Kellye Junchaya: Welcome to the EIIP Virtual Forum Round Table! Kellye Junchaya: A couple of quick reminders for any first timers with us today … Butch Kinerney: Sorry I'm late....Technical difficulties.... Jan Kimmell: Welcome, Butch! Kellye Junchaya: Hi Butch we are just getting started. Kellye Junchaya: The session will consist of about fifteen minutes of introduction and overview, and then we will open it up to audience participation. Kellye Junchaya: If a URL is displayed in the chat window, it will appear blue. If you click on it, it will open the linked Web page in your browser window. Kellye Junchaya: After the first one, the window may not come to the top automatically, and be hidden behind your chat screen. Use the buttons on your status bar to bring the browser window forward. Kellye Junchaya: Our topic today is "Creating a Culture of Preparedness," and we are going to learn about some efforts towards building a public school curriculum, as well as get your input on directions for the future. Kellye Junchaya: First, I am pleased to introduce Mr. Butch Kinerney, Public Information Officer for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, who has extensive background in media and community relations. Kellye Junchaya: Butch is joining us from EMI this afternoon, and is using the HTML option, so there may be a little lag time in his responses. Please bear with us. Butch will be telling us about a project going on in Maryland in this area. Kellye Junchaya: Butch, go ahead please. Butch Kinerney: Actually, the movement began at the grassroots level last year. A town councilman in one of our towns had heard Rachel Rowland, late of FEMA HQ, talk about a pilot school program which she helped coordinate in Boston several years ago... Butch Kinerney: The councilman came to the Maryland Emergency Management Agency asking if we would support bringing the program to his school district. He had already received commitments from the school principal and the county... Butch Kinerney: We were intrigued by his request and thought that the chance existed that we could bring this program in and use it as a pilot for eventual placement in Maryland schools... Butch Kinerney: Just before Rachel left, she mailed me the entire packet of materials including all of her correspondence, teaching tools, etc. We took a hard look at it last fall and felt it fell short of what we wanted to see... Butch Kinerney: I had recently received a new curriculum from The Weather Channel that we liked, but it only dealt with a limited number of weather emergencies and was only geared to one grade level, maybe seventh?... Butch Kinerney: Knowing that no one in our agency had the expertise to develop a broad-based curriculum, we contacted FEMA III to see if there was any support available to hire a consultant to help us collect information and develop something... Butch Kinerney: Meanwhile, we contacted other states trying to determine who had done what and what, frankly, we could steal from. (Actually, we call it "Benchmarking." Guess it sounds better than outright "Theft")... Butch Kinerney: Concurrently, our friend the city councilman had been in contact with U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who, despite her short stature, still can command quite an audience when she wants. She got in touch with James Lee Witt, and the rest, as they say, is history... Butch Kinerney: JLW referred the matter to Kay Goss at FEMA HQ and she and Ralph and I and the county, and the city, and the state and a host of other players have been meeting regularly since then to scope out a plan of action... Butch Kinerney: Unfortunately, it's been a little slow-going so far. We have not been able to pin down a funding source and we don't have a good plan for implementation beyond the one school that is particularly interested... Butch Kinerney: We've looked at other states (North Carolina is thinking about revamping an old curriculum) and tried to find out what they did and how they did it. We're also considering trying to make this a legislative mandate... Butch Kinerney: We're concerned that we could go to a lot of work and give it to teachers and no one would use it. ... Butch Kinerney: Here's my vision: A K-8? all-hazards curriculum which could be used in a variety of ways: a fourth grader for English could write a paper on a disaster in the news, a third grader could draw tornadoes for Art class... Butch Kinerney: A seventh grader might examine plate tectonics and earthquakes for science, a sixth grader might map hurricane-prone counties in her state for social studies, etc..etc...etc... Butch Kinerney: We'd like to pilot this in the Maryland school and then make it statewide, then nationwide. We know that Red Cross has a similar plan in the works, but its scope is a little