Explanation of Flood Related Events in Response to Opinion Letter in Local Media
Since the motives, decisions, and behaviors of the Palmyra administrative team were questioned during the recent flooding emergency and inaccurately depicted by a letter printed in local papers, I respectfully share the following.
We first learned of flooded roads on the southern portions of our district and the fact that other roads were quickly becoming impassable when our transportation company contacted us shortly before our AM kindergarten students were to leave for home. The bus company had been told by area police that the conditions were not safe and that if buses went out, they could become trapped by flooded roads from both directions.
Our primary goal was to keep our students safe. We made the decision to hold the AM kindergarten students and cancel the PM kindergarten students. An AlertNow message went out to kindergarten families as well as to media and was posted on our website. We were already in a dangerous situation for buses but knew our students were safe and being educated. It has long been our realization in Palmyra that to send students home early is risky because there is a potential danger of children going home to empty homes, especially for our elementary and MS students.
About the time the AlertNow message was being sent to parents, we received our first contact from local police. From that point forward, we worked with police who represented the north and south portions of our district, fire officials, emergency management services, and our transportation company. Shortly after noon, conditions began to deteriorate even more quickly in the form of torrential downpours and radar indicated that this would last for quite some time. During one of several conference calls, as we were preparing the 1 PM AlertNow message and update to media, police advised that not only was it unsafe for buses but it was unsafe for anyone to be on the streets. At no time did we ask parents to pick up their children. We did, however, acknowledge that parents who were able and chose, for whatever reason, to pick up their children would be allowed to do so. We also notified parents that walkers and HS drivers needed parent permission to be released. Each level and building implemented organized and age-appropriate methods for recording and releasing students to parents or trusted adults. Local police officers and transportation company officials physically went to Lingle Ave. Elementary to verify that the emergency exit through the neighboring subdivision was accessible since Lingle Avenue had flooded from both directions.
As the typical school ending times arrived, we assessed the number of students who were under our care, developed projections of how many students and staff may spend the evening or night, worked with the CTC and our transportation company to pick up our students from Lebanon, worked with cafeteria staff so students could have a snack and dinner, communicated with leaders and parents of IU and Head Start classes housed in our buildings, determined how many buildings would be needed long term, and identified available cots and blankets for people who may be spending the night.
As the numbers of students dwindled, we made personal phone calls to those parents. At 6 PM, our transportation company bused the remaining K-8 students to the HS where they were given a nutritious meal. By approximately 7 PM, all students had been picked up.
At no time were our students in danger. At no time did we ask parents to endanger themselves to come and pick up their children. We sent a message early afternoon to parents letting them know their children were safe, would remain in school, and would be taken care of until it was safe to transport them home. None of our students were ever in danger in a bus on dangerous roads, left at a bus stop or sent to an empty home, left in a home to which a parent might not be able to return, went hungry, but were at all times cared for by trained, trusted professionals. All 3,280 or so of our children were safe throughout the day and reunited with parents or caring adults. There were, tragically, fatalities in our region but none were our students or their parents.
Here is an excerpt of a note I received from parent, Dr. David Lillenstein:
“Instead of criticism, I would like to thank you …
o for putting the safety of the children first.
o for not sending a child to an empty home that may not have had a supervising parent until 9:00 at night.
o for not sending a child home to a residence that later became flooded.
o for not putting children on buses that could have easily become stranded and/or flooded.
o for not sending a child home in a crisis situation on a bus with only 1 supervising adult.
o for the caring personal phone call from [my child’s] teacher.
o for putting the needs of our children first when you or your staff may have been experiencing personal flooding or tragedy.
Thank you for the difficult decisions and actions you made last Wednesday.”
Buses cannot instantaneously bring students home during unscheduled times. Drivers must be called in, sometimes from other jobs, and most buses are used first for a secondary run and then an elementary run. This process takes hours.
AlertNow is incredibly more efficient and effective than phone trees or media. However, it is not instantaneous. From the initiation of the process to the time the first call and email go out takes approximately a half hour. Emails go out within minutes of the ‘send’ command and many of the calls are completed within the next 10 minutes. The rest of the thousands of calls can take up to 30-40 minutes to be completed.
We have already met as an administrative team with local law enforcement representation to review what went well and what we can do better in the next emergency. The majority of comments from our own parents and community were positive and appreciative. Overall, the safety and orderly, documented release of children to parents went well. We identified ways we could better communicate internally and with the larger community. The reality, however, is that phone lines jam in times of crisis such as the recent earthquake and now the flood. Scores of attempted phone calls were made from our district office to school buildings that simply could not get through. We will continue to improve in our identified areas. As always, we welcome suggestions and constructive comments from our community.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dr. Collene Van Noord, Superintendent
