What if schools could transform chaos into community strength during a natural distaster? Join me, Dr. Lisa Hassler, as we promise a deep dive into the critical topic of hurricane preparedness in American schools. In this episode, seasoned educators Mary Guarino and Beth Donofrio, share their poignant experiences in preparing and dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes. We promise you'll gain valuable insights into the physical, educational, and emotional challenges faced by school systems and the remarkable resilience needed to overcome them. Mary reveals her innovative approach to maintaining educational continuity in unconventional spaces in her first grade class, while Beth offers a compelling narrative about the challenges and complexities of having her high school serve as a storm shelter.
Explore how coastal communities are stepping up their hurricane preparations, that come with their own set of stressors, as extended school closures and disruptions take a mental and emotional toll on students and adults alike. We discuss how vital strategies, like maintaining communication through specific apps and backup plans, can alleviate fears of isolation and ensure a sense of connection during turbulent times.
Community collaboration emerges as a cornerstone of building resilience against future storms. Engage with us to learn how schools can remain safe havens of learning and growth, fostering stronger community ties and resilience against nature's most formidable trials. By sharing successful strategies and stories, we highlight the power of coming together to protect children and fortify community bonds. Join us in this important conversation, and perhaps you'll be inspired to contribute your own experiences as we strive to highlight the positive aspects of education and drive meaningful change. Don't forget to subscribe, share, and help us spread good practices that reinforce our communities.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (00:09):
Welcome to The Brighter Side of Education:
Research, Innovation andResources.
I'm your host, Dr.
Lisa Hassler, here to enlightenand brighten the classrooms in
America through focusedconversation on important topics
in education.
In each episode, I discussproblems we as teachers and
parents are facing and whatpeople are doing in their
communities to fix it.
(00:29):
What are the variables and howcan we duplicate it to maximize
student outcomes?
Today we're exploring howschools prepare for hurricanes,
from elementary classrooms tohigh school shelters, and the
lasting impact these storms haveon education and community
resilience.
(00:50):
Hurricanes pose a significantthreat to our educational system
, with far-reaching consequencesthat extend beyond the
immediate physical damage.
On average, these powerfulstorms inflict $34 billion in
annual damages across the UnitedStates, with schools often
bearing the brunt of extensivestructural damage, flooding and
loss of educational materials.
The aftermath can force schoolsto close for weeks or even
(01:10):
months, creating substantialacademic setbacks as students
lose valuable instructional time.
Moreover, the financial strainof repairs and reconstruction
can impact school budgets foryears to come.
But perhaps the most profoundand often overlooked effect is
the mental and emotional toll onstudents and staff.
The trauma of experiencing ahurricane, coupled with a
(01:32):
disruption of familiar routinesand potential displacement, can
lead to anxiety, ptsd and othermental health challenges.
These issues can persist longafter the physical rebuilding is
complete, affecting academicperformance and overall
well-being.
However, amidst thesechallenges, there is a silver
lining the process of preparingfor and recovering from
(01:53):
hurricanes can significantlystrengthen community bonds and
resilience, as schools becomefocal points for preparation and
often serve as shelters.
They bring together diversesegments of the community and
often serve as shelters.
They bring together diversesegments of the community.
Parents, teachers, students andlocal organizations work side
by side, fostering a sense ofunity and shared purpose.
This collaboration buildssocial capital, enhances
(02:16):
communication networks anddevelops collective
problem-solving skills thatserve the community well beyond
hurricane season.
The experience of overcomingadversity together can lead to
lasting partnerships and a morerobust community infrastructure,
better equipped to face futurechallenges of all kinds.
As we prepare for HurricaneMilton down here in Florida on
the Gulf side, we remember thelessons learned from Hurricane
(02:38):
Ian two years ago, and ourapproach to hurricane
preparedness must have acomprehensive approach,
addressing not only the physicalsafety of our school buildings
but also the educationalcontinuity and emotional
resilience of our entire schoolcommunity.
By working together educators,students, parents and the
broader community we can build amore robust and responsive
system to weather these storms,ensuring our schools remain safe
(03:00):
havens of learning and growtheven in the face of nature's
most formidable challenges.
In doing so, we not onlyprotect our educational
institutions but also forgestronger, more resilient
communities capable of thrivingin the face of adversity.
Today we're exploring howschools prepare for hurricanes,
from the elementary classroomsto high school shelters, and the
(03:20):
lasting impact these stormshave on education and community
resilience.
By speaking with twoexperienced educators who have
firsthand experience inhurricane preparedness Mary
Guarino, a dedicated first gradeteacher, and Beth Donofrio, a
high school teacher whose schoolhad served as a community
shelter during Hurricane IanThrough their stories and
insights, we'll gain acomprehensive understanding of
(03:42):
how different levels of schoolstackle the challenges posed by
hurricanes and how theseexperiences shape our
communities.
Great another alert, I know, andthese ring notifications and
the weather report ones are justmaking me more nervous.
Okay, so we are preparing for ahurricane, and it's Hurricane
(04:06):
Milton and it's coming towardsthe Sarasota County west coast
of Florida, and so today we aregoing to talk about hurricane
preparedness and how schoolsprepare for hurricanes, what
they do with the building, howyou prepare your students and
what do you do in the aftermathin case there's destruction.
(04:28):
So I am at Epiphany CathedralSchool and it is an elementary
school, pre-k to eight, and I amwith Mary Guarino, the first
grade teacher, who has been.
How long have you been ateacher, mary?
Mary Guarino (04:40):
About 33 years 33 years.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (04:43):
Yes.
Mary Guarino (04:44):
Epiphany for 13.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (04:46):
And every year we have to prepare for Every
year we have something we haveto do different.
Yes, yeah, and two years agothis area was impacted by
Hurricane Ian and you guyssuffered some damages.
Mary Guarino (04:58):
Yes, we had the roof kind of unrolled and so we
had water damage throughout theschool.
So we had to evacuate theschool and go to different parts
of the campus to continueteaching and we had to move our
classrooms.
My classroom went to thecafeteria and we had to make it
seem like a classroom.
So you had to set it up and putthings on the walls and get all
your supplies and make it go assmoothly as possible and make
(05:20):
the kids comfortable, kind ofsay oh, this is an adventure, we
have a new room.
For the rest, we didn't knowhow long, so we were actually, I
believe, in the cafeteria forthree months.
