How prepared is your child’s school for disasters?

Photo: Lisa Apt/www.iwalktoschool.org

You’ve bought your kids their supplies, shown them how to ride the bus and even managed to get them out of bed. But there’s one more thing to think about now that school’s back in session: Emergency preparedness. Being prepared is important no matter where you are, so how can you be sure your child’s school is ready?

Most schools have some sort of emergency preparedness policies, either by regulation or choice. But they can vary from school to school. To really know what’s going on, call your child’s school leaders and check in.

Here are five preparedness questions you can use to get the conversation started.

1. What steps are in place in case of disasters? Most schools have plans ready for disasters and community problems. Get a copy and find out where your child will be in case of an emergency. Ask about fire drills and other lessons.
     
2. What can I do to get my child ready? Ask about vaccination requirements as your child ages and make sure your children are up to date on their vaccinations. Also, make sure your child knows her or his address, the full names of parents or guardians as well as important phone numbers. It’s also a good idea to designate another trusted emergency contact for your child in case you’re unavailable.
     
3. Where can I get information about the school during an emergency? Extreme weather or emergencies can close schools or send students home early. Ask how you’ll be notified and how you can be ready if schedules change.
     
4. If a serious emergency occurs, is there a place for children to shelter-in-place? Is there a stockpile of food, water and medical supplies? Schools should be able to provide for students’ basic needs during emergencies.
     
5. After an emergency, what support is offered to students? Emergencies can be hard on students, even if no one is hurt. Ask about how students are supported afterward in terms of academics, mental health and more.

Making sure your child’s school is ready for emergencies is an important part of back-to-school season. With a few questions, you can take an active role in making sure your children will be safe while they learn.

For more information on how to get ready for disasters, check out our school preparedness fact sheet.

Back-to-school preparedness tips

School’s back in session, so now’s a good time to brush up on ways to keep kids safe from disasters and other emergencies.

• Practice good hand hygiene: Teach your children to wash their hands after group activities and most importantly after using the restroom and before eating. The Get Ready campaign has great fact sheets about hand-washing that you and your kids can read together.

• Get a flu shot! Everyone ages 6 months and older should get a seasonal flu shot every year, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Remember to stay home when you are sick to prevent spreading flu. While you’re at it, make sure that your children are up to date on all of their other shots. Be sure you’re immunized, too, so you don’t pass along diseases to young children. Adults should especially be sure to stay immunized against pertussis, also known as whooping cough, as they can transmit it to infants.

• Prepare for an emergency: Disasters can happen suddenly, meaning there is a chance you can get separated from your child during an emergency. As parents, it’s a good idea to learn about the emergency preparedness plans at your children’s schools and get involved in the planning process. Make sure your child knows his or her address, your emergency meeting place, the full names of parents or guardians and important phone numbers.

• Make getting prepared fun: The Get Ready campaign has free games and puzzles kids can play to learn about preparedness, as well as fact sheets written at their level. Great for use in classrooms as well!

For more information, check out and share our Get Ready parent’s page.

Mental health and emergencies: Being prepared and coping afterward

Public health disasters don’t just affect the environment — they impact mental and emotional health, too. In observance of National Mental Health Awareness Month, the Get Ready Report podcast team spoke with Robert Motta, director of the Child and Family Trauma Institute at Hofstra University about mental health preparedness.

Motta and his students were involved in mental health response following Hurricane Sandy, which damaged communities in the Northeast U.S. in October, killed more than 100 people and left thousands of people homeless. Such emergencies can “have a dramatic impact on mental and emotional health,” Motta says.

After traumatic events, people may experience feelings of anger, guilt, grief and helplessness as well as dramatic mood swings. Such feelings can continue long after the disaster is over, developing into post traumatic stress disorder that can last for months or years.

And it’s not just adults that are affected. To help children cope with emergencies, Motta says parents should stay calm and optimistic and provide assurance that unpredictable things can happen.
“Parents can prepare themselves by realizing that children can be more influenced by their reactions than the actual event,” Motta told the Get Ready campaign.

Knowing you are prepared before an emergency happens can lessen stress during an emergency, says Motta. Instead of struggling to find out where to get help during an emergency, communities and residents can be ready ahead of time by organizing support groups and determining where emergency services such as shelters, food banks and call centers are available.

For more tips on mental health preparedness, listen to the podcast with Motta and read the transcript. For more information, download the Get Ready campaign’s mental health and disaster fact sheet.