First responders work with schools to ensure safety

By Jennifer Griswold
The Oklahoman

NORMAN, Okla. — The Norman School District and the city's first responders are working closely to keep students safe while at school, said Superintendent Joe Siano.

Opening up campuses for police training exercises is just part of their collaborative efforts.

Teams of school district administrators and city leaders have attended two FEMA-sponsored training sessions in Maryland during the past six months to learn about how to respond to emergencies at schools. A group of 16 school and city leaders attended sessions in February and June.

The Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools program teaches district leaders and emergency responders how to respond to a school emergency and how to shift responsibility to emergency personnel when they arrive at the scene. The training included scenarios on what to do if a school is hit by a tornado, catches on fire, or there's a gunman on campus.

"You always hope there's never a need for it," Siano said, "but if one of these terrible incidences does occur in your school, you want to be prepared for it."

The groups are using what they learned from the training session to update emergency response plans for the entire district and each school site. The project is under way and the plans are expected to be completed by this fall, Siano said.

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