Then we had to move everythingback into our classrooms and get
it all settled again andcontinue in the classroom for
the rest of the year.
So it was a lot of transitionsfor the kids and getting used to
things, but kids are resilientand they did very well.
(05:43):
How long?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (05:44):
have you guys closed?
Before you were able to comeback to the classroom we were
closed for two weeks Two weeks,yeah.
Mary Guarino (05:50):
So it's like they can see it coming and they know
you're watching your phone thewhole time and you're nervous,
you know.
And I think before Ian hit, wecame in and we set up, we
cleaned up our rooms like weusually do, covered everything
with electronics and plastic,move everything away from the
outer walls and things like that, try to save as much as
possible.
Yeah, it's always like a waitand see a surprise when it's
(06:11):
over, like what damage do wehave?
What are we going to need?
And it kind of creates a greatschool community, though,
because you all work togetherand you support each other and
you check in with each otherduring the storm and make sure
your class, you know the kids athome are okay.
And this last one that we had,helene, which wasn't as big when
the kids came in, you know youcheck with every child to make
(06:33):
sure they're, you know, didn'thave flooding or they're not in
a hotel or they, you know,didn't have to escape
floodwaters because it's verytraumatic for them.
So you would like to check inand make sure they're okay and I
let them write about it.
You know, what did you doduring the storm, like some kids
were like oh, we built a tentand we, you know, we had a
campsite and blah, blah, blah.
And some kids were like oh, Iwatch video games the whole time
(06:55):
, or I cooked and baked with mysisters, and so I think that
lets them feel a little bitbetter about it and they like to
share their experiences,because everybody's different.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (07:05):
Yeah, there are a lot of different stories.
I actually just was going downGolden Beach last night and saw
some students prior students ofours and they were talking about
how, for Hurricane Helene, theyhad to evacuate or show me
videos, you know with theirbelongings over their head,
walking through chest high water.
So those students that areexperiencing things like that
(07:28):
are going to have a verydifferent takeaway from the
hurricanes in the futurecompared to students that were
in a different area that didn'tfeel any impacts on Hurricane
Helene.
And so Ian peeled the ceilingoff.
The water came through.
Then you're on the first floorand there's two floors of
epiphany, so the second floorsuffered more damages, but the
(07:52):
water came down into yourclassroom as well.
So of course you're looking atloss of materials and what do
you do to still be able to teachwith, you know, not having the
same materials that you need?
And of course you have all ofyour windows are boarded up
right now.
So how soon do those usually goup and how soon do they come
off?
Mary Guarino (08:10):
Well, if we're in class, as they before they call
school off, they're going up asif I'm teaching.
So you have this, you know thedrill and the screws and the
kids.
It's really loud.
The kids are kind of scared.
So you talk about it and we'repreparing and we don't know
what's going to happen.
So we, we know, you know fromthe meteorologist, the wind
speeds and things like that, andwe talk.
(08:31):
We talk about all the toolsthey use and knowledge that they
have.
So we want to prepare to thebest we can so that we're safe.
Um, and they they usually areokay Um, they like to watch it
sometimes, you know, and thenit's dark all the time.
So it's like a different.
You keep thinking it's night.
They're like I think it'snighttime and I'm like, well, we
(08:52):
can.
Yeah, it's a little change andthis is different, but we have
to do it.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (08:56):
And you talk about like how do you prepare
the students then for thehurricane at home?
Do you have any conversationsabout that?
We do.
Mary Guarino (09:04):
We say do you have a hurricane plan?
You know, have your parentsbeen doing a hurricane box?
What if you know you need toleave your home?
Do you have a family in thearea, and things like that, just
to make sure they feel moresecure?
Like you know, your parents arein charge.
They know what's happening,they're getting a lot of
information, so they'repreparing for you to be safe
during this time, so you don'treally need to worry about it
(09:25):
and that's it's great that weknow ahead of time so we're able
to handle this.
You know, and, uh, I usually doa weather unit and a water cycle
unit and just happened to fallduring these storms.
So it was great because we readabout hurricanes and we talked
about tornadoes and we talkedabout preparing for those and we
talked about all themeteorologist tools, and I think
(09:46):
that the more knowledge theyhave, the more secure they feel
and the more you know they gohome and talk to their parents
about it, and then I think thatalso brings up the preparedness
at home.
You know what if this happens,mom and dad, or what if that
happens?
You know what are we doing.
And because they do have a lotof questions about what's going
to happen and you know how arewe going to get ready for this.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (10:06):
Do any of the students in your classroom now,
because they're in first grade,so they're what?
Six and seven years old?
Do they have any memories ofHurricane Ian?
Mary Guarino (10:17):
Not really no no, just in the past little storms
that we've had, you know, theyremember, you know having to
stay inside and the wind and allof that and how it's been a
little scary.
Thunder and lightning None ofthem like thunder and lightning
Right the loud noises, thingslike that.
But no, not really.
They don't remember thatbecause they weren't in the
public school, that schoolsystem?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (10:38):
Yeah, do you think that, after the
destruction of Hurricane Ianfrom two years ago and the
recent flooding that hit thecoast not too far from where we
are we're one mile off of theGulf of Mexico, where that was
impacted by a surge of about sixfeet did they say?
Yeah not even what 10 days ago.
(11:00):
So when you think about theadults, or maybe the older
students and the school itselfand those two events, has
anything changed in the way thatyou prepare the school or
personally since those?
Mary Guarino (11:16):
Well, I think the last storms are kind of an
eye-opener of what can happen,especially Helene, because we've
never had storm surge like that.
I mean, I've lived in this areafor 15 years and we've never
and I think people were notprepared for that because they
didn't think it was really goingto happen, and so there was a
lot of people that did notevacuate who should have, and
(11:36):
there was a lot of flooding inhomes.
So I think right now,especially since this storm is
coming so close on the end ofthe other one, people are being
more vigilant and they'regetting prepared and they're
doing more more sandbags, moreboarding up, more evacuations,
because they're nervous.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (11:55):
Yeah, two years ago the water was shut off
and I remember we stayed on theisland personally and how eerie
that felt when there weretrucks that were going up and
down telling people evacuate.
If you're in zone A, evacuateif you're in zone B.
The water was shut down, lostpower, and I just I feel like
(12:18):
the aftermath and the cleanupthat took weeks hit our area
along this coast so, so hardthat this hurricane, knowing
that is going to be a direct hitto this area again potentially
most likely, I don't know Rightnow they're saying it is it's
making me more nervous andvigilant.
