Grant aids DC Public Schools safety preparedness

Half way through Banneker Academic High School students' 90-minute fourth period class recently, the fire alarm rang out throughout the halls. The principal ordered an immediate evacuation of the school.The students obliged, scuttling through the front door, not to Euclid Street, NW, which normal standard fire drill procedures would call for, but to the crosswalk opposite the school. They wondered and discussed what happened that day as fire trucks rushed to the school and students were told to walk down Georgia Avenue, NW into Banneker recreation's track field area.

They stood in the field as the fire department inspected the building for hazardous materials. Later in the day, Principal Anita Berger sent a short message to parents: "This morning there was an evacuation from the school as a result of a student spraying pepper spray in a basement classroom. Emergency procedures were executed and the HAZMAT team assessed the condition(s) of the classroom and declared the school safe. I assure you that we are doing everything to maintain a safe and secure environment for your child."

Schools in the DC Public Schools System have emergency drills for emergencies of this kind - small stuff compared to what would happen if the schools had to deal with a terrorist attack on the city or a major natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Apparently, federal officials in the Homeland Security and Education departments are acutely aware of the Herculean task school administrators would face in case of such a major disaster. The Education Department, under the Readiness and Emergency Grant program, has given the DC schools system a $791,545 grant to help strengthen and improve its emergency management plans to meet major and minor emergencies head-on.

The plan targets various forms of emergencies, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemic influenza and violent incidents. It's all part of Mayor Adrian Fenty's initiative, crafted by the Office of the Deputy Mayor in conjunction with the school system's Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization.

"What we're doing is developing and putting in place standardized procedures for emergency response to a variety of different types of emergencies," said Brian Killian, safety director and grants director of the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization. "Once it is developed, our goal is for actual support, training, and tools from what the grant is providing,"

Schools will be provided with interactive software applications so that each school can implement its own plan within emergency response compliance.

"The individual schools will actually be developing the plans versus in the past where the contractor would provide that school's plan. Basically they would come in and say here's your plan there was no involvement by the school," Killian said.

Mayor Fenty said the Killian' office is making sure that there are more phones lines in schools, escape routes and lock-down procedures for natural and man-made disasters. But the mayor fell short of describing details of the measures.

"I think in the schools you have to be concerned about everything," he said. "You have to be concerned about a natural disaster, a man-made or terrorist disaster, or events when there are violence problems in schools."

Fenty said there has been more progress this summer than any previous summer. Three new schools will open completely renovated with safety features for the upcoming school year.

Allen Lew, executive director of the OPEFM said one ofthe renovated high schools has a central command center with 15 monitoring screens showing six to eight images on each screen. The school is equipped with over 100 camera points for optimum safety and preparedness. Lew wants to assure parents and students that DC schools are all made to meet with code requirements and all security and emergency plans.

During the school year, brochures of the plan in five languages will be available for parents. OPEFM and the Office of Chief Technology Officer are developing an application to assist principals on working out details for handling emergencies at their schools. The plan calls for extensive training to teach principals, staff and teachers ways to respond to disasters.

Students hope that this grant will prepare them for the unthinkable. "I think they should probably have more drills, instead of having random things two or three things an advisory," said Kahriq Chatman, 17, a recent graduate from Duke Ellington School of the Arts. "[The new plan] should be more consistent because emergencies do happen so if things are going to happen you have to be prepared for it," said Chatman.

"I think a workshop on emergency preparedness and having hands on things, instead of having a teacher sit there and lecture you about emergency preparedness, will be more effective," said Briana Bullock, a junior at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School.

Tekiah Jones, 14, a freshman at McKinley Tech Senior High School, advises creating a Facebook.com or Myspace.com page, but doesn't believe that youth will realistically take it seriously.

"If they had important things like Stranger Danger or When a Hurricane Hits, I think they should let people know what's the deal through these new media," Jones said. "I think that older youth like 16 and up will listen."

But, Jones feels it's the adult's duty to make sure that children know what to do in case of an emergency.

DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee agrees that such social media as Facebook or Myspace may be a better way to connect and network with students, not only about catastrophic emergency preparedness but anything that is a huge priority for schools.

"We have to acknowledge what mechanisms students are interacting with each other in and utilize those when appropriate," said Rhee.