It is nearly time for children to be heading back to school. There are many factors that you will need to consider when you are sending your child back to school, especially in regards to your emergency plan. If your child is attending a new school or going to school for the first time there are several factors you will need to consider.
1) You will need to provide contact information for you and your spouse. You will also be asked to provide emergency contact information. You may want to decide who that will be in advance so that you can have that information available to fill out.
2) You should ask your child’s teacher about the school’s emergency plan. This will let you know what the school will do if they decide to close for the day or go into lockdown mode. This information will allow you to plan for these different types of situations. You may need to take off of work to pick up your child, or to stay home with your child if the school closes down.
3) You should set up a system for your family, which will allow you children to know when it is okay to go home with an adult who is not a family member. You will want to notify the school of who they may release your child to, because they will not release them without prior written permission.
4) If there is a district wide closing of schools during the day you will need to coordinate with your spouse who will be responsible for picking up your children. This may be more complicated if you have children at several different schools.
5) You may want to include a mini-emergency kit in your child’s backpack. This can include a bottle or two of water, snacks, and a few bandages. You should not include any type of medication, since it is against most schools’ policies. You may also want to include contact information for you inside your child’s backpack.
Planning for this at the beginning of the school year will allow you and your family to respond to any emergency throughout the year. You may want to review your plan midway through the year. Hopefully you will never need to use the plan, but it is comforting to know that you are prepared.