Crisis Management: Schools review emergency plans
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
PISCATAWAY — When the students of Our Lady of Peace School, Fords, had to evacuate because of a gas leak in 2005, principal John Donza relied on a Crisis Management Handbook helped guide the staff through the emergency.
For Donza, a former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officer, reviewing policies and procedures is “an ongoing process.”
Donza and his staff were among 200 school staff members who attended an emergency planning session at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center Feb. 13 to make sure they are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their students.
“Our school was closed for three days because HAZMAT had to come to check out the facility to make sure it was OK,” Donza added. “At a teachers meeting afterward I told them, ‘We did some things well, but there were a few things that we didn’t,’ and we updated our procedures right there.”
The planning session, which was sponsored by the diocesan Office of Schools, was the last of five that have been held since October. More than 1,000 participated in the five sessions, said Donna Kanowitz, diocesan assistant superintendent.
Kanowitz said she was introduced to the training exercises while attending a national training conference two years ago. The exercise required participants to serve in roles such as mayor, principal and teacher.
“I thought it would be great to have the principals and teachers in the diocese play the roles they really serve in their school,” she said.
Presentations were given by Deborah Bleisnick, schools security unit, New Jersey Department of Education, and state police Lt. Doug Heath, who also serves as a training officer with the Office of Emergency Management.
Each session included simulated exercises in which the participants discussed how to deal with an armed intruder, a natural gas pipeline rupture and a student reported missing on a field trip.
Among the topics Bleisnick discussed was the necessity of having a Continuity of Core Operations plan in the event of a long-term school closing. Kanowitz had personal experience with such a crisis while serving as principal of Holy Family Academy, Bound Brook.
In September 1999, the school, including Kanowitz’ office, was damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd. Classes had to be held at an alternate site for three weeks, Kanowitz said.
Bleisnick also urged the participants to determine all potential sources of an emergency such as train tracks, pipelines, gas stations, banks or a residential area.
Questions that should be answered while formulating a plan include:
— Does law enforcement have labeled school floor plans and maps?
— Have emergency responders conducted a walk-through of the school?
— How will emergency responders get into the school?
— Where will emergency responders be staged?
— What would be the procedures to assist people with special and medical needs?
— What are the communication protocols?
Other plans that need to be addressed include establishing a staging area for parents; keeping parents informed; and a process for releasing students to parents.
Bleisnick also suggested that if there is another school nearby, emergency plans should be shared to avoid problems such as having all the students gather in a place that might be too small for both facilities.
Among the 200 participants at the session was Ruth Mazzarella, principal, St. Bartholomew School, East Brunswick.
“I liked hearing what the experts had to say,” she said. “This has been a wonderful day because it raised questions. Our safe place [to evacuate] was always Memorial School, which was in back of us, but it burned down this past summer so we don’t have that to go to anymore.
“While we were discussing the gas leak scenario, we asked, ‘How are we going to evacuate?’ The staff knew of a path in back of Memorial we can go through and come back out safely. So someone will have to show me, then at our next faculty meeting we will walk it and then we will walk it with the kids. Without attending this session, I would have never thought about it.”
Greg Johnson, a health and physical education teacher at St. Matthias School, Somerset, said he helped establish and implement their emergency plan. Emergency planning sessions like the one held by the diocese can help teachers gain confidence because they know what their roles are in the event of a crisis.
“It is comforting for the parents, too, because we put it all on paper and they have it,” he added.
Heath said he was impressed by the turnout for the emergency planning sessions. “This is a start,” he said. “Even if it is just the chief of the local police department coming to talk to your school. He now knows who your principal is.”