New Crisis Training Program Helps San Juan USD Protect Students and Staff
District Using Federal Grant Money for Crisis Management Training Classes SACRAMENTO, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) May 31, 2007 -- The San Juan Unified School District today announced that district schools are undergoing training to protect against emergencies. The district received a $497,203 grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Emergency Response and Crisis Management grant program in October 2005 to strengthen the district's emergency response plans and to conduct training classes. The district has held a series of training sessions including Critical Incident Planning Teams, Biomedical Emergency Planning and Threat Assessments with school personnel from all over the district. The classes are being conducted by Prepared Response, Inc., which previously deployed a district-wide crisis management planning and response system called Rapid Responder® for the school district.
In the Critical Incident Planning Teams training course, school personnel learned how to form campus safety teams and were taught tools for safety planning, including how to conduct in-depth safety assessments using the Rapid Responder School Mapping System. In the Biomedical Emergency Planning sessions, school personnel were trained on the history of pandemic influenza, including current biomedical threats and how the World Health Organization's alert system relates to the National Response Plan. In addition, participants examined several elements of a comprehensive pandemic response plan and a continuity of operations plan (COOP). The Threat Assessment workshops taught participants how to properly identify threats and how to develop threat assessment processes to prevent violence.
"The San Juan Unified School District already has robust security plans in place and these training programs will further enhance the district's readiness in case of an emergency," said Ethan Hoff, San Juan Unified's coordinator for emergency training. "We are very pleased to support San Juan Unified School District in their efforts to be proactive with crisis management and emergency preparedness. This is a large district and they clearly recognize their role to protect students and faculty and be an integral part of community emergency preparedness," said Jim Finnell, President & CEO of Prepared Response, Inc. In addition to the above training, the district has participated in a tabletop exercise meant to test communications networks and response plans in event of an emergency related to flooding. The district is looking at future classes that may include Cyber Safety, Crisis Communication, and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). About San Juan Unified School District San Juan Unified was established in 1960 and is located in the northeast portion of Sacramento County. The District is approximately 75 square miles and serves portions of the communities of Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Gold River and Orangevale. The District currently operates 75 schools and centers including: nine high schools, 10 middle schools, 44 elementary schools, six continuation high school programs, three special education centers, and three adult educational centers. The district also operates 118 preschool or after school classes at 54 sites. In total, the District serves more than 1,400 preschool children, 14,500 adult learners, and 41,000 K-12 students. About Prepared Response, Inc. Prepared Response, Inc. (PRI) develops safety and crisis management systems that enable facility managers, safety and security teams, and first responders to save lives and mitigate property damage. The company has a seven-year track record of developing systems for commercial buildings, schools, cultural properties, exposition centers, sports arenas, hospitals, and courthouses. Prepared Response, Inc. has two major product lines, the GuideSafe™ tenant safety system and the Rapid Responder® crisis management system. Both systems aggregate disparate data from multiple sources, place it in a secure database, and make it available via the Web to key stakeholders for more effective response to emergency situations. Prepared Response, Inc., a privately held company, was formed in September 2000 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Its flagship product, Rapid Responder, is the only crisis management system to have been "Certified" as a "Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology" through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's SAFETY Act. For additional information, please visit www.preparedresponse.com or call 1-800-705-1856.
Contact:
San Juan Unified School District
Trent Allen
Director of Information and Communication
(916) 979-8281 Prepared Response, Inc.
Gary Sabol
Public Relations Manager
206-223-5544 # # #
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