Despite the great effort Fulton County Schools puts into safety and security, some officials neglected to imagine the chaos that would ensue by releasing all students simultaneously into treacherous weather last month – which is why most of us found ourselves stuck for hours on icy suburban roads during “SnowJam 2014.”
Relief replaced anger once we hugged our kids, but the fear of poor disaster preparation lingers. Our winter storms should motivate us to take stock of planning by reviewing how cities and schools collaborate on risk analysis, communication and security protocol during all weather emergencies and domestic security events.
The good news is we now have at least two North Fulton officials working on our behalf with Gov. Nathan Deal’s recent Severe Winter Weather Warning and Preparedness Task force - Fulton County Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa and Alpharetta Public Safety Director Gary George. These are some ways to get involved:
• Avossa meets regularly with parent leaders, so voice concerns directly to your school’s PTA. The North Fulton PTAs, managed by North Fulton PTA Council (www.nfcpta), will hold a School of Information meeting 9:30 am. Wednesday at the Teaching Museum in Roswell . Members will break into school sections to develop suggestions for Avossa.
• Visit your city web site to learn about emergency preparedness. Sign up for CodeRed alerts. Consider joining the Community Emergency Response Team, which trains citizens in basic safety and rescue skills.
• Newer cities like Milton and Johns Creek often partner with others so familiarize yourself with your city’s capabilities. Realize rising population may require additional spending, so don’t penalize current or hopeful political leaders supporting funds for emergency services and personnel.
• By all means, visit the Georgia Emergency Management Authority website (www.gema.ga.gov) and learn about Ready Georgia (ready.ga.gov), a comprehensive site for vital information and organizational “kits” for personal and community planning – perfect for developing your own school or neighborhood safety campaign.
• Additional helpful agencies include the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Citizens Corps,” which stresses essential collaboration to develop local strategies for planning, outreach, and surge support (www.citizencorps.fema) and the Fulton County Citizen Corps, sponsored by the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency (afcema@fultoncountyga.gov).
• Georgia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, which is focused on coordinating disaster relief agencies, seeks volunteer organizations for post-emergency help at gavoad.communityos.org. This group is known for post-tornado assistance, and includes many churches and faith-based agencies that collect and distribute donations.
• Learn to use social media advancements and phone apps to get the latest updates, and give feedback to safety officials if messages are insufficient.
It takes time and detailed attention – two things most folks are short of – to become engaged with civic affairs. When it comes to emergency preparation, though, such time and attention can mitigate disaster and possibly save lives.
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