School based ART members (Administrative Response Teams)
train at Cambridge Police Headquarters in the National Incident
Response System, part of the USDOE Readiness for Emergency Management in
Schools Grant awarded to the Cambridge Public Schools for 2011-2012.
Approximately 124 CPS staff are being trained in October.
One of the lessons learned after 9/11 was that interagency
coordination and communication is critical in responding effectively to
emergencies. As a result, the National Incident Management System was
created, so first responders could have a unified command structure and
would be able communicate with each other using the same terminology and
compatible technology. Schools and universities were invited to
participate by applying for federal grants to update their district and
school emergency procedures, using an “all hazards” approach,” in
partnership with their local first responders and other community
agencies. As part of the grant, the Cambridge Public Schools are
partnering with the Cambridge Police, Fire and Cambridge 911
Departments, the Cambridge Health Alliance, and the Cambridge Department
of Human Services to review and update our emergency response
procedures.
Outcomes of the grant will include publication of new administrative
and classroom emergency procedures flip books, which will be placed in
every office and classroom. It will include training for district and
school based personnel on the new procedures, and publication of a
parent brochure on emergency procedures, available in hard copy and
online in a new “Creating Safe Schools” website. The website will be
linked to district and school home pages and will be organized by
constituency including pages for students, parents, teachers, the media,
and a general resource section including information on all aspects of
emergency response; prevention and intervention as well as response and
recovery, the focus of the grant.
The timeline for the grant is that procedures and policies will be
reviewed and updated by the end of 2011. Training will take place by
June, 2012, flipbooks will be distributed over the summer 2012 and the
website will go online in the fall of 2012. Parent brochures will be
sent out in the fall of 2012 as well.