School Safety Shield: parents

Today I was interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor about tornado preparedness. Apart from the cool part that it's the largest national news outlet I've ever spoken to, it has some good information that parents of school children, educators, and people at large should know about tornadoes and schools.

It is easy to look back and sharpshoot a person's decisions with 20/20 hindsight, but it's quite another thing when nature's fury is barrelling down toward you, and you have to make decisions that can affect hundreds of lives, all while battling severe stress, fear, and striving to not give in to your body's overwhelming urge to flee.

I would like to say I hope I never have to be in that situation, but I have. In 2002 I was an assistant principal at Clinton Young Elementary, in MSD Perry Twp., when an EF3 tornado hit the roof of Southport Middle School. This building was right behind ours, about 100 yards away, and the track of the tornado came within 50 yards of my school. It tore portions of the roof off of our school, letting rain water cascade into the halls, and terrorizing the students and staff sheltering there.

My heart rate was really high most of the day, and I didn't get home until after 11pm. The shakes lasted for over half an hour. Making a decision in that environment is very difficult, and it makes one prone to error. We want to review what happened, make improvements, and implement the changes, but please keep in mind the environment in which those decisions are made, and make the critiques compassionately.

There, but for the Grace of God, we may go.

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