(12:40):
And then to know that the stormsurge from 10 days ago hit just
down the street from where welive and is, of course, you know
, close to this area as well,from the school, I feel like I'm
taking those things much moreseriously and I just think about
the mental toll.
How is that impacting thestudents or the staff?
Mary Guarino (12:58):
I definitely think the stress is affecting
everybody and also, I think, theunknown.
Because you're preoccupied, Iknow when I'm preoccupied I walk
into things and I'm not doing,I'm not as efficient as I
usually am, and so I think thatin physically you're more tired.
You just have so much more todo to set up and to make sure
(13:20):
everything's okay and trying toget everything ready for how bad
it could be.
And then there's the thought ofwhen will I get back to school,
when will I get back to anormal life?
There's the thought of whenwill I get back to school, when
will I get back to a normal life, and it's also the setback for
the kids of not seeing theirfriends losing out on school.
So it's kind of a setback foreducation also, depending on how
.
I mean, ian, we were out fortwo weeks, so you lost two weeks
(13:42):
of things they were supposed tobe learning, because you know
you can't really teach duringthose times.
There's no internet.
A lot of people didn't haveelectricity for weeks, some of
them two weeks.
They were out, you know, sothey didn't have access to any
of that either.
So that is big.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (13:58):
Even the phones went down.
I remember we couldn't get cellservice.
Mary Guarino (14:01):
A lot of them couldn't reach family members,
and so there was that stress ontop of it, the worry of, oh my
gosh, I hope they're okay and Ican't reach them.
My family, I know, was up Northand my sister was so nervous
she couldn't reach me for acouple of days and she sent
policemen out to my house justto make sure that I was alive.
I was okay, yeah.
So that is.
There's a very big stressfactor.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (14:24):
Do you have any things in play for how
you're going to reach out topeople, in case you do lose cell
service this time?
Mary Guarino (14:33):
I do not, because it's really hard.
I'm hoping if I can get somecalls off, I'll call one person
and hopefully start a chain sothat I don't have to call
everybody.
Sometimes you can drive to acertain area that does have cell
service after the storm is overand be able to connect with
those people.
But I kind of tell them don'tworry, I'm you know, I'll keep
(14:53):
you updated as much as I cantill I can't anymore, and then
as soon as I can, I'll updateyou know, update you on how I am
?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (15:00):
I think that there are those.
You remember Nextel phones?
Okay, like walkie talkies, Ithink.
There are apps and last timeour family did use that app and
yeah, so if you're listening andyou don't know about it, look
it up.
I don't remember the name of it, but my husband and I were
talking about it last night andwe wanted to look into if there
(15:20):
was a better one or if we shouldgo back with the one that we
already had.
But there are apps that you canget, that you can download onto
your phone, I think, alsomaking sure that you do things
like you know all that hurricanepreparedness with charging
batteries and having your backupplan and having maybe those
like charging packs you knowavailable, and then being able
to have an app like that to beable to communicate and I think
(15:43):
you got to think of those thingsahead of time, because being
cut off from everybody duringthe storm is very scary also.
Mary Guarino (15:48):
Everybody during the storm is very scary also,
especially if you're alone in ahome or alone with your children
.
Not being able to reach out tosomebody for help or communicate
how things are going is scary.
It is.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:00):
Big stress and a lot of people are leaving the
area.
We just ran into some otherteachers, and one had her
children in the hallway and theywere talking about not wanting
to go to a hotel that was on theother coast.
He was not looking forward tonot being able to potentially
have any TV, and so his motherhad prepared him by having books
(16:25):
from the library that they hadtaken out.
Mary Guarino (16:26):
So I think that that's another opportunity for
kids.
Back to board games.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:28):
Yes, right, you know community, and how do
kids come away from theirregular routines or things that
they enjoy?
And then, how are parentspreparing their children for
that time when no electricity,there's no communication they
may have to be indoors duringthis whole time and then how
they're going to be entertained.
Right, because you just don'twant a bunch of bored kids with
(16:50):
high anxiety staring at eachother Crafts are great too.
Mary Guarino (16:54):
Crafts you know music.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:56):
if you can, if you have some access to music
or board games, you knowanything like that that's
hands-on and keep them busy,yeah, and mind's busy and when
they come back sometimes I thinkthat children being able to
have some sort of a counselor totalk to any children that have
big anxiety or concerns orworries going into future storms
(17:17):
is a good thing.
Did Epiphany do any of thatlast time?
Mary Guarino (17:21):
We had a guidance counselor on staff.
I think if we saw something, wewould, you know, refer the
child to the guidance counselor.
That's a good idea and try tocommunicate with the parents and
see if we get some support.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (17:31):
All right, I'm looking around your classroom
right now.
You've got things wrapped, theelectronics, you've got things
up on the shelf and they're allwrapped in plastic bags, and the
desks are all cleared off andstacked in the middle of the
room, chairs are on top of thoseand you've got a clear touch
board and that's wrapped inplastic in case we have any
(17:54):
water that comes through theceilings.
And, of course, the windows areall boarded up with wood.
And is there anything else youneed to do, or are you all?
Mary Guarino (18:03):
wrapped up?
I think I'm all wrapped up.
You're all wrapped up.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (18:05):
Now I can go home and prepare for myself.
There you go, all right.
Well, thank you so much.
Okay, so I am at Venice HighSchool and I'm with Beth
D'Onofrio, who was on thepodcast about literature and
reading, and you do.
Lit is Lit, which is awesome Alot of Instagram reels you guys
(18:26):
are putting out there.
So, as this hurricane isapproaching the coast, which is
supposed to be on Wednesday, andtwo years ago, with Hurricane
Ian, you were Hurricane Shelter,and so we just spoke with Mary
at Epiphany, which we were allteachers together at, and so she
was talking about how they werepreparing for it.
(18:46):
So how do you prepare highschool students for a hurricane?
And then we'll get into howthat is different than the
shelter.
So what do you do for thestudents?
Beth Donofrio (18:55):
So for the students ahead of time, we ask
them, you know, if anybody needsanything to reach out to us for
sure, and we have lots of waysto communicate with our high
school students.
So we have email and we have anew platform called Thrill Share
, which takes the place oftexting.
