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Your kids probably aren't fibbing if they say they're late getting home today due to the tornado warning.
Several Wake schools decided to hold tornado drills, including delaying the release of students due to the warning.
Michael Evans, a school district spokesman, said the decision to lock down campuses was made by individual schools and that they were all given the ok to release their kids.
Comments
Saftey
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 22:24 — rr77rr99I thought that if a tornado WARNING was issued, they had to clear those trailers and bring the kids inside.
I worry about this now because the trailers at my children's schools were not cleared.. no "drill" or whatever...nothing and a tornado WARNING did come up.
I also worry about hail and lightening storms as well. Those trailers are often sitting out in muck and water after a deluge and throw in some of that summertime NC lightening... yeah, those trailers are "toasted" with our kids in them. All they are are metal "shacks" sitting on some blocks. I have seen some installed and I have never seen hurricane straps or any "tethering" go in with them. Maybe the NC State legislature needs to jump in on that because God knows, they are not "temporary" they are there for the duration and maybe because they say they are "temporary" structures there are saftey "code" issues" that don't need to be employed...hummmmmmm.... there's an investigative story for you.
What about modular campuses?
Fri, 08/29/2008 - 19:39 — Voice_of_Reason_The temporary schools are the biggest problem since there are no hardened shelters. Hurricane straps would not help in a tornado; but definitely in a severe downdraft from a thunderstorm.
But the thing that gets me the worse are that these are treated like permanent structures when we spend tons of money making our real permanent structures so nice and durable. I don't understand,are they betting at some point in the near future, a huge population decline? Trailers may be nice inside, but they aren't as safe and aren't that efficient in energy or life-cycle cost compared to permanent structures. They are also not cheap, and cost a lot to site and move. In addition the primary school infrastructure is designed for a certain capacity, trailers allow that capacity to be exceeded. We also spend tons of money landscaping our schools to look nice, but the trailers aren't exactly things of beauty, quite the opposite (an example - Wakefield 9th grade center).
I'm wondering what the
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 18:53 — curious (not verified)I'm wondering what the policy is as well with the trailers. My daugther was not moved at all into the main building from the trailers. While my other daughter in MS (no trailers) held a drill. I felt very unsettled with my little on in a trailer and a warning most of the day. Anyone know if there is a standard WCPSS policy?
My 6-year-old told me on the
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 15:08 — Notcomplainingtoday (not verified)My 6-year-old told me on the way home that there had been a tornado drill. When we got home, there was a phone message from the Wiley principal stating they had been alerted to a tornado warning in the area and activated their emergency plan and she congratulated the students on handling it so well. My guess is that maybe some younger students were told it was a drill so they wouldn't be scared. Regardless, I was pleased they took the action that they did and followed up by communicating with parents.
My child at ligon was also
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 09:03 — Anonymous (not verified)My child at ligon was also in a trailer at the end of the day, and waited a long time for her bus to arrive from Enloe. When I found out about the Enloe drill delay, I called Ligon to see how late the buses were going to be, and they told me there was no delay. My child got home nearly two hours after school was dismissed, with no call or email notification. Completely unacceptable.
Lufkin also held a drill
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 07:35 — CarolineinApexLufkin Middle students were released around 2:25 instead of the normal 2:15 time. I'm glad they did it--better to be safe than sorry. Meanwhile, I was in the carpool line with my windows down enjoying the breeze. Little did I know a tornado was actually in the area...
Crying wolf or what?
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 07:10 — rr77rr99Why were there tornado drills on a day when there were actual tornados? Boy cries wolf day?
Wake County was under a tornado warning at one point during the day (according to WRAL website) and I asked my children if they were moved out of their trailerpark classrooms at any point during the time of this warning and they said no. I thought they had to be moved out of the trailers in the event of a tornado warning? Or do they wait for it to be really, really close and then try to get them to run real fast into the regular building... with the empty classrooms... if you are in an undercrowded MYR.... ugh.
I don't agree
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 08:41 — Voice_of_Reason_IMHO I think it was very wise of the school administration to do that since there was a credible threat for tornados forecasted for most of the day; especially if it wasn't practiced by the students and staff before. As long as the words practice drill was used and the students were aware or why they were doing it yesterday. I would rather have errors to occur in a drill, than during the real thing. The advances in WX forecasting and radars allow a more pinpointed tornado warning than what was in the past so they can specify what area of Wake County is affected.
Enloe lockdown
Wed, 08/27/2008 - 16:56 — Carolina_lemurEnloe was in lockdown until 2:45 (30 mins late). The principal of Hunter Elem. told me their buses would be 30-60 minutes late as a result. I was lucky that I had to pick my kids up early for a dr. appt.