What You Need To Ask Your Child’s School Regarding Safety

Last week a 9 year-old boy died after choking on a meatball in his school cafeteria. While this is horrifying enough, it turns out that none of the cafeteria workers were trained in CPR and were unable to help the boy.

Schools don’t like being questioned by parents and each of us runs the risk of becoming the one whose photo is pasted in the school office as “the troublemaker.” But we must ask the questions to insure our kids are safe. While the school will most certainly try to give you the brush off, set up a meeting with either the principal or vice principal and ask some questions:

“What is your emergency evacuation procedure?” Find out what the protocol is if there is a natural disaster such as an earthquake or tornado. Do the children remain in school? How are the parents informed? What happens if the phone lines are down and cell phones are not working and parents can’t be reached? Just as you would discuss with your child what to do at home if there is an earthquake or tornado, talk to your child about safe places they could go or stand.

“What security measures are in place in the event of a school shooting or bomb threat?” What might have seemed unthinkable just ten years ago is unfortunately now a distinct possibility. Some schools have their own police force on premises. What are the schools plans for identifying and containing a shooter? What are the lock-down procedures for the classrooms? How often are these practiced?

Does your school have an AED? Haven’t we heard enough tragic stories where a high school student collapses and dies? A person’s chances for survival go down by about 7 – 10 percent for every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation. There’s no reason that every school should not have an automated external defibrillator.

Are all school employees CPR and First Aid certified? – It’s amazing to me that this question even needs to be asked but clearly it does. The school should have up to date certification forms for all school personell.

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