The last hurricane that we justhad, a week and a half ago, I
(19:15):
had two students who wereflooded out of their homes and
they reached out to me duringthe time that we were off and
said Mrs D'Onofrio, we've beenflooded out of my home.
I might need some grace with mywork.
I wanted to let you know whereI am.
That was really great that theywere proactive in that, because
that put me on the alert thatthere might be other kids that
(19:36):
were flooded out of their homes.
So when I came back to school,I made sure that I made an
announcement in all of myclasses that said if any of you
were flooded or lost your booksor lost electricity or anything
that you need, please let meknow.
And I even like.
We had a person in myneighborhood that is a snowbird
and they decided to rent theirhouse out, so I was able to
(19:58):
reach back to my student and say, hey, we have a house for rent
in my neighborhood, so that'sjust a kind of a community thing
.
But ahead of the storm you knowI hate to say this, but it's
almost like a snow day arrivingPeople are somewhat excited.
People are somewhat excited, sonot a lot ahead of, but after
(20:21):
the fact, when it's not just asnow day, when there's really
been impact.
That's when we're really moreon the alert to be helping
people.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (20:25):
Do you see any like anxiety increase,
especially after Ian from twoyears ago?
Do you see that now, becausethe students are older, that
they may have a different takeon a hurricane that has impacted
the way they view or handle it?
Beth Donofrio (20:39):
Yes, so because they're older, they're doing
more at home to help prep.
So the last one that we had, wefound out during the school day
on a Tuesday that we were notgoing to have school anymore on
Wednesday and we suddenly lost alot of kids during the day on
Tuesday.
They went home, they leftschool early and they again
reached out and said I was herethis morning but I'm leaving now
(21:01):
because I'm helping my momprepare for the hurricane.
So they start to be morehelpers at home and I think kids
that were definitely negativelyimpacted they lost electricity
and things like that it's morereal for them, people, that I
guess that's how human nature isif it directly impacted you,
(21:21):
you're more aware if it didn'tas much and not as much.
Right, yeah, definitely, wedefinitely have kids that will
be.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (21:31):
As soon as it's announced, the next day
there's no school, they're outyeah so, but I love that you
guys have the way to beproactive and the kids are
communicating and there's thatsupport where people are looking
out for each other's needs, andeven at home I mean kids saying
I've got to go home so that Ican make sure that my home and
my family are okay shows acertain level of matureness.
(21:51):
So when Hurricane Ian hit, youguys were shelter, and this time
you're not, and so how doesthat happen?
Beth Donofrio (21:59):
Yeah, I honestly don't know how they decide what
school becomes a shelter.
I don't know if it has to dowith the path of the storm
itself, but we were shelter thelast time.
Every time there's a bighurricane, we're going to be out
at least three days, even ifthere's no damage in the area,
because it takes a day for theschool to prepare to be a
shelter.
If there's no damage in thearea, because it takes a day for
the school to prepare to be ashelter, then there's the day of
(22:21):
the hurricane, typically, andthen it takes a day for them to
clean up.
So it's almost always a threeday deal.
When it was Ian, we were out ofschool for a week teachers and
students and then the teacherscame back for the second week,
but not the students, and wewere still a shelter during that
second week.
Wow, but the teachers all hadto come back.
(22:41):
The teachers are non-essentialstaff and we get emails ahead of
time that tell us you arenon-essential staff, but if we
need to recall you, we will.
Okay, so that's like we're noton the first line.
So the cafeteria workers, thecustodians, administration and
the school nurses those are allessential workers.
So they are out of school nowprobably, oh wow, getting ready
(23:05):
whatever they need to do to getthemselves ready, setting up
clots in places, getting extrafood in for people, probably
getting extra supplies for thebathrooms, things along those
lines.
Nobody can be here as a shelterwhen we let the kids back in,
right?
So they have to find a placefor every single person who was
(23:26):
here for a shelter, no matterwhat has happened to their home,
even if they're not able to goback to their own home.
They have to find a differentshelter for those people.
They have to go somewhere else,yeah, and people are able to
bring their pets.
People are able to bring theirpets, and so my classroom is on
the third floor, so that'stypically not going to be used
(23:47):
as a place for people to besleeping or wandering around.
But other teachers that I know,yes, have had pets in their
classrooms and you know whether,whatever's happening, the pet
is nervous because of thehurricane or they can't even get
them outside.
So pets have accidents insidein various locations, not just,
(24:09):
I mean, in a hallway, in abathroom, it's kind of all over
the place.
School supplies go missing,sometimes books go missing, so
those are just some of theconsequences of things that
happen.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (24:21):
So the custodians come back and then
there's a big cleanup involvedand I'm sure you have to not
only get your classroom all backtogether but then kind of take
an account of like is everythingthere?
Beth Donofrio (24:32):
Exactly Right.
Do we have everything?
And we do have a protocol.
You know, before we leave, wehave to unplug everything.
We will take things away fromthe windows, close all the
blinds, all of those sorts ofthings.
So today they're allowingteachers to come back to get
their rooms ready, because wedidn't know on Friday that we
wouldn't be here today, Right,today, right.
(24:57):
So some teachers maybe you know, that are on a first floor,
especially that have books thatare low on the ground, that have
carpets that might need to berolled up, little rugs, those
sorts of things might need to betended to.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:05):
Yeah, and you guys don't have to board any
windows here, because it's allhurricane windows.
Beth Donofrio (25:09):
As far as I know, correct.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:10):
Yeah, pretty new school, which is always,
which is helpful.
Yeah, the same thing with the,the house, and so I think that
that's not only makes it alittle bit easier with not
having to worry about boardingup, the time that it takes and
where to store it and thosekinds of things, but then also
when the kids are in classroom,it's less worrisome for children
to be able to have that thenatural light not locked off
(25:31):
while they're in the classroomand the activity surrounding it
maybe would add to a certainlevel of heightened anxiety that
the storm windows help withreducing.
Possibly.
You're just getting yourclassroom ready and no shelter
this time, which is a good thingfor you guys, because it's less
that you have to do when youcome back.
Beth Donofrio (25:48):
So stay safe.
I'm picking up paper so I cando some grading Excellent.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:53):
Excellent, all right, well, thank you, thank
you.
Thank you and stay safe.
Thank you, you too.
Preparing for natural disasters, and in this case, hurricanes
in schools, is a communityeffort that not only protects
our children but alsostrengthens our collective
resilience.