more limited... Butch Kinerney: Questions we've yet to answer: Who will support us? How much will it cost? How do we make sure it gets into schools? What kind of timeline are we looking at? ... Butch Kinerney: So that's where we are now. Cathy Kellye Junchaya: Thank you Butch. We are also pleased to have Ralph Swisher, Program Manager for the FEMA Community and Family Preparedness program with us today, assisted by Chip Hines. Ralph will be telling us about some of the other efforts underway, and a recent meeting to move this effort forward. Butch Kinerney: Cathy Henry of N.C. is here with me if you have any ? for her Kellye Junchaya: We will have questions at the end unless she wants to add something now. Ralph Swisher: Thank you Kellye... Ralph Swisher: The continuing impact of disasters over recent years has generated rising interest in preparing our children to live with them--creating a culture of disaster preparedness. The main focus, naturally, is on reaching them in the classroom... Ralph Swisher: School curricula are crowded and under pressure from those concerned with a host of other problems as well... Ralph Swisher: Some States have mandated by law that certain topics be covered. E.g., it's no surprise that California has earthquake preparedness material required to be covered in the classroom... Ralph Swisher: Georgia has a specific requirement to cover critical incidents such as violence, explosions, etc... Ralph Swisher: An initiative in Maryland started with a suggestion by Bowie City Councilman Bill Aleshire that the local schools include disaster preparedness materials. The initiative led to a proposal that FEMA join with the State of Maryland to develop a disaster preparedness curriculum or curriculum materials... Ralph Swisher: Kay Goss, FEMA Associate Director for Preparedness, Training, and Exercises, and David McMillion, Director of Maryland Emergency Management Agency, have been co-chairing meetings to determine what should be included, what is already available or under development, and what else should be done... Ralph Swisher: The objective is to develop a pilot project, probably in Bowie, Maryland, followed by a statewide initiative in Maryland, with the goal of developing a program that will serve as a national model... Ralph Swisher: Discussions have also included the possibility of cooperation with projects outside Maryland. The Red Cross project is for nationwide use... Ralph Swisher: The general strategy chosen was to focus on developing materials that would help classroom teachers meet curriculum requirements and standards they are already faced with, such as those in science, geography, the environment, health and safety, mathematics, and social studies. That has been the approach of most successful projects in recent years... Ralph Swisher: To provide for continuing development over time, the project is assuming a long term goal of filling the need from kindergarten through high school (K-12)... Ralph Swisher: The third main element on which consensus has developed is that resources are too scarce to be used reinventing the wheel. Since the initial meeting, the group has been identifying and hearing mainly from people associated with other projects or ongoing classroom presentations and materials... Ralph Swisher: Among curriculum projects identified, the group has heard from the American Red Cross, North Carolina Emergency Management, and the Department of Education's New England Regional (Region I, Boston) outreach into all the schools of the area on International Natural Disaster Reduction Day in October 1997... Ralph Swisher: Others scheduled include Georgia's project on school violence, Washington State's program of cooperation between emergency management and public schools, and a curriculum development project underway through universities in Arkansas... Ralph Swisher: The American Red Cross has undertaken a major project to develop curriculum materials up to the 8th grade (K-8) on five most common natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and lightning, plus general, all-hazard preparedness as a sixth package. The Red Cross project is being done under a major grant by a corporate sponsor... Ralph Swisher: North Carolina plans a complete revision of the all- hazard curriculum materials project completed in 1982, in cooperation with the North Carolina State Department of Education, a K-12 project that also focused on materials that could be used in existing curriculum areas... Ralph Swisher: The project will include natural, technological and other man-made disasters, including weapons of mass destruction, as appropriate to the grades for which the materials are developed... Ralph Swisher: Those meeting have included persons from FEMA HQ and Region III (Philadelphia), MEMA and Prince George's