and local landmarks
> (i.e., factories, airports, chemical plants) that pose potential risks
> to the school community. After identifying each hazard, provide
> students with the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for preventing or
> mitigating the risk posed by each hazard and present their findings to
> their class.

-   The Kentucky Center For Safe Schools offers the following "Hazard
    Hunt" worksheet for classroom assessments,
    <http://www.kycss.org/clear/pdfs&docs/EMG/ch4/hh.pdf>

6.  **Teach and Re-Teach Healthy Behaviors to Students**

> At any age, people benefit from being reminded of positive behaviors.
> Ongoing awareness campaigns help reinforce the lesson and promote
> students taking on the desired behaviors. The Centers for Disease
> Control distribute information and materials promoting healthy
> behaviors such as sneeze in your elbow. Materials on the *Good Health
> Habits Campaign* and the *Stop the Spread of Germs* programs are
> available at <http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/stopgerms.htm>
>
> **More healthy behaviors**

-   Wash your hands after using the restroom and before eating.

-   Promote safe and healthy distances that will help prevent the spread
    of germs.

-   Be respectful toward others.

-   Look both ways before crossing the street.

-   When walking in the hallway, stay to the right.

-   Never prop doors open.

-   Never stand on chairs.

-   Students can promote healthy behaviors by engaging in activities
    such as:

    -   Creating posters to display in hallways as reminders of healthy
        behaviors.

    -   Videotaping students doing role-play exercises to educate the
        whole school community on healthy behaviors.

    -   Reporting hazards, violence, and bullying to adults.

**8.** [**Create a School Safety Slogan and Campaign with the
Students**](#headingviii)

> []{#headingviii .anchor}Student engagement, empowerment, and
> peer-to-peer learning are effective strategies to instill emergency
> preparedness awareness in students. Poster and slogan contests provide
> an opportunity for students to educate one another on the importance
> of preparing for emergencies within their home or community.

-   **Host an Emergency Preparedness Poster Contest:**

    -   Have students draw or paint a picture illustrating appropriate
        ways to prepare for and/or respond to an emergency.

    -   Have students vote on their favorite posters and offer contest
        participants with certificates and awards for their designs.

-   **Host an Emergency Preparedness Slogan Contest:**

    -   Have students come up with slogans that promote emergency
        awareness.

    -   Have students vote on their favorite slogans and offer contest
        participants with certificates and awards for their slogans.

**9. Teach Emergency Preparedness Lessons and Units**

> Emergency preparedness is a life-long skill and schools can help teach
> students critical behaviors in advance of incidents. FEMA and the
> American Red Cross both offer age appropriate curricula and activities
> for all ages. Many are aligned with National standards and can easily
> be cross-referenced with State and local standards.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Resources for Teachers and Parents

-   **Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for Kids**\
    Instructs children on how to prepare for disasters and prevent harm
    from disasters. Kids can play games, read stories, and learn what
    causes disasters. Accessible at <http://www.fema.gov/kids/>

-   **Resources for Parents and Teachers**\
    Provides caregivers with safety information, a curriculum, and
    learning activities appropriate for the home or classroom.
    Accessible at <http://www.fema.gov/kids/teacher.htm>

Ready Campaign Materials for Kids

-   Ready Kids from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

> **Offers facts, tips, and resources for kids, teachers, and parents.
> Accessible at <http://www.ready.gov/kids/home.html>**.

American Red Cross Resources for Teachers and Parents

-   Masters of Disaster\
    Teaches students how to prepare for disasters and stay safe during
    and after an emergency at home, school, or in their community.
    Accessible at
    [**http://www.redcross.org/disaster/Masters/**](http://www.redcross.org/disaster/Masters/)

-   Disaster Services, Educator\'s Information\
    Provides additional materials for teachers, educators, and
    presenters to help children and families learn how to stay safe and
    prevent or reduce the effects of disasters or other emergencies.
    Accessible at
    [**http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/**](http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/)

-   **Home Safety Council Resources for Families**

> Through national programs and partners across America, the HSC works
> to educate and empower families to take actions that help keep them
> safer in and around their homes. Through its charitable and
> educational projects, the HSC works with national safety-related
> organizations, home products suppliers, school systems, local fire
> departments, and volunteers across the country to improve home safety.
> Learn more by visiting
> [http://www.homesafetycouncil.org](http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/)

**10. Teach Students to Teach their Families about Emergency
Preparedness**

> Students can help educate their families on basic emergency
> preparedness considerations within the home, school, and community.
> This is an effective method for building community-wide preparedness.
> Districts and schools can educate students on emergency preparedness
> using lesson plans and curricula for students of all ages sponsored by
> emergency management institutions such as the Red Cross and FEMA.

-   **Teach students home emergency preparedness :**

    -   Have a plan.

    -   Have a meeting place.

    -   Have a phone contact.

    -   Have a family go-kit.

        -   **Encourage students to teach their families**

> Children can be effective teachers bringing home information and
> motivation to families. Encourage students to share their new
> emergency preparedness knowledge with family members (this is
> especially important for students whose parents have a low
> English-speaking proficiency and are new to the community).

-   **Host contests**

> Create friendly competitions to see how many preparedness activities
> students can complete at school, at home, and in the community.