And by working together onthese preparations, we build
stronger community bonds anddevelop skills that serve us in
(26:15):
all types of challenges.
If you have a story aboutwhat's working in your schools
that you'd like to share, youcan email me at
lisa@drlisarhassler com, orvisit my website at www.
drlisarhassler.
com and send me a message.
If you like this podcast,subscribe and tell a friend.
The more people that know, thebigger impact it will have.
(26:35):
And if you find value to thecontent in this podcast,
consider becoming a supporter byclicking on the supporter link
in the show notes.
It is the mission of thispodcast to shine light on the
good in education so that itspreads, affecting positive
change.
So let's keep working togetherto find solutions that focus on
our children's success
Welcome to The Brighter Side of Education:
Research, Innovation andResources.
I'm your host, Dr.
Lisa Hassler, here to enlightenand brighten the classrooms in
America through focusedconversation on important topics
in education.
In each episode, I discussproblems we as teachers and
parents are facing and whatpeople are doing in their
communities to fix it.
(00:29):
What are the variables and howcan we duplicate it to maximize
student outcomes?
Today we're exploring howschools prepare for hurricanes,
from elementary classrooms tohigh school shelters, and the
lasting impact these storms haveon education and community
resilience.
(00:50):
Hurricanes pose a significantthreat to our educational system
, with far-reaching consequencesthat extend beyond the
immediate physical damage.
On average, these powerfulstorms inflict $34 billion in
annual damages across the UnitedStates, with schools often
bearing the brunt of extensivestructural damage, flooding and
loss of educational materials.
The aftermath can force schoolsto close for weeks or even
(01:10):
months, creating substantialacademic setbacks as students
lose valuable instructional time.
Moreover, the financial strainof repairs and reconstruction
can impact school budgets foryears to come.
But perhaps the most profoundand often overlooked effect is
the mental and emotional toll onstudents and staff.
The trauma of experiencing ahurricane, coupled with a
(01:32):
disruption of familiar routinesand potential displacement, can
lead to anxiety, ptsd and othermental health challenges.
These issues can persist longafter the physical rebuilding is
complete, affecting academicperformance and overall
well-being.
However, amidst thesechallenges, there is a silver
lining the process of preparingfor and recovering from
(01:53):
hurricanes can significantlystrengthen community bonds and
resilience, as schools becomefocal points for preparation and
often serve as shelters.
They bring together diversesegments of the community and
often serve as shelters.
They bring together diversesegments of the community.
Parents, teachers, students andlocal organizations work side
by side, fostering a sense ofunity and shared purpose.
This collaboration buildssocial capital, enhances
(02:16):
communication networks anddevelops collective
problem-solving skills thatserve the community well beyond
hurricane season.
The experience of overcomingadversity together can lead to
lasting partnerships and a morerobust community infrastructure,
better equipped to face futurechallenges of all kinds.
As we prepare for HurricaneMilton down here in Florida on
the Gulf side, we remember thelessons learned from Hurricane
(02:38):
Ian two years ago, and ourapproach to hurricane
preparedness must have acomprehensive approach,
addressing not only the physicalsafety of our school buildings
but also the educationalcontinuity and emotional
resilience of our entire schoolcommunity.
By working together educators,students, parents and the
broader community we can build amore robust and responsive
system to weather these storms,ensuring our schools remain safe
(03:00):
havens of learning and growtheven in the face of nature's
most formidable challenges.
In doing so, we not onlyprotect our educational
institutions but also forgestronger, more resilient
communities capable of thrivingin the face of adversity.
Today we're exploring howschools prepare for hurricanes,
from the elementary classroomsto high school shelters, and the
(03:20):
lasting impact these stormshave on education and community
resilience.
By speaking with twoexperienced educators who have
firsthand experience inhurricane preparedness Mary
Guarino, a dedicated first gradeteacher, and Beth Donofrio, a
high school teacher whose schoolhad served as a community
shelter during Hurricane IanThrough their stories and
insights, we'll gain acomprehensive understanding of
(03:42):
how different levels of schoolstackle the challenges posed by
hurricanes and how theseexperiences shape our
communities.
Great another alert, I know, andthese ring notifications and
the weather report ones are justmaking me more nervous.
Okay, so we are preparing for ahurricane, and it's Hurricane
(04:06):
Milton and it's coming towardsthe Sarasota County west coast
of Florida, and so today we aregoing to talk about hurricane
preparedness and how schoolsprepare for hurricanes, what
they do with the building, howyou prepare your students and
what do you do in the aftermathin case there's destruction.
(04:28):
So I am at Epiphany CathedralSchool and it is an elementary
school, pre-k to eight, and I amwith Mary Guarino, the first
grade teacher, who has been.
How long have you been ateacher, mary?
Mary Guarino (04:40):
About 33 years 33 years.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (04:43):
Yes.
Mary Guarino (04:44):
Epiphany for 13.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (04:46):
And every year we have to prepare for Every
year we have something we haveto do different.
Yes, yeah, and two years agothis area was impacted by
Hurricane Ian and you guyssuffered some damages.
Mary Guarino (04:58):
Yes, we had the roof kind of unrolled and so we
had water damage throughout theschool.
So we had to evacuate theschool and go to different parts
of the campus to continueteaching and we had to move our
classrooms.
My classroom went to thecafeteria and we had to make it
seem like a classroom.
So you had to set it up and putthings on the walls and get all
your supplies and make it go assmoothly as possible and make
(05:20):
the kids comfortable, kind ofsay oh, this is an adventure, we
have a new room.
For the rest, we didn't knowhow long, so we were actually, I
believe, in the cafeteria forthree months.
Then we had to move everythingback into our classrooms and get
it all settled again andcontinue in the classroom for
the rest of the year.
So it was a lot of transitionsfor the kids and getting used to
things, but kids are resilientand they did very well.
(05:43):
How long?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (05:44):
have you guys closed?
Before you were able to comeback to the classroom we were
closed for two weeks Two weeks,yeah.
Mary Guarino (05:50):
So it's like they can see it coming and they know
you're watching your phone thewhole time and you're nervous,
you know.
And I think before Ian hit, wecame in and we set up, we
cleaned up our rooms like weusually do, covered everything
with electronics and plastic,move everything away from the
outer walls and things like that, try to save as much as
possible.