County, MD emergency management; the Maryland State Department of Education, Prince George's County School system, and Bowie High School and Point Ridge Elementary school from Bowie;... Ralph Swisher: and the Prince George's County Fire Department as well as Red Cross representatives and other interested parties with knowledge about disasters, and how to prevent or protect one's self, family, property and livelihood from their impact. Kellye Junchaya: Thank you Ralph. We are also pleased to have Dr. Rocky Lopes, Convener of the National Disaster Education Coalition, Disaster Services Department at the American Red Cross HQ, to tell us about their current project. Ralph Swisher: Thanks, and sorry about the high speed typing... Kellye Junchaya: No prob. Rocky Lopes: Hi, thanks for the opportunity (Ralph, you have to show me how to type so fast!) Rocky Lopes: In 1994, Cathy Henry and several others suggested that in order to get disaster safety information into schools... Rocky Lopes: We needed to have curriculum-based materials that would help teachers INTEGRATE disaster safety into their regular school subjects. Rocky Lopes: Integrate is a key word. Rocky Lopes: We all know that teachers have too much to do already, so they're not interested in yet "another program" from an outside source, regardless of credibility. Rocky Lopes: So what we proposed to a major funder was to develop such curriculum materials. Rocky Lopes: For kids in grades K-8, focusing on hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, lightning, and general preparedness issues. Rocky Lopes: We selected these levels and hazards based on a very thorough assessment of available data from the CDC, FEMA, NWS, USGS, and others. Rocky Lopes: We are in the process right now of developing content that teachers can use for this Integration process. Rocky Lopes: We feel this is broad-based, not limited as mentioned earlier, to allow teachers great flexibility to select what they feel is most appropriate to use in their area of the country. Rocky Lopes: We are developing lessons and activities for math, science, language arts (including reading), and social studies that enable teachers... Rocky Lopes: to include disaster-related topics while teaching their regular academic subjects. Rocky Lopes: We are very excited about this project, now under development, with anticipated release in summer, 2000, if all goes well... Rocky Lopes: We are also delighted that The Weather Channel is strongly supporting our efforts, along with FEMA, the NWS, USGS, and many other national partners. Rocky Lopes: So, this is an overview, and I'll turn it back to Kellye to facilitate discussion and answer any questions you may have. Kellye Junchaya: Thank you Rocky and thank you gentlemen for the very interesting presentation. Cathy, do you want to add anything before we go to questions? What is NC doing? Butch Kinerney: This is Butch typing for Cathy... Butch Kinerney: If you all have any specific questions about what NC is THINKING about...go ahead. Kellye Junchaya: Ok. We are going to open it up to questions/comments now, and remember to please first enter just a question mark to indicate you wish to contribute, prepare your comment, but hold it until you are recognized by name. Kellye Junchaya: We would also like to hear from you as to whether you are aware of any efforts in this direction in your area, and what you think may be a successful strategy for incorporating this type of curriculum into the public schools nationally. babsims: ? Kellye Junchaya: Babsims, please. babsims: Is there end user participation.. are students involved? Avagene Moore: ? Kellye Junchaya: Who is your question for babsims? babsims: Rocky Ralph Swisher: There have been students involved in focus groups, such as the fire education materials... Leslie Little: ? Amy Sebring: ? Ralph Swisher: and in the MD project, we will involve them in the Steering committee. Rocky Lopes: The materials we are developing will certainly be tested with actual teachers and actual students in many areas of the country as we can possibly include. Kellye Junchaya: Please remember to direct your question to a specific person. Ava, please go ahead with your question/comment. Avagene Moore: As a sidebar of particular interest to this audience, Kay Goss was the keynote speaker at the FEMA-ORNL Technology Conference Gatlinburg TN) this morning. At the break, she mentioned today's Round Table when I spoke to her. I will see her this afternoon and report on the interest and results of this session. Kellye Junchaya: Leslie, please. babsims: ? Rick Tobin: ? Leslie Little: Thank you. Rocky - Is the program you are developing being reviewed by any Organizations or specifically by persons with disabilities for inclusion for all disabled and/or special needs