schools - with most emergencies, they tend to follow the same procedure that they do during a fire-drill. (i.e. they line up and walk out of the classroom, either to the outside or to an auditorium)
Our nuclear evac plan is a little different. The kids mostly stay in their classrooms until it's time to load the bus. (One of the advantages of such a small school. At his bigger school, all the kids waited in the gym.) In theory, this will happen within 15-20 minutes. but I suspect that's only theory. If those sirens ever do go off for real there's going to be chaos. I'm volunteering to helping with the drills at our new school.
During such drills, they're typically told to leave backpacks and such behind. The only thing they might grab with any regularity is a jacket, and even that is iffy.
This is kind of annoying because it basically means....if an item isn't on your child's person at all times, it isn't likely to be there when your child might really need it (like during a major emergency).
This REALLY bugs me. At our old school, I once arrived to pick up the kids at lunch, to see all 860 kids waiting outside in a cold spring rain. No jackets, no blankets, no nothing. I asked the principle why the teachers don't have go bags and he just shrugged his shoulders.
With that being the case, I would try to get your child to at least carry some bare essentials on their person. A small flashlight, whistle, and some form of identification would be a great start. If they can handle a cell phone with that, even better.
DS is told to keep his sweater/jacket on his chair so he can easily grab it on the way out. There's always a fauton, whistle and bandana in the pocket. Adding an ID card is a great idea. Thanks for the reminder!
Obviously, it's still a good idea to keep some other items in their backpack or whatever, but I wouldn't load it up with stuff under the assumption it will be with them during an emergency.
Very good point!
**On a side note, if you do give your child some form of identification (with your address on it) and a house key, make sure not to keep them together. I see this all the time and it drives me nuts. If they're together and your child looses them, whoever finds them now has your address and a key to get in at their leisure.
Excellent reminder. Thanks!
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