Yeah, it's always like a waitand see a surprise when it's
(06:11):
over, like what damage do wehave?
What are we going to need?
And it kind of creates a greatschool community, though,
because you all work togetherand you support each other and
you check in with each otherduring the storm and make sure
your class, you know the kids athome are okay.
And this last one that we had,helene, which wasn't as big when
the kids came in, you know youcheck with every child to make
(06:33):
sure they're, you know, didn'thave flooding or they're not in
a hotel or they, you know,didn't have to escape
floodwaters because it's verytraumatic for them.
So you would like to check inand make sure they're okay and I
let them write about it.
You know, what did you doduring the storm, like some kids
were like oh, we built a tentand we, you know, we had a
campsite and blah, blah, blah.
And some kids were like oh, Iwatch video games the whole time
(06:55):
, or I cooked and baked with mysisters, and so I think that
lets them feel a little bitbetter about it and they like to
share their experiences,because everybody's different.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (07:05):
Yeah, there are a lot of different stories.
I actually just was going downGolden Beach last night and saw
some students prior students ofours and they were talking about
how, for Hurricane Helene, theyhad to evacuate or show me
videos, you know with theirbelongings over their head,
walking through chest high water.
So those students that areexperiencing things like that
(07:28):
are going to have a verydifferent takeaway from the
hurricanes in the futurecompared to students that were
in a different area that didn'tfeel any impacts on Hurricane
Helene.
And so Ian peeled the ceilingoff.
The water came through.
Then you're on the first floorand there's two floors of
epiphany, so the second floorsuffered more damages, but the
(07:52):
water came down into yourclassroom as well.
So of course you're looking atloss of materials and what do
you do to still be able to teachwith, you know, not having the
same materials that you need?
And of course you have all ofyour windows are boarded up
right now.
So how soon do those usually goup and how soon do they come
off?
Mary Guarino (08:10):
Well, if we're in class, as they before they call
school off, they're going up asif I'm teaching.
So you have this, you know thedrill and the screws and the
kids.
It's really loud.
The kids are kind of scared.
So you talk about it and we'repreparing and we don't know
what's going to happen.
So we, we know, you know fromthe meteorologist, the wind
speeds and things like that, andwe talk.
(08:31):
We talk about all the toolsthey use and knowledge that they
have.
So we want to prepare to thebest we can so that we're safe.
Um, and they they usually areokay Um, they like to watch it
sometimes, you know, and thenit's dark all the time.
So it's like a different.
You keep thinking it's night.
They're like I think it'snighttime and I'm like, well, we
(08:52):
can.
Yeah, it's a little change andthis is different, but we have
to do it.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (08:56):
And you talk about like how do you prepare
the students then for thehurricane at home?
Do you have any conversationsabout that?
We do.
Mary Guarino (09:04):
We say do you have a hurricane plan?
You know, have your parentsbeen doing a hurricane box?
What if you know you need toleave your home?
Do you have a family in thearea, and things like that, just
to make sure they feel moresecure?
Like you know, your parents arein charge.
They know what's happening,they're getting a lot of
information, so they'repreparing for you to be safe
during this time, so you don'treally need to worry about it
(09:25):
and that's it's great that weknow ahead of time so we're able
to handle this.
You know, and, uh, I usually doa weather unit and a water cycle
unit and just happened to fallduring these storms.
So it was great because we readabout hurricanes and we talked
about tornadoes and we talkedabout preparing for those and we
talked about all themeteorologist tools, and I think
(09:46):
that the more knowledge theyhave, the more secure they feel
and the more you know they gohome and talk to their parents
about it, and then I think thatalso brings up the preparedness
at home.
You know what if this happens,mom and dad, or what if that
happens?
You know what are we doing.
And because they do have a lotof questions about what's going
to happen and you know how arewe going to get ready for this.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (10:06):
Do any of the students in your classroom now,
because they're in first grade,so they're what?
Six and seven years old?
Do they have any memories ofHurricane Ian?
Mary Guarino (10:17):
Not really no no, just in the past little storms
that we've had, you know, theyremember, you know having to
stay inside and the wind and allof that and how it's been a
little scary.
Thunder and lightning None ofthem like thunder and lightning
Right the loud noises, thingslike that.
But no, not really.
They don't remember thatbecause they weren't in the
public school, that schoolsystem?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (10:38):
Yeah, do you think that, after the
destruction of Hurricane Ianfrom two years ago and the
recent flooding that hit thecoast not too far from where we
are we're one mile off of theGulf of Mexico, where that was
impacted by a surge of about sixfeet did they say?
Yeah not even what 10 days ago.
(11:00):
So when you think about theadults, or maybe the older
students and the school itselfand those two events, has
anything changed in the way thatyou prepare the school or
personally since those?
Mary Guarino (11:16):
Well, I think the last storms are kind of an
eye-opener of what can happen,especially Helene, because we've
never had storm surge like that.
I mean, I've lived in this areafor 15 years and we've never
and I think people were notprepared for that because they
didn't think it was really goingto happen, and so there was a
lot of people that did notevacuate who should have, and
(11:36):
there was a lot of flooding inhomes.
So I think right now,especially since this storm is
coming so close on the end ofthe other one, people are being
more vigilant and they'regetting prepared and they're
doing more more sandbags, moreboarding up, more evacuations,
because they're nervous.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (11:55):
Yeah, two years ago the water was shut off
and I remember we stayed on theisland personally and how eerie
that felt when there weretrucks that were going up and
down telling people evacuate.
If you're in zone A, evacuateif you're in zone B.
The water was shut down, lostpower, and I just I feel like
(12:18):
the aftermath and the cleanupthat took weeks hit our area
along this coast so, so hardthat this hurricane, knowing
that is going to be a direct hitto this area again potentially
most likely, I don't know Rightnow they're saying it is it's
making me more nervous andvigilant.
(12:40):
And then to know that the stormsurge from 10 days ago hit just
down the street from where welive and is, of course, you know
, close to this area as well,from the school, I feel like I'm
taking those things much moreseriously and I just think about
the mental toll.
How is that impacting thestudents or the staff?
Mary Guarino (12:58):
I definitely think the stress is affecting
everybody and also, I think, theunknown.
Because you're preoccupied, Iknow when I'm preoccupied I walk
into things and I'm not doing,I'm not as efficient as I
usually am, and so I think thatin physically you're more tired.
