Safe Schools 101

After the tragic loss of lives, including seven Oklahoma students, in the May 2013 tornado outbreak, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created “Safe Schools 101,” an initiative that brings subject matter experts to provide training for volunteer architects, engineers, and state and local officials who will then perform assessments of individual school structures.

Volunteers use the assessment to provide realistic options for hardening and/or installation of safe rooms in the structure as well as identifying the strongest areas of construction that may be used as areas of refuge already existing in the school. The school district will have the opportunity to choose which actions if any it would like to take based on the results of the assessment.

The overall goal of the program is to assess every school in the state. However, the program is, and will remain voluntary for both schools and participants in the training.

Safe Schools 101 is now available statewide for site safety assessments. Future training classes will be held at various locations throughout the State and will be announced as scheduled.

School districts may request site safety assessments at their locations by contacting safeschools101@oem.ok.gov. Assessments shall be conducted when students are not present at the school site and when site assessment teams are available.

There is no cost for a Safe Schools 101 assessment or to participate in the training.

Architects, engineers, emergency managers, first responders or others who would like to attend the Safe Schools 101 assessment/design course and participate in school safety assessments, please email safeschools101@oem.ok.gov for more information. Upcoming class dates will be listed here as they are scheduled.