1. "Emergency Management Planning Guide for Schools, Districts, and Authorities"
Rob Johns (former director at VEMA) made contact with the school district. They indicate their desire is for each school to use their template plan. This is a good document they got from the North Shore School District. He is aware of this plan and feels it is a very good document. This document can be found on this website for anyone who is not familiar with it:
https://district.public.sd61.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2014/05/School-Emerg-Prep-Guide.pdf
2. What can our schools do to better prepare for a disaster or emergency?
The first step is for all schools to take inventory of what emergency supplies they have, and which ones need to be replaced.
I have started this at Quadra school, and would be happy to assist any school PAC that is not sure where to start.
I have not been successful in establishing an emergency preparedness committee for VCPAC. At this time however, I feel each school PAC needs to establish their own school emergency preparedness committee to first identify the needs of their school. Once we have a better picture of these needs we can proceed with forming a VCPAC committee to do this (ie: bulk purchase of emergency supplies, etc...).
I am also working on putting together a school emergency preparedness presentation for families, and I have a great team helping me do this at Quadra. One of the biggest fears I hear from parents is that they are not sure what plans are in place at the school, or what their role is. I am hoping to share this presentation with other schools, who can then customize it with their own specific school emergency plan. This presentation is intended to be repeated at the beginning of each school year, and will talk about comfort kits, and family emergency plans as well.
Marketa
If you have any questions or would like to explore more on this topic, send an email to and we will put you in touch with Marketa.