You just have so much more todo to set up and to make sure
(13:20):
everything's okay and trying toget everything ready for how bad
it could be.
And then there's the thought ofwhen will I get back to school,
when will I get back to anormal life?
There's the thought of whenwill I get back to school, when
will I get back to a normal life, and it's also the setback for
the kids of not seeing theirfriends losing out on school.
So it's kind of a setback foreducation also, depending on how
.
I mean, ian, we were out fortwo weeks, so you lost two weeks
(13:42):
of things they were supposed tobe learning, because you know
you can't really teach duringthose times.
There's no internet.
A lot of people didn't haveelectricity for weeks, some of
them two weeks.
They were out, you know, sothey didn't have access to any
of that either.
So that is big.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (13:58):
Even the phones went down.
I remember we couldn't get cellservice.
Mary Guarino (14:01):
A lot of them couldn't reach family members,
and so there was that stress ontop of it, the worry of, oh my
gosh, I hope they're okay and Ican't reach them.
My family, I know, was up Northand my sister was so nervous
she couldn't reach me for acouple of days and she sent
policemen out to my house justto make sure that I was alive.
I was okay, yeah.
So that is.
There's a very big stressfactor.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (14:24):
Do you have any things in play for how
you're going to reach out topeople, in case you do lose cell
service this time?
Mary Guarino (14:33):
I do not, because it's really hard.
I'm hoping if I can get somecalls off, I'll call one person
and hopefully start a chain sothat I don't have to call
everybody.
Sometimes you can drive to acertain area that does have cell
service after the storm is overand be able to connect with
those people.
But I kind of tell them don'tworry, I'm you know, I'll keep
(14:53):
you updated as much as I cantill I can't anymore, and then
as soon as I can, I'll updateyou know, update you on how I am
?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (15:00):
I think that there are those.
You remember Nextel phones?
Okay, like walkie talkies, Ithink.
There are apps and last timeour family did use that app and
yeah, so if you're listening andyou don't know about it, look
it up.
I don't remember the name of it, but my husband and I were
talking about it last night andwe wanted to look into if there
(15:20):
was a better one or if we shouldgo back with the one that we
already had.
But there are apps that you canget, that you can download onto
your phone, I think, alsomaking sure that you do things
like you know all that hurricanepreparedness with charging
batteries and having your backupplan and having maybe those
like charging packs you knowavailable, and then being able
to have an app like that to beable to communicate and I think
(15:43):
you got to think of those thingsahead of time, because being
cut off from everybody duringthe storm is very scary also.
Mary Guarino (15:48):
Everybody during the storm is very scary also,
especially if you're alone in ahome or alone with your children
.
Not being able to reach out tosomebody for help or communicate
how things are going is scary.
It is.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:00):
Big stress and a lot of people are leaving the
area.
We just ran into some otherteachers, and one had her
children in the hallway and theywere talking about not wanting
to go to a hotel that was on theother coast.
He was not looking forward tonot being able to potentially
have any TV, and so his motherhad prepared him by having books
(16:25):
from the library that they hadtaken out.
Mary Guarino (16:26):
So I think that that's another opportunity for
kids.
Back to board games.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:28):
Yes, right, you know community, and how do
kids come away from theirregular routines or things that
they enjoy?
And then, how are parentspreparing their children for
that time when no electricity,there's no communication they
may have to be indoors duringthis whole time and then how
they're going to be entertained.
Right, because you just don'twant a bunch of bored kids with
(16:50):
high anxiety staring at eachother Crafts are great too.
Mary Guarino (16:54):
Crafts you know music.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:56):
if you can, if you have some access to music
or board games, you knowanything like that that's
hands-on and keep them busy,yeah, and mind's busy and when
they come back sometimes I thinkthat children being able to
have some sort of a counselor totalk to any children that have
big anxiety or concerns orworries going into future storms
(17:17):
is a good thing.
Did Epiphany do any of thatlast time?
Mary Guarino (17:21):
We had a guidance counselor on staff.
I think if we saw something, wewould, you know, refer the
child to the guidance counselor.
That's a good idea and try tocommunicate with the parents and
see if we get some support.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (17:31):
All right, I'm looking around your classroom
right now.
You've got things wrapped, theelectronics, you've got things
up on the shelf and they're allwrapped in plastic bags, and the
desks are all cleared off andstacked in the middle of the
room, chairs are on top of thoseand you've got a clear touch
board and that's wrapped inplastic in case we have any
(17:54):
water that comes through theceilings.
And, of course, the windows areall boarded up with wood.
And is there anything else youneed to do, or are you all?
Mary Guarino (18:03):
wrapped up?
I think I'm all wrapped up.
You're all wrapped up.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (18:05):
Now I can go home and prepare for myself.
There you go, all right.
Well, thank you so much.
Okay, so I am at Venice HighSchool and I'm with Beth
D'Onofrio, who was on thepodcast about literature and
reading, and you do.
Lit is Lit, which is awesome Alot of Instagram reels you guys
(18:26):
are putting out there.
So, as this hurricane isapproaching the coast, which is
supposed to be on Wednesday, andtwo years ago, with Hurricane
Ian, you were Hurricane Shelter,and so we just spoke with Mary
at Epiphany, which we were allteachers together at, and so she
was talking about how they werepreparing for it.
(18:46):
So how do you prepare highschool students for a hurricane?
And then we'll get into howthat is different than the
shelter.
So what do you do for thestudents?
Beth Donofrio (18:55):
So for the students ahead of time, we ask
them, you know, if anybody needsanything to reach out to us for
sure, and we have lots of waysto communicate with our high
school students.
So we have email and we have anew platform called Thrill Share
, which takes the place oftexting.
The last hurricane that we justhad, a week and a half ago, I
(19:15):
had two students who wereflooded out of their homes and
they reached out to me duringthe time that we were off and
said Mrs D'Onofrio, we've beenflooded out of my home.
I might need some grace with mywork.
I wanted to let you know whereI am.
That was really great that theywere proactive in that, because
that put me on the alert thatthere might be other kids that
(19:36):
were flooded out of their homes.
So when I came back to school,I made sure that I made an
announcement in all of myclasses that said if any of you
were flooded or lost your booksor lost electricity or anything
that you need, please let meknow.
And I even like.
We had a person in myneighborhood that is a snowbird
and they decided to rent theirhouse out, so I was able to
(19:58):
reach back to my student and say, hey, we have a house for rent
in my neighborhood, so that'sjust a kind of a community thing
.
