High Risk Days: Should Schools Be Closed

[Andrew Herron]

Back when I was in school they put us into janitor closets or the hallway depending on where we were in the school. We regularly had drills and every one of the staff was trained to a certain degree.

Fast forward several years and I'm in high school. The principal decided to let everyone out 25 minutes early because a strong supercell was headed in our direction. There was suddenly 1200 kids running about, most with no rides and buses were a mess.

You tell me which is a better scenario.

The staff at EHS should have know better on what to do. It's not hard to run drills and to have a staff meeting once every three months on how to handle a severe situation. We're not talking about baby-sitting, we're talking about keeping kids safe.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

No, they wont be at home and at places that could potentially more life threatening that schools, malls, friends houses ect. its not like tehy are going to pay attention to the weather

 

[Jay McCoy]

No, they wont be at home and at places that could potentially more life threatening that schools, malls, friends houses ect. its not like tehy are going to pay attention to the weather

I think that says it all. Even if they are home most parents will be at worl so they will be home alone. How many kids or teens know what to do in severe weather?? At least at school the adults "should" have training on what to do and where to place the students.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I would have to agree that they should be closed! I mean if they are closed for winter due to driving hazard...then why will they not be closed for the most dangerous weather in the USA?

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I can promise u rdale that if a school district cancelled school because it was in an area of a high risk for svr weather I know people would take the situation alot more seriously.

I doubt it. Just look at winter weather, even with schools being closed and TV/Radio anchors screaming "DON'T DRIVE" you still have just as many vehicles on the roads as you do on a bright, clear sunny day. At least here it's that way.

I think it would be treated just the same as winter weather, or flash flooding, or anything else.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Here is my .02 cents..

Growing up taking shelter during a tornado was pretty much optional. My parents have the “it could never happen to me†mentality, even towards tornadoes. They still do to this day. This is the mentality a lot of people have, and a lot of these people have kids. We never had a tornado safety plan when I was growing up, in fact when the sirens were blaring my parents could be found in the driveway looking up to the skies – often times my brother and I would be outside with them.

I can’t say one way or another whether a child would be safer by going home early on a high risk day or if they would be in more danger. What I can say for sure is that schools are required to have a tornado safety plan in place and it’s enforced. I can’t say the same for when the student is at home, for all we know 50% of the parents for those students could be like my parents and not have any sort of tornado safety plan in place.

So after giving this much thought, do I think schools should cancel due to high risk days? I do not. In school the students will at least be forced to take shelter during a tornado, the same can’t be said for when the child is at home. And not just students, how many teachers would have taken shelter at home? Seven people died at the school, we will never know….. but I have to wonder if more students and faculty would have died if they were at home instead.

 

[HAltschule]

Clearly, regardless of which opinion you have, there needs to be better education and better pre-planning. The actions that took place in this school at first "glance" appear to be very uneducated and irresponsible regarding where the kids were sent. It is my hope that local governments, in conjunction with the NWS and also with builders, readdress and implement the following:

1. Create a plan that will allow for severe weather monitoring upstream. Whether it be dedicated S.A.M.E. radios for every school and superintendants office or if it is a paid or gov't weather service that will send specific warnings in advance.

2. Better educate all administrators, teachers and students where the safest place to be in a tornado is...in your house, office, school, wherever.

3. Better construction standards and building codes specifically designed to provide strong and safe havens for kids in these schools.

I understand that many places already have most, if not all, of these in place, but clearly it is something that needs to be readdressed since the potential loss to human life is so huge. It's not the first time this happened and it's not going to be the last either.

 

[Jeff Miller]

I voted no.

Closing a school for a high risk is senseless. Even with a high risk, the chances of a direct strike by categorically severe conditions are minimal. The answer is as others have said, educators being properly educated on severe weather and quick, prompt, and intelligent action in the face of danger. In areas prone to high risk conditions (Plains and SE), schools should have tornadic shelters or basements available and a quick plan to get the students there fast, and safely.

 

[Jesse Risley]

I also voted No. I'm a teacher and even I think it's a silly idea. I won't rehash what's already been said, but another factor to consider here. Many school districts have a 50%+ poverty rate, and that means many kids who are left home alone all day on a whim are basically without anything to eat. We strongly consider this factor when deciding whether or not to cancel for a winter storm situation, and the same goes for severe weather. Since I think it would be safe to say that a majority of kids would be home alone part or all of the day, they could potentially be in more danger at home than at school.

How many students have actually been killed in schools in recent years? I'll bet the number is extremely low when it's all said and done.

 

[Jim Hunt]

...
1. Create a plan that will allow for severe weather monitoring upstream. Whether it be dedicated S.A.M.E. radios for every school and superintendants office or if it is a paid or gov't weather service that will send specific warnings in advance.

All schools are supposed to have received a free weather radio.

http://public-alert-radio.nws.noaa.gov/

 

[rdale]

According to that page, it's a program in progress so not all have received them yet... Either way - not wanting to spend $50, ESPECIALLY if you are in a sevwx zone, is unexcusable.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

I would have to agree that they should be closed! I mean if they are closed for winter due to driving hazard...then why will they not be closed for the most dangerous weather in the USA?

because the chance that you are going to see severe weather at any given location even durning a high risk is very small.

you cant really compare snow storms to this either

 

[Kevin Bowman]

How could cancelling school actually place a child in more danger? Wouldnt the "Schools cancelled because were going to have tornadoes today" send off warnings bells in a parents head. Wouldnt that cause a parent to take extra steps to insure the saftey of their child???

How? instead of the kids being in one place for 6 hours of the day they would now be in hundreds of different places. The chance of a tornado hitting one place is so small that you greatly increased the chance of a child dying just beacuse they are now spread out

High Risk, oh scary, yet if nothing happens or there is just a regular thunderstom people will stop paying attention, you will be crying wolf and people wont listen anymore

Kids can still die in tornadoes on days with a slight risk or moderate risk

another factor is most tornadoes occur after kids are let out for the day anyways, now you are asking parents to take days off of work, some of whom cant afford that to watch their kids in what very well might be sunny weather all day.

in the case of enterprise, they werent even under a high risk untill the the 7am outlook, The only option they had was closing early which they were doing.

 

[Mark Manchester]

I voted no simply because of the NWS own definition of high risk. We all know how to read the convective outlooks, and a 30% chance of a tornado within 25 miles of any given point as they were predicting yesterday is not justification for cancelling school.

As far as the schools being aware, that should fall under the county Emergency Manager's Severe Weather Plan. We notify schools, nursing homes, the hospital and other high risk populations for every watch and/or warning when they're issued and with any changes while the event is on-going.

 

[matt patterson]

I voted early dismissal before reading all the posts and it has changed my mind a little.. I think it should be up to the parent to remove their child from school. However i think the better question should be, what can we better do to protect the children who are at school? maybe schools in areas prone to severe weather need to explore a better means of shelter other than in a crowded hallway or bathroom. Maybe schools need to start investing in safe rooms or basements. I know money is tight in most schools but this seems to be a worthy expense!!!!