Emergency Plan

California is a great place to live, but it has its faults! Three of these faults--the San Andrea, Hayward, and Calaveras--have a major impact on the lives of all of us who live in the Bay Area.

A magnitude 7.1 quake in our area could break electric, gas, water, sewer, and telephone lines, topple radio and TV towers, weaken or bring down bridges and overpasses and block roadways. Airports could be out of commission for days, and foot and bicycle could be the only reliable means of transportation.

With the potential for a major earthquake literally right beneath our feet, Montevideo School has set in place a process to prepare for a major earthquake or disaster. The goal of this process is to adequately care for your children until you are able to pick them up. As a part of our Safety Plan, we have provided all classrooms with a properly supplied Emergency Backpack. We have identified and removed potential hazards from each classroom, and we have designed and practiced proper earthquake and disaster drills. Each member of the staff has been assigned duty to the following task forces and has received the appropriate training:

•  Command Center Operations and Communications
•  Search and Rescue Team and Damage Assessment
•  Safety and Security Team
•  First Aid and Medical Team
•  Student Supervision Team
•  Student Release Team

A s a part of the process, basic survival supplies have been gathered and stored away from the main building of the school. Information from student emergency cards has been duplicated and stored in more than one place.

W e may not be able to prevent disasters, but with proper planning, training, and enough resources, we can respond to such an event in a safe and orderly fashion that will help increase all of our chances of survival. In the event of an emergency, we will need the cooperation of parents in observing the following procedures, as outlined in the school's Emergency Plan:

•  Students will be evacuated from the building as soon as the shaking stops. They will be supervised in a designated area on the playground until the building is inspected and determined safe. When picking up your child, please go to the student release area at the Broadmoor edge of the playground to fill out release forms. Students will be released only to authorized adults.   Persons picking up children from the Student Release desk must present a picture ID. Children will be released only to persons whose names appear on the child's emergency card .

•  In the event of a major disaster, the Fire Department asks that you not park on Broadmoor near the school. Please park on the side streets away from the school and walk to the Release Area. Emergency vehicles will have two points of access to the school--the drive onto the playground beside the bike rack, and the drive to Kid's Country. No one should park in or near either of these gated drives.

•  If your child has a severe medical problem, we have noted it on our emergency forms; the Fire Department recommends that your child wear a medic-alert bracelet.

•  If you have not updated your Emergency Card information, including a designated person to pick up your child in the event that you are unable to get to the school during a disaster, please contact the school office immediately and make these provisions for your child's safety.