But ahead of the storm you knowI hate to say this, but it's
almost like a snow day arrivingPeople are somewhat excited.
People are somewhat excited, sonot a lot ahead of, but after
(20:21):
the fact, when it's not just asnow day, when there's really
been impact.
That's when we're really moreon the alert to be helping
people.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (20:25):
Do you see any like anxiety increase,
especially after Ian from twoyears ago?
Do you see that now, becausethe students are older, that
they may have a different takeon a hurricane that has impacted
the way they view or handle it?
Beth Donofrio (20:39):
Yes, so because they're older, they're doing
more at home to help prep.
So the last one that we had, wefound out during the school day
on a Tuesday that we were notgoing to have school anymore on
Wednesday and we suddenly lost alot of kids during the day on
Tuesday.
They went home, they leftschool early and they again
reached out and said I was herethis morning but I'm leaving now
(21:01):
because I'm helping my momprepare for the hurricane.
So they start to be morehelpers at home and I think kids
that were definitely negativelyimpacted they lost electricity
and things like that it's morereal for them, people, that I
guess that's how human nature isif it directly impacted you,
(21:21):
you're more aware if it didn'tas much and not as much.
Right, yeah, definitely, wedefinitely have kids that will
be.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (21:31):
As soon as it's announced, the next day
there's no school, they're outyeah so, but I love that you
guys have the way to beproactive and the kids are
communicating and there's thatsupport where people are looking
out for each other's needs, andeven at home I mean kids saying
I've got to go home so that Ican make sure that my home and
my family are okay shows acertain level of matureness.
(21:51):
So when Hurricane Ian hit, youguys were shelter, and this time
you're not, and so how doesthat happen?
Beth Donofrio (21:59):
Yeah, I honestly don't know how they decide what
school becomes a shelter.
I don't know if it has to dowith the path of the storm
itself, but we were shelter thelast time.
Every time there's a bighurricane, we're going to be out
at least three days, even ifthere's no damage in the area,
because it takes a day for theschool to prepare to be a
shelter.
If there's no damage in thearea, because it takes a day for
the school to prepare to be ashelter, then there's the day of
(22:21):
the hurricane, typically, andthen it takes a day for them to
clean up.
So it's almost always a threeday deal.
When it was Ian, we were out ofschool for a week teachers and
students and then the teacherscame back for the second week,
but not the students, and wewere still a shelter during that
second week.
Wow, but the teachers all hadto come back.
(22:41):
The teachers are non-essentialstaff and we get emails ahead of
time that tell us you arenon-essential staff, but if we
need to recall you, we will.
Okay, so that's like we're noton the first line.
So the cafeteria workers, thecustodians, administration and
the school nurses those are allessential workers.
So they are out of school nowprobably, oh wow, getting ready
(23:05):
whatever they need to do to getthemselves ready, setting up
clots in places, getting extrafood in for people, probably
getting extra supplies for thebathrooms, things along those
lines.
Nobody can be here as a shelterwhen we let the kids back in,
right?
So they have to find a placefor every single person who was
(23:26):
here for a shelter, no matterwhat has happened to their home,
even if they're not able to goback to their own home.
They have to find a differentshelter for those people.
They have to go somewhere else,yeah, and people are able to
bring their pets.
People are able to bring theirpets, and so my classroom is on
the third floor, so that'stypically not going to be used
(23:47):
as a place for people to besleeping or wandering around.
But other teachers that I know,yes, have had pets in their
classrooms and you know whether,whatever's happening, the pet
is nervous because of thehurricane or they can't even get
them outside.
So pets have accidents insidein various locations, not just,
(24:09):
I mean, in a hallway, in abathroom, it's kind of all over
the place.
School supplies go missing,sometimes books go missing, so
those are just some of theconsequences of things that
happen.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (24:21):
So the custodians come back and then
there's a big cleanup involvedand I'm sure you have to not
only get your classroom all backtogether but then kind of take
an account of like is everythingthere?
Beth Donofrio (24:32):
Exactly Right.
Do we have everything?
And we do have a protocol.
You know, before we leave, wehave to unplug everything.
We will take things away fromthe windows, close all the
blinds, all of those sorts ofthings.
So today they're allowingteachers to come back to get
their rooms ready, because wedidn't know on Friday that we
wouldn't be here today, Right,today, right.
(24:57):
So some teachers maybe you know, that are on a first floor,
especially that have books thatare low on the ground, that have
carpets that might need to berolled up, little rugs, those
sorts of things might need to betended to.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:05):
Yeah, and you guys don't have to board any
windows here, because it's allhurricane windows.
Beth Donofrio (25:09):
As far as I know, correct.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:10):
Yeah, pretty new school, which is always,
which is helpful.
Yeah, the same thing with the,the house, and so I think that
that's not only makes it alittle bit easier with not
having to worry about boardingup, the time that it takes and
where to store it and thosekinds of things, but then also
when the kids are in classroom,it's less worrisome for children
to be able to have that thenatural light not locked off
(25:31):
while they're in the classroomand the activity surrounding it
maybe would add to a certainlevel of heightened anxiety that
the storm windows help withreducing.
Possibly.
You're just getting yourclassroom ready and no shelter
this time, which is a good thingfor you guys, because it's less
that you have to do when youcome back.
Beth Donofrio (25:48):
So stay safe.
I'm picking up paper so I cando some grading Excellent.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:53):
Excellent, all right, well, thank you, thank
you.
Thank you and stay safe.
Thank you, you too.
Preparing for natural disasters, and in this case, hurricanes
in schools, is a communityeffort that not only protects
our children but alsostrengthens our collective
resilience.
And by working together onthese preparations, we build
stronger community bonds anddevelop skills that serve us in
(26:15):
all types of challenges.
If you have a story aboutwhat's working in your schools
that you'd like to share, youcan email me at
lisa@drlisarhassler com, orvisit my website at www.
drlisarhassler.
com and send me a message.
If you like this podcast,subscribe and tell a friend.
The more people that know, thebigger impact it will have.
(26:35):
And if you find value to thecontent in this podcast,
consider becoming a supporter byclicking on the supporter link
in the show notes.
It is the mission of thispodcast to shine light on the
good in education so that itspreads, affecting positive
change.
So let's keep working togetherto find solutions that focus on
our children's success
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