School emergencies continue to be a challenge even for the best-prepared campuses. This is particularly true for Schools for the Deaf and Schools for the Blind.  These schools have unique security and communications challenges, and CEPIN has been out front in training and education regarding these issues.

Your Emergency Preparedness Plan

School Emergency Preparedness Plans are an important first step, but the paperwork is not the Plan.

The Plan is the team you’ve put in place to ensure the safety and security of your students, staff and visitors to your school.  Your team should consist of qualified school staff, police and fire department personnel, and your local Office of Emergency Management.  CEPIN routinely works with these agencies and can: 

• help school administration and staff become more familiar with their roles and responsibilities under their Emergency Preparedness Plan;
• identify gaps or redundancies that will streamline the Plan guidelines you’ve established;
• facilitate scenario-based, table-top exercises to give your administration and staff a more realistic view of their roles and responsibilities under the Plan;
• serve as a liaison between school administration and emergency services.

What Can You Do?

All successful school Emergency Preparedness Plans begin with a conversation and collaboration with local emergency responders and emergency management.  You can begin by reaching out to your local police and fire departments and tell them about your concerns. CEPIN has been a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) training partner since 2004, and can serve as a liaison between school administration and your local emergency services, and help “bring them into the room”.  CEPIN’s years of emergency preparedness experience in the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind communities makes us uniquely qualified to guide Schools for the Deaf and Schools for the Blind through the complex process of emergency planning.

Where Do We Start?

We can help guide you through the emergency planning process.  For more information, please complete the short form below, or email aperlman@cepintdi.org .  We’re happy to provide you with letters of recommendation from schools we’ve worked with in the past.