School evacuation plan adds better communication with parents

P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch has developed a new evacuation plan for Island schools.

The education agency launched a review of the plan after a bomb threat led to a province-wide evacuation Sept. 21. The threat was later determined not to be credible.

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The plan includes streamlined communication methods, making it easier for principals, teachers, police, and the province to keep each other up to date. Parents will also be better informed in the future.

"I think parents would say we didn't know, we didn't have a straight line of communication," said Public Schools Branch director Parker Grimmer.

"We need to succinctly communicate on our website and other places our procedures and how we're going to do them and what their roles are."

Developing tool kits

The Public Schools Branch is developing grab and go tool kits that school officials can take with them in the event of an evacuation.

For administrators, that kit would include a list of what teachers are in the school that day, and items such as a megaphone and cell phone batteries.

For teachers, there would be a list of who was in class that day, medical items for students with special health needs, and some food.

Getting a handle on traffic

The plan includes new toolkits for all education officials to make any future evacuations quicker. Adjustments have also been made to deal with traffic as children are leaving the evacuation centres and heading home.

"Our evacuation centres were overloaded because we had both buses and parents coming into them," said Grimmer.

"Our directions would be a little different than that if there were a next time."

Plans are being made so evacuation centres will have an area for buses to pick up students, and one for parents. Those areas will be laid out in advance.

Grimmer said there have been challenges identifying the best evacuation sites for all schools, and those details are still being worked out.

School officials worked with P.E.I.'s Emergency Measures Organization to develop the plan.

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