As news from the May 20 tornado in Moore, Okla., spread around the country, Jeremie Akins said he was heartbroken.
“The images are frightening,” Akins said. “As soon as I heard it impacted a school, it had another level of impact on me. Just horror was going through my mind.”
As the facilities and safety director at Houston Schools –– along with his main duties as middle school principal –– Akins was impacted by destruction from the EF5 tornado that killed at least 24 people. Among those were seven children lost when Plaza Towers Elementary School took a direct hit from the storm.
“When you talk about something that happens a few hundred miles down the road, that becomes real to us,” Akins said.
The Houston School District participates in natural disaster and other drills throughout the year. They include plans of action for fires, tornadoes, earthquakes and intruders. There are also maps and procedures in place for bomb scares and other evacuations.
The response to a twister is similar to other schools around the country –– find an interior wall near the strongest supporting areas of the building, drop to your knees and cover your head. Those drills are conducted twice a year.
But following the Moore tornado, Akins said he now is also focused on the district’s response to a natural disaster following the event. Details like searching for debris or downed power lines, turning off the gas and moving students to a safe location to reunite with their families will be discussed with staff members.
Each time the district hosts a drill, Akins sends out a collaborative document for everyone involved to share the pros and cons of their experience.
“It’s our responsibility to continually assess this,” said Akins, who was named the safety coordinator shortly after the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. “We want to be the type of educators who aren’t just talking about math, reading and writing. We want to talk about how to better educate ourselves in every aspect of life. As educators, we have to turn that into a teachable moment. We will do our part in that.”
Superintendent Scott Dill said Houston Schools faces challenges that many districts deal with: old buildings. The facilities, while sturdy, are not built to take direct a hit from a tornado.
Dill said the district began the steps in early 2012 of applying for a storm-safe building through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They were disqualified during the process.
That leaves administrators the difficult duty of making the best of a less-than-ideal situation when a storm approaches.
“The situation is a scary one,” Dill said. “You go through the drills and do your best to prepare. But if you are unfortunate enough to be in the path of one of these weather events, there’s not a lot you can do. You pray every single day that you don’t have something hit you head-on like that.”
Although the city’s storm shelter is nearby, Dill said conditions usually associated with weather systems and a lack of response time make it unsuitable for moving students to the building. Instead, he said the district will do its finest to prepare for the worst inside its own facilities while hoping for the best.
“We have plans and procedures in place to address everything that has happened in school districts across the country,” Dill said. “But you always hope you don’t have to put them into place.”
We want to be the type of educators who aren’t just talking about math, reading and writing. We want to talk about how to better educate ourselves in every aspect of life. As educators, we have to turn that into a teachable moment. We will do our part in that.”