Send Kids to School with a Family Communication Plan
Tuesday, August 27th, 2019 -- 8:46 AM
(WRN) -Send the kids to school with a Family Communication Plan.That's a recommendation from Andrew Beckett with Wisconsin Emergency Management.
"A Family Communication Plan is very important, because it allows kids to have a list of emergency contact numbers so they know who to get in touch with, and how to get in contact with them in the event of an emergency."
In addition to family members in the immediate area, there should be a contact for someone outside the area. And, "text first, talk later."
"Because a text message will almost always get through. It may not get through right away, it may be delayed a little bit, but you may have an easier time connecting through text message than you would if you were to try and to place a voice call."
Beckett also says...
"A lot of kids, they spend most of their day away from home, and most of their day away from parents during the school year. So having that information in advance, knowing what to do very important. And there's a few things we want to encourage families to do. The first and foremost is to write a communication plan."
Beckett says you should include giving them a Family Communication Plan of contact names and phone numbers.
"To make sure that not only you child has a copy of it, but that their school does as well. So that if their needs to be contact made, the school can make that contact on their behalf as well."
In addition to family members in the immediate area, there should be a contact for someone outside the area. Keep a copy of your emergency plan on file at your student’s school, and check out ReadyWisconsin's website for sample communication plans.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.