Santa Clara schools work to prepare students for emergencies

| 08.07.2007 | 09:20:517049 |

August 7 '07: A local radio station in Santa Clara, California reported on a partnership that the school district is forming to prepare students for emergencies as they begin to head back to school. Through a press release, the district announced the creation of the 12 Months of Preparedness which will focus each month on a different disaster and the ways to prepare for it.

In the press release, Santa Clara City officials said that parents and school faculty should work together "to plan for disasters, limit risk, protect the safety of students and teachers, and ensure that schools recover quickly. ... Additionally, it is important for parents to discuss with their children what might occur when an emergency happens at their school because during an emergency, parents might be delayed in picking up their children."

The KHTS radio station will partner with the City and "Each month throughout the year, the City and KHTS will promote news stories and interviews focusing on improving preparedness with the City Manager, Mayor and City Councilmembers."

Also available as a supplement to the 12 Months program is a 21-hour disaster Community Emergency Response Training program "that teaches individuals to be prepared for emergencies and also how to respond to emergencies."