Back to School Safety Checklist

This is our kids' last week of summer vacation. They return to school next Tuesday, and for the first time, one of our kids is out of elementary school.

Something in the school prep info we received for middle school surprised me. Upon arrival, students must check their backpacks in their lockers for the day. They are only allowed to carry notebooks between classes.

This is drastically different from when I attended the same school several (ahem) years ago. Everyone carried their backpacks. It got me thinking. Why the change? And it hit me.

School security.

School isn't safe anymore, so much so that our schools now feel the need to remove any means by which students can conceal weapons. Suddenly I'm thinking about returning to homeschooling. Not only does safety concern me, but so does communication.

In the event of an emergency, would I be able to reach my kids? Defywire gave me a healthy dose of reality. Probably not. And that makes me feel ill and incredibly glad at the same time--glad there's a God who knows me and my kids and watches over them to keep them when I can't, who comforts us should we ever be forcefully parted.

But I also learned through Defywire that there are ways to connect with my kids when disaster hits and cell lines are jammed. Here is Defywire's Back to School Safety Checklist to help us parents and grandparents keep our kids safe at school.

BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY CHECKLIST

1. Designate an out-of-town person for your child to call in the event of a crisis. When emergencies happen, cell sites in the local area get completely overwhelmed, and a call from one local tower to another is unlikely to be completed.

2. Tell your child to use a short text message code with an agreed-upon meaning in an emergency. A pre-set word such as “stars” could quickly and safely convey the message, “I am in danger at school.”

3. Choose a social networking website as a back-up way to communicate when all else fails. When cell phone lines were jammed at Virginia Tech, students reverted to Internet sites such as Facebook to tell loved ones that they were safe and where they were located.

4. Make sure that the school has all of your up-to-date contact information. In today’s world, cell phone numbers and email addresses change frequently, but parents often forget to update this crucial information with school officials.

5. Know the school’s emergency plan and practice it. Go to PTA meetings, open houses and other school events where emergency procedures are likely to be presented as a handout.

I might not be able to come sweep my kids to safety right away should they need it, but I can make all the necessary preparations to make communication as easy as possible when the window opens.

See Defywire for innovative ways they are seeking to keep kids safe at school.

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