ST. LOUIS HOSTS 2007 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR SCHOOLS TRAINING
Sessions begin tomorrow, May 10

St. Louis – Representatives of school districts from across the nation will converge at the Hyatt Regency at Union Station in St. Louis beginning tomorrow, May 10, for a day and a half of training on emergency management issues, resources and practices. St. Louis is one of the two cities to host the training sessions offered by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.

“We’ve been working hard in St. Louis to enhance and improve our emergency response and crisis management capability in all five phases of crisis management, including mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery,” said Sgt. Cecil Jenkins, of SLPS’ Office of Safety and Security. “It is an honor to have our city selected as the site of this important training session,” he added.

Earlier this year, St. Louis received a $482,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a comprehensive emergency operations plan for the district and each of its 93 schools, provide an infrastructure that ensures continuation of plan improvement, and train staff at the administrative and school-levels. As part of this process, the district has collaborated closely with many community emergency responders, including local police and fire departments, the American Red Cross, City Emergency Management Agency staff, and the Mental Health Board of St. Louis.

Superintendent Diana Bourisaw will welcome the attendees at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. Officials from the St. Louis Public Schools will also be presenting an overview of the progress that has been made in preparing for potential emergencies during a special lunch session.