Introduction
Antioch Unified School District is one of the biggest school districts in the state of California. It is comprised of elementary schools and high schools. The school district serves more than 19000 students in the city of Antioch, California (AUSD, 2011). With the high population of this school district, it is necessary to have an effective and efficient disaster management programme to ensure the safety of students while at school.
To achieve this, the school district has come up with a number of programmes which ensure that all the schools in the district are well prepared in case an emergency occurs. These programmes have been working well and in the year 2010 the school district received a grant from the Department of Homeland Security to improve on its project (AUSD, 2011).
Readiness and Emergence Response in the District
Antioch Unified School District is one of the most successful school districts in the United States which has shown a lot of progress in emergency readiness and response. It has a number of programmes that have made the school staff, students, parents, guardians and other community members to be well prepared in case disasters strikes. These programmes include: prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (U.S Department of Education, 2010). This ensures that all students are safe while they are at school.
These programmes have been effective in the control and prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, crime control and other gang related activities. They also support the well being of students, creation of safe environments in schools and promotion of programmes which teach the students to have desirable characters and be good and responsible students in future.
To achieve this, the school district has collaborated with local law enforcers, social institutions, parents and guardians. They work together as a team to ensure that all these goals and objectives are achieved. This has been very effective since it ensures that students are safe whether they are in school or not.
To be ready for disasters, the school district has a number of facilities and equipments. The facilities which the school district has include: technology support, education technology, data systems, system support and maintenance and operations. It has also implemented several policies and guidelines which have to be followed by all the schools in the district.
Furthermore, the school district has formulated a plan for readiness and preparedness management for schools (REMS). The plan has several goals, objectives and activities which ensure that the school district is well prepared. Formation of C-REMS, school site safety plan and training are the goals of this plant.
The plant is working well since all the schools in the district have understood and can implement emergency basics such as in the event of fire, disease outbreak and so on. However, there are some improvements which need to be conducted to ensure the efficiency of the programme. The amendments include: provision of up to date machinery and equipments, intense training of teachers, students, parents and guardians and the formulation of an efficient communication method in times of emergency for an efficient reunification process.
Due to these needs the school district requires more money to fund new projects and improve on the ones. This will ensure that the success of the projects will continue to perpetuity due to the sustainability of the projects. The government should therefore give the school district grants to keep the projects going.
Conclusion
The emergency and response projects of Antioch Unified School District have been successful. The proper planning, dedication and executions of these projects should be credited for this success. However, there are some improvements which need to be done to ensure that the projects become more effective and efficient. That is why the school district is applying for a grant from the government in order to get funds to run and manage the projects.
References
AUSD (2011). District at a Glance. Antioch. Web.
U.S Department of Education (2010). U.S. Department of Education Awards $28.8 Million to School Districts To Improve Readiness and Emergency Response Plans. U.S Department of Education.