Throughout the year, site administrators are asked to complete many tasks in order to prepare for emergencies. Creating a calendar to plan these tasks helps ensure the tasks are completed timely and correctly.
Review your school’s emergency plan and any other resources related to handling emergencies. Using this, create an example of an annotated yearlong calendar outlining scheduled tasks regarding safety.
Include the following in your safety calendar:
Monthly fire drills: All fire drills must be at varied times, with an explanation of how the time of day will affect the evacuation. (Ex: Monday, September 2 at 11:55 a.m. Evacuation will be from the café as the seventh and eighth grades will be at lunch. In addition, the doors in Hall 1 will be blocked so the second grade will have to take an alternate path.)
Quarterly lockdown drills: Each drill must be a different simulated situation at a different time. (Ex: October 3 at 2:00 p.m. a parent walks into the front office demanding to see their child. The parent tells the secretary at the desk they are armed.)
One full school evacuation: Provisions should be made for how transportation will be coordinated. Where will the reunification point be? How will parents be notified?
Training for teachers: This should include training and reminder communications.
Revisiting/Debriefing after each drill: Who will be involved? What will the process be? How will the debriefing/adjustments/positives be shared with the staff?
Follow the calendar with a 250-500 word rationale explaining the choices made in developing the safety calendar, such as:
Was there collaboration in the development of the plan? Who was involved?
How were the school’s vision and mission upheld?
What were the moral and legal considerations in making these decisions in connection with the calendar and safety drills?
