School district plans
October disaster drill.
Merced Sun-Star, Merced,
CA, May 16, 2002
The Merced City School
District is gearing up to handle any disaster that may come its way.
The district has been working on updating its school emergency disaster
plan for the past three years, according to district staff, and the
plan will be tested during a disaster simulation in early October.
Dave Douthit, district director of maintenance and operations, said
the district had to revise and develop the new plan, and now, that
plan to be tested.
The test is scheduled for Oct. 8 at Margaret Sheehy Elementary School.
The Emergency Disaster Plan Committee, made up of district and school
staff, met Wednesday morning and is busily planning a disaster scenario
for Sheehy.
The purpose of the exercise is to find bumps in the plan so school
officials and emergency agencies can learn from the experience and
be better prepared in the event of a real crisis, according to committee
members.
Mary Schoenfeldt, school safety consultant with Schoenfeldt and Associates,
said that the fictional scenario is a learning experience and that
if the disaster simulation goes off without a hitch, "then somehow
we've messed up."
Schoenfeldt and Associates was hired by the district in early November
to coordinate a training program designed for a crisis response.
The cost of the service...maybe eligible for reimbursement through
the State Mandates Claim Fund, according to district staff.
Douthit said the simulation planned for October will test the school's
ability to react to the situation, account for pupils and staff, interact
with public agencies such as police and fire and test evacuation procedures.
The plan currently calls for simulating a gas explosion in the cafeteria.
He said the committee wanted a scenario that wouldn't be perceived
as a terrorist activity. The program is intened to be a learning exercise
and won't be designed to create anxiety for pupils, he said.
To prepare parents and community members before the exercise, notification
will begin about a month in advance, according to Schoenfeldt.
She said the district will schedule two community meetings, send out
flyers and work with the media to let people know the exercise is
just a drill and not a real disaster.
The exercise will also be voluntary for both pupils and staff, she
added.
The pupils, including some who will be actors in the exercise, will
be prepared before the event and will have counseling activities after
it is over.
Pupils will fill out "I saw, I felt, I learned" exercises that will
be read by the staff before the end of the day.
Schoenfeldt said the exercises will alert staff to any child who may
need additional counseling.
Also, according to Schoenfeldt, during the disaster scenario, a safe
room will be set up for anyone who wants to opt out of the exercise.
Sandy Clemons, principal at Sheehy and a committee member, said she
has seen a videotape of a disaster scenario at another school and
"one of the things that amazed me is the realness of the situation."
She added, "I would rather face a real disaster having this(practice
scenario) under my belt."
The committee is collaborating with district staff, police, fire,
and other emergency response agencies in Merced County to prepare
for the staged simulation.
Agency representatives and committee members are scheduled to meet
again in August to refine the simulation.
