Millburn Super Sends Survey, Shares Storm Debrief

MILLBURN, NJ - In the wake of the snow storm that crippled many parts of New Jersey and stranded motorists attempting to make it home, Millburn School Superintendent Christine Burton has been take the opportunity to debrief and collect suggestions on what the district can do better next time.

"A number of positive suggestions have been made regarding the emergency closing/delay process and our district response," Burton said in an email. "We are also hearing great stories of how principals, staff, students and parents came together to make the best of a bad situation."

According to