By Jesse Dungan
June 5, 2008
More than $1.7 million has been awarded to Northern California schools and school districts to improve their readiness and emergency response plans, the U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday.
The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools grant is providing a total of $24 million to 92 school districts in 34 states nationwide. To qualify for a grant, the school districts had to create an improved plan that addressed prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, according to the department.
In the Bay Area, the San Francisco Unified School District was awarded $544,205; the Napa County Office of Education, $493,097; Oakland Unity High School, $243,064; and the Castro Valley Unified School District, $99,984. Also in Northern California, the Stanislaus County Office of Education in Modesto was awarded $401,626.
“Nothing is more important to Americans than the safety of their children,” U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in a prepared statement. “These grants will support that effort by helping more school districts strengthen their crisis planning and better coordinate with the entire community to ensure the safety of our schools and students.”
Emergency and response plans also commit school districts to coordinating with officials in law enforcement, local government, public safety, public and mental health, and train school officials in emergency management. Also, school districts must provide a method for communicating emergency and reunification procedures to parents and guardians, according to the department.
“We are thrilled to hear we have been awarded the grant,” said Gentle Blythe, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Unified School District.
She said the grant will allow the school district to provide staff with extra emergency training and to designate one person at each district site to serve as an emergency liaison who will ensure all elements of the emergency plan are in place.
In addition, the grant will allow the district to distribute $500 to child development centers and elementary schools and $1,000 to middle schools and high schools for emergency supplies.
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