 Community News
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
"If someone could make it easy to me to be prepared, I would do it." This comment prevails around St. Louis when it comes to disaster planning.
Only one-fourth of St. Louis-area residents say that gathering an emergency kit is part of their definition of emergency preparedness. More than half of the same residents say they don't feel prepared for an everyday emergency.
Lawson Principal Betty Scheller attended a Red Cross Ready Rating program press conference at the Anheuser-Busch brewing complex in St. Louis in an effort to get other District schools involved.
"It was a nice set up for us," she said of the program. "Most of the components were in place, we just had to tweak a few things. As far as importance, you can never be too safe."
Lawson piloted the program last year and has started its second year.
The first step is to assess how prepared a school building is currently. A quiz on the Red Cross Website can assist in this process.
During a crisis, a school must function as a parent, a nurse and a physician. They must do these things until families are reunited.
"Ready Rating is a program for all schools to help the staff, students and families with better preparation for disasters," said Deane Adam, director of youth services for the American Red Cross.
"We talk to the staff about the plan and they can move at their own pace, step-by-step to make sure their school is safe."
Ready Rating is very school-directed and geared toward the school and family communities. This five-step program includes:
- Commitment to membership
- Conduct initial analysis, disaster vulnerability
- Develop an emergency response plan
- Implement the emergency response plan
- Make at least one additional commitment to improve overall community preparedness
Additionally, each school receives a safety stipend of $300 for participating.
"We don't write the action plan but we act as emergency planning consultants," Adam added.
The Red Cross also recognizes schools for following the Ready Rating plan, Adam added.
Several CEOs and executives from companies and government agencies such as Anheuser-Busch, AmerenUE, and the Department of Homeland Security also attended.
It will not happen. It will not happen to me. If it does happen, someone else will be there to save me.
The above three statements are common misconceptions about people, disasters and help, said Ready Rating personnel.
Brian Lane, an assistant superintendent with the Mehlville School District, discussed the plan from the educational point-of-view.
"Our role is not to only educate children but to keep them safe for seven or eight hours a day," Lane said.
Mehlville piloted the program at eight schools and now it is part of the curriculum at all of its elementary schools, Lane added.
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