Back to school, ready for anything: Safety and emergency preparedness in Marshall County

A joint message from the Marshall County Communications Center and Marshall County

Fall is back-to-school time in Marshall County. Families are waking up earlier to get ready for the day. Students are introducing themselves to new teachers. Buses are rumbling down the roads again. Parking lots at our schools are filling up. It’s an exciting time of year, but it’s also a time for everyone to take a deep breath, slow down and pay attention. Let’s all cut each other a little slack, too.

Back-to-school safety is everyone's job. It's not one agency, one school or one family's responsibility. Everyone, including students, parents, teachers, school staff, bus drivers, motorists, first responders, emergency management, and 911 Communications Specialists, play a role in making every day a bit safer. By making better and safer choices such as leaving home a bit earlier in the morning, putting the phone down while behind the wheel, stopping for school buses, watching for children at crosswalks, and talking with your kids about how to react during an emergency, we can help ensure a SAFER school year.

School is back in session and traffic patterns seem to change overnight. Where there was little traffic during the day in the summer, you now find yourself stuck in morning drop-off traffic, and afternoon dismissal delays. Buses are stopping more frequently. Teen drivers are returning to school parking lots. Children are on bikes, on foot, and playing near roadways. One thing to remember while driving through these areas is to do so with patience. Just because you are running late, you do not have permission to speed through a school zone, race past a bus, block a crosswalk, or honk your horn at a long drop-off line. Plan ahead, leave home earlier, plan for delays, and remember that the child playing near the street might not see danger as clearly as you do.

School-bus safety deserves special attention. Iowa Department of Transportation guidance says drivers should slow down and prepare to stop when a school bus displays amber warning lights. When the bus is stopped with flashing red lights and stop arm extended, motorists must follow Iowa's stopping requirements and remain stopped until the signals are withdrawn and the bus begins moving again. Drivers should also watch the area around the bus, not only the bus itself, because children may be crossing the roadway or approaching from a place that is difficult to see.

Parents can help by reviewing safe bus-stop habits with their children before the first day. Children should remain at a safe distance from the curb, refrain from running or playing along the roadway, and never approach the bus until it has come to a complete stop, and the driver signals that it is safe to board. Never walk behind a school bus. If a child drops something near the bus, they should tell the driver instead of attempting to pick it up without being noticed. These are basic safety rules, and we should teach them to our children again and again until they become second nature.

Extra care should also be used when driving near students who are walking, or riding their bicycles to school. Drivers should be scanning well ahead of schools, intersections, parked cars, and neighborhoods. Kids can be hard to see, and they don’t always behave predictably. Parents can walk the route with younger children, point out safe crossing places and remind them to look left, right, and left again before stepping out into the street. Bicycling students should wear well-fitted helmets, follow all traffic signals, and avoid distractions that cause them to take their eyes or ears off the road.

Railroad safety is a concern in Marshall County. School routes and everyday errands may all lead you across railroad tracks. The number one thing to remember is just because you do not see a train coming, does NOT mean there isn’t one coming. Trains can come from either direction, on any track, at any time. They may be quieter than you think and traveling faster than they appear. Trains cannot stop quickly. Always expect a train. No one should ever drive around lowered railroad crossing arms/gates, or flashing lights. Never enter a crossing unless you can cross completely. Never stop on the tracks while waiting in traffic. Look both ways after one train passes, another may be coming on a second track. Adults should remind children to only cross at designated crossings and never use railroad tracks as a shortcut, walking path, or gathering place. If your vehicle stalls or becomes stuck on railroad tracks, do not stay in the vehicle to try to free it. All passengers should get out of the vehicle and quickly move away from the tracks, even if you do not see a train. Locate the blue and-white Emergency Notification System sign at the crossing, call 911 and give the crossing identification number to the 911 Communications Specialist. If you cannot find the sign, call 911 and be prepared to describe the crossing and the emergency.

Back-to-school preparedness doesn’t stop once students are in the classroom. Families should understand how their school will communicate in the event of severe weather, a security issue, an evacuation or another emergency. Ensure the school has up-to-date phone numbers, emergency contacts, medical information, and names of individuals authorized to pick up your child. Don’t wait for an emergency to discover you gave outdated phone numbers or addresses. Update schools quickly if there are changes in phone numbers, addresses, medications or family situations.

Every household should also have a basic family emergency plan. Talk about where family members would meet if they could not return home, who everyone would contact, and how children would be reunited with parents and caregivers. Ready.gov recommends including household contacts, meeting places, school or childcare information, and important medical details in a family communication plan. Children should have key contact information memorized or written in a secure place rather than relying only on a phone that may be lost, damaged, or unavailable.

For parents, if there is a school emergency, it may not be the best course of action to go directly to the school depending on the emergency. In some circumstances, the best course of action will be to remain where you are for everyone's safety. If everyone were to arrive at a school during an emergency, their vehicles would hinder access by police, fire, EMS and school buses. It could also create confusion if you are witnessing a staged, managed evacuation, or reunification. So listen for updates from the school and follow the instructions of public-safety officials. If you receive notice to go to a reunification site, plan to meet students there and make sure to bring identification. Do not call 911 to inquire about situations, such as school emergencies. Remember 911 lines need to be open for active emergencies such as an on-going threat, injuries, fires, etc.

Children should also know how and when to call 911. A true emergency is a situation requiring immediate help from law enforcement, the fire department, or an ambulance. Teach children their full name, home address, parent or caregiver names, and how to describe where they are. When calling 911, the most important information includes the location of the emergency, what happened, whether anyone is injured, and a callback number. Callers should answer the telecommunicator's questions and follow instructions, even when some questions may seem repetitive. Those questions help identify the right response, and provide responders with useful information while they are on the way.

It is also important to teach children that 911 is not a game. At the same time, they should never be afraid to call during a real emergency. If 911 is dialed accidentally, do not hang up. Stay on the line and explain what happened so the Communications Specialist can confirm that no help is needed. A hang-up call may require additional work to determine whether someone is in danger.

Talking about emergencies isn’t meant to scare children, or cause anxiety. It’s meant to empower them, and share knowledge for when disaster strikes. Disasters don’t occur in the calm; they happen when we least expect it. Providing clear, calm direction, answering their questions, and reiterated the information many times during the year allows for better safety when a disaster strikes. Ask your children what they would do if bad weather struck when they were home alone. Ask them what they would do if they got separated from family during an event. Discuss their options if an adult became suddenly ill. Practice turns panic into familiar steps.

Marshall County Communications Center and Marshall County Emergency Management want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and productive school year. As we begin another year of education, please make safety a habit. Drive slower. Be patient. Look for school buses, pedestrians, bicyclists, and new drivers. Obey railroad crossings, and always expect a train. Revisit your school communication plan, update phone numbers, and have a family plan in place before disaster strikes.

Our schools work hard to prepare students for the future. As a community, we can support that work by creating safer roads, better-informed families, and children who know where to turn when something goes wrong. A successful school year is measured not only by what students learn in the classroom, but also by how safely they travel, how prepared their families are, and how well the community looks out for one another.

Together, we can begin the school year with patience, preparedness, and a shared commitment to keeping Marshall County safe.

Rhonda Braudis, CPE, RPL, NREMT, is the Marshall County 911 Communications Director, and Kim Elder is the Marshall County Emergency Management Coordinator.