[Catspaw]

What do you suggest be done as an alternative?

[trebb]

And in an emergency, you would have them do what - make 1000 phone calls to ask all the parents if it's OK to evac?

[verity]

Take two aspirin and do not call me in the morning.:~)

[thepitts]

Who the hell do you think you are calling them "your" children.
They belong to the state.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Our school just moved to a brand new fancy school building.Their in a in school suspension rm. jokingly called "the dungeon" no windows...lunch brought in... and parents do not have to be notified, of a students in school suspension and stay in the dungeon! The fed monies that helped build this new fancy school say so.

[E Rocc]

In an emergency, your children may be sheltered in place or evacuated from school. If protective actions are being taken at your children's school, do not go to the school. School personnel are trained to handle emergencies. Do not call your child's school. You could tie up a phone line that is needed for emergency communications. For further information, listen to local emergency radio and TV stations to learn when and where you can pick up your children."

If the definition of "emergency" is sound this is quite reasonable.

-Eric

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

typo......

Our school just moved to a brand new fancy school building.Their is a; in school suspension rm. (jokingly called "the dungeon") no windows...lunch brought in... and parents do not have to be notified, of a students in school suspension and stay in the dungeon! The fed monies that helped build this new fancy school say so.

[Corin Stormhands]

I'm not sure what other plan you would like in place if the school was hit with a chemical attack. Do you want the kids to wait there for you to show up? I doubt that.

These are contingency plans for an emergency, that means all "normal" bets are off.

I think it it bothers you that much your option is to take your kids out of that school.

[Snowy]

I was thinking about this also. We only live a half mile from the school. I would rather they be with me, of course. We have at least 4 of those FRS radios. I was thinking of giving one to each of them to keep in their bag. My husband and I are trying to think of different scenarios where the kids would ditch school and run home.

[HamiltonJay]

I see, so some nutball arab releases Sarin gas in your kids school and the children should just be kept in their seats? Or they have to wait for your call to give them the ok to remove them? You are an idiot.

[prairiebreeze]

I asked the Principal of my kids school some months ago what mechanisms were in place for parents in security situations and what scenarios or locations might be likely if evacuation was needed. You would have thought I had asked the fellow for the countries top national secrets!! He hedged, he fudged, he avoided answering direct questions saying only that the school had security plans and they didn't want parents coming to the school. Nothing about getting information to parents.

I told him that an informal telephone survey of parents that I had spoken with confirmed that the reaction that the school said it didn't want, (i.e.hundreds of parents descending on the school to find their kids) was PRECISELY the first response every parent said they would do. Come to find out, the school (and this is a high school) really had no plan in place for attending to the information needs of parents. No plan at all for dissemminating information and effectively communicating to parents.

Since then a notice came out in the school newsletter with an emergency phone number. When you call it, it currently says there aren't any emergencies. I guess this is better than nothing but the idea of 3400 + parents calling one number somehow doesn't give me a lot of comfort.

Prairie

[shhrubbery!]

While I wouldn't put it past the Islamofascists to attack an American elementary or middle school, I think it's more likely we'll have Columbine-copy-cat stunts. Chances that your own child will be harmed in such an incident are probably statistically extremely low. Even so, administrators do have to plan for such attacks.

Too bad we have to rely on the wisdom and judgment of school administrators (often oxymoronic) to decide what's best for our children.

I'd rather homeschool mine. Which I do, at least for the youngest.

[isthisnickcool]

Send your child to private school. You have no power with the gov't schools.

[tracer]

Oh, I thought that this thread was going to be about Michael Jackson. After all, with friends like him, who needs enemas??

[Dont Mention the War]

I encourage everyone to find out what plans the authorities have for your children in the event of a crisis/disaster.

Obviously, the Michigan State Police have a giant human meat grinder hidden in their basement. All the kids will be taken there and turned into Soylent Green!

[Protagoras]

Remove your children from the government schools if you don't like their rules.

[alnick]

So if there's a fire at the school, they should call you on the telephone first to get your permission to get your child out of danger?

As to the line about call first to see when you can pick up your child, it's kind of obvious that they don't mean that you have to have their permission to pick up your child. They're suggesting that you call to find out when it's safe or when is the most convenient time for you and the school. If you show up they won't keep your child from you.

And it's common sense not to tie up the telephone line at a time of emergency.

[antaresequity]

Just ask to sign a waiver so your kids can suck in the poison...

Instead of picking up the kids, you can pick up their bodies a month later after they have been decontaminated...

Get a grip brother...

[mamarainsberry]

Having been through several of these drills, handled both incorrectly and correctly, the school will evacuate the students if necessary, then arrange for an orderly pick up. They are trying to avoid 1000 parents showing up and taking thier kids without signing them out. The schools are equipped to handle the kids staying there for up to 3 days, if needed. With many people working and no one available to pick the kids up a lot of parents want to know their children will be safe. They do a triad staging and take care of injured or dead students first. Healthy ones are counted and then the radio or tv would notify parents where to pick up thier children. We went through a bomb threat the wrong way, the kids just left if the parent showed up, some just took off. It was chaos and cold 28 degrees, noone had coats and noone was allowed back into the school. After 2 + hours the buses came and picked the kids up. The drills worked perfectly with the parents being allowed to pick the kids up at a "safe" location, and the school being able to track the kids. When we had the earthquake here 40% of the parents showed up after and took their kids home, for what? My kids were all allowed to call me and check in. Keep in mind most schools are emergency evacuation centers for the population. They have more resources than just any building.

BTW as far as the suspension room, talk to the school principal and inform them if your child is sent there and you are not notified you will hire a lawyer. Best of all notify him/her in person and in a letter. Anytime my daughter has been suspended in or out of school they call me and explain to me why. They are not the STATES kids I pay for those buildings and I pay the teacher's wages. The NEA would like you to forget that. If you have a problem with school policy head for the principals office. Don't wait until later. If you get brushed off by the principal go to the superintendent or the school board. PUBLIC schools the public pays for. Sometimes I think the only way to fix the stranglehold the teachers union has on the schools is to get the government out and make them all private schools. And yes I am a certified teacher in 2 states.

[all4one]

The time to ask your children's school about their Emergency Prepardness system (or lack thereof) is now. I asked the principal at my son's school last Thursday. He had a minimal plan not much more than would be done for a fire drill! Certainly not to my comfort level. He even seemed surprised at my question. He told me that I was the first parent to inquire. I live on the East coast between NY and DC, so extra precautions are not unthinkable. This is a private school with class sizes that don't exceed 16.

He was receptive to help on the matter. I am currently working on a plan that would give out the contact phone numbers to all of the parents in my son's class for each of the 16 students. We know each other, and it would be comforting, that in the case of an emergency the first parent to arrive could contact the remaining parents. I am meeting with the principal at the end of the week, and will propose this for all of the classes in the school. Just having some type of network for information would be a help, in the case of any emergency. I can't see the school secretary looking through files and calling 200 parents. Being proactive with the welfare and safety of our children is important at this time. I wonder when the new Office of Homeland Security will come-up with a plan for the schools?....I won't hold my breath.