Parent Teacher Organizations are primarily run by parents and the safety of their kids while they are at school is always top of mind. Parents don’t need to hope that the school district and school is prepared and have enough supplies in the event of an emergency or lockdown, the parent teacher organizations can take steps to ensure not only that there are enough emergency supplies, but that the students are as comfortable as possible to minimize after effects of a minor or major emergency.

Disasters can come in many forms such as fire, natural disaster, environmental hazard, biological, medical or an attack or threat by an individual or group. In many of the cases, the schools are in lockdown for an unknown period of time. They may remain in lockdown on the blacktop or grass, in the classroom or in a multipurpose room. These situations can be scary for students and parents because they are given limited information or timeframes.

To reduce anxiety and provide some comfort to the students, parent teacher organizations can raise funds to increase supplies for emergency kits in the event where they need to remain on campus for an extended amount of time until the issue is resolved. Suggestions for supplies are as follows:

Everyday Kits
Everyday Kits are meant to treat minor emergencies such as playground injuries, broken bones, burns, splinters, eye injuries and minor cuts and scrapes. These kits include basic first aid supplies as well as some more extensive trauma supplies.

Storage Location and Organization of Emergency Supplies
Emergency supplies need to be easily accessible, not shoved in a back closet where nobody can reach them or find a key. Parent teacher organizations can provide locked storage bins and organize a location on campus with easy access for several designated staff members or for all teachers or staff.

Classroom Emergency Kits
Most schools have a classroom lockdown policy. There has to be enough supplies within each classroom to provide students with medical supplies, food, water, sanitization and a method to go to the bathroom. These supplies need to be in a mobile container so they may be moved to another location if told to evacuate the classroom.

Whole School Emergency Kits
The supplies need to be in large weather and crush resistant containers that can be moved easily to other parts of the campus. The contents inside should be packaged in a way that they can quickly and easily be distributed to mass numbers of students, teachers and administrators. In many cases, the local school is also the community emergency hub or shelter. Extra supplies are recommended to store on campus.

Through Fun Services’ 50 years in business and working with over 300 schools a year, we have developed relationships with many staff members and have been made aware of many emergency situations shared by staff or directly impacted by the cancellation of events such as holiday gift shops, carnivals, casino nights, and more. We encourage the parent teacher organizations to investigate the safety needs of their school and take charge in the safety and comfort of their students. For more information about how we work with schools, visit www.funservicessocal.com or call 800-300-6380