children? Rocky Lopes: We would be happy to include specific individuals or organizations to review the materials under development, but please know that, regretfully, we can't focus on every group with every specific situation. Teachers with expertise with special ed students are on our review team. Kellye Junchaya: Amy, you're next please. Amy Sebring: Cathy in N.C., I am not familiar with the older materials that were done before. Do you feel they are still a useful starting point and have you begun a process of updating? Butch Kinerney: From Cathy: I have not begun the process of revising the old materials. They will take extensive revision... Butch Kinerney: I am looking forward to ARC's project as well as whatever Maryland comes up with. Kellye Junchaya: babsims, please. Leslie Little: ? babsims: Will the curricula be Internet based and/or have a web component? The program seems perfect for interactive activities . Rocky Lopes: The Red Cross materials will be print-based for teacher flexibility, with web-based content for current information and downloadable content as available/appropriate. Not all schools have internet access or capabilities in all classrooms yet. Kellye Junchaya: Rick, you're next. Rick Tobin: If the presenters would like, I will post any updates, at no cost, on my Website dealing with campus emergency planning and safety. There is so much going on in this arena right now, I'd like to help get the message out to a large audience. Rick Tobin: It's hard to keep track of all the developments. Kellye Junchaya: Thanks Rick. Leslie, please. Avagene Moore: ? Leslie Little: Thank you. Rocky - If you would please get in contact with me I would like to be on the review committee. I deal specifically with FIRE?LIFE and HOME Safety for disabled citizens and have developed several children's brochures and flyers. Kellye Junchaya: Great Leslie. Avagene, you're question please. Avagene Moore: Ralph, what is the next step for the group that is meeting to discuss the project? Ralph Swisher: We will continue to find out what others are doing so that we can better focus on what we should do first. Avagene Moore: Future meetings? Ralph Swisher: As I mentioned earlier, we are looking at Georgia's project on school violence... Ralph Swisher: Washington State's program of cooperation between emergency management... Ralph Swisher: and public schools, including the Univ. of Washington's curriculum experts, and a curriculum development project underway through universities in Arkansas. Kellye Junchaya: For anyone, as individuals, what can we do to promote interest from our local school boards? Amy Sebring: ? dwolfe: ? Butch Kinerney: For our program, we'd like to tie it into Project Impact somehow. Kellye Junchaya: Amy, please. Amy Sebring: Kellye, we have some others that are involved with this effort here today. Virginia, Jan, Betty, any others? can you tell us what you are working on? Kellye Junchaya: dwolfe, go ahead please. Betty Morales: Betty Morales? dwolfe: If during an emergency, kids will likely look to an adults for leadership, why not direct the effort more as a public service/awareness to adults AND their kids? Virginia Kimbal: ? dwolfe: Other than the localized issues such as school violence and fire concerns, what is the primary goal in providing a more broad- based education (e.g., preparedness, recognition & reaction of disasters, etc) to kids? What do you ultimately hope to achieve with kids? Avagene Moore: ? Butch Kinerney: for whom DWolfe? Rick Tobin: ? dwolfe: Any who can answer.. Jan Kimmell: ? Kellye Junchaya: Rocky do you want to take dwolfe's question? Avagene Moore: In response to David, I see this as an opportunity to educate the young generation(s) and create a culture of prepared people. Rocky Lopes: The Red Cross effort isn't broad-based preparedness... it is integrated disaster safety that enables teachers to meet their school-district curriculum requirements... Butch Kinerney: Our answer is if you teach children early, they grow up living a preparedness lifestyle. Kellye Junchaya: We will continue with Betty, please. Rocky Lopes: it gives disaster safety information WHILE teaching math, science, reading, language arts, etc. Kellye Junchaya: (sorry to cut you off Rocky.) Ralph Swisher: First, we do already have a higher education program... both the Red Cross and FEMA have broad, disaster public education programs, and they should reinforce what we do in the schools and vice versa. Kellye Junchaya: Betty, please. dwolfe: Thank you.. Kellye Junchaya: We may have lost Betty. Virginia, I believe you are next. Virginia Kimbal: I'm working with Rocky on the Red Cross project as well as teaching FEMA's Multi-hazard Safety Program for Schools. Kellye Junchaya: Avagene, please. Avagene Moore: I am interested in the group's thinking about which comes first: educating school boards to the need for disaster preparedness via curriculum, or selling state law makers on mandates for such programs? Avagene Moore: Anyone who wishes to answer. Virginia Kimbal: ? Sue Allen: Sue Allen? Rocky Lopes: While I don't work for a state or federal agency, I don't see that mandating requirements is the answer. It puts more burden on an already overburdened system. That's how I felt when I taught elementary school in Maryland. Butch Kinerney: We'll take a stab: We are in agreement that mandating is not the way to go. We need to educate boards first -- and that may be a hard sell. Kellye Junchaya: Rick, you're up. Rick Tobin: I don't see why there shouldn't be a requirement for all high school students to have an accreditation requirement for preparedness, just as many states now require students to be able to swim before getting a high school diploma. Betty Morales: Betty Morales? Kellye Junchaya: Jan, please. Rocky Lopes: ? babsims: I think Ralph's school based approach is an effective way of getting programs into schools. If it is good teachers will demand it. Butch Kinerney: I'm not sure disaster preparedness is as high on anyone else's list of priorities as it is on ours... Jan Kimmell: We are currently teaching the "Multi-Hazard Safety Program for Schools" program several times per year, statewide. It has received a lot of requests and hope to move forward from here. This is a tough subject in AZ since we have not had a real disaster since 1993. Butch Kinerney: In our state, getting kids to read would be a major accomplishment. Jan Kimmell: I agree with Butch, we need to go with the education of the school boards. Kellye Junchaya: Betty is back so I will continue with her. Go ahead please. Sue Allen: The buy-in needs to come from the teachers and the Boards - we are mandated to death and tend to resent it. If safety problems/solutions become a part of everyday curriculum and thinking without it being and "additional program or mandate" - teachers will embrace it better if easy and not mandated. Sue Allen: ...sorry pushed the wrong button... Betty Morales: I'm working the Curriculum Development Associate for the American Red Cross working on the grant project with Rocky Kellye Junchaya: Virginia, sorry if I cut you off early before. Please go ahead with your question/comment. Virginia Kimbal: I think schools have had it with legislative mandates. I'd work with school districts and even schools directly to sell a program Kellye Junchaya: We have run out of time... Kellye Junchaya: Thank you audience for participating today, and special thanks to Butch Kinerney, Ralph Swisher, Rocky Lopes and to Chip Hines and Cathy Henry for their assistance. Kellye Junchaya: Amy, can you please tell us what is coming up in the Virtual Forum? Amy Sebring: Thanks Kellye. Tomorrow at noon Eastern in the EIIP Panel room we have put together a very distinguished panel on the topic "Linking Disaster Management to Sustainable Development in the U.S." Next month we will be doing a panel on this same issue in the international context. Amy Sebring: his is a very timely topic. A National Town Meeting on Sustainable Development recently took place, and we are honored to have Mr. Ken Patterson, who was its director. Mr. Patterson is also a member of the President's Council on Sustainable Development. Amy Sebring: Another key organizer was Mr. Stuart Claggett , President of the Global Environment & Technology Foundations, who will also be joining us. Priscilla Scruggs from the FEMA Mitigation Directorate and Project Impact participated as well. Amy Sebring: e will also have some timely and very exciting news on this issue via message from David Butler at the Natural Hazards Center in Boulder, Colorado. Amy Sebring: Next Tuesday's Round Table will be hosted by IAEM, and then next Wednesday, in the Tech Arena, we are pleased to have the Frishberg brothers, Leo and Michael, of Cliffside Software. Amy Sebring: You may be familiar with their software product, Plan Ahead, for exercise design. Leo will be presenting a session on using the software for After Action Reporting and follow-up, something that sometimes just seems to slip through the cracks. Amy Sebring: We hope you can join us for one or more of these sessions. I would also like to thank Kellye for moderating today and would like to plug our new Community & Family Preparedness mailing list. See our homepage to subscribe. Amy Sebring: We will be getting that off the ground in early June, and it will be a good way to stay in touch about issues such as the one we discussed today. Amy Sebring: We will formally conclude our session, but you are invited to remain if you wish to thank our guests, and for some further open discussion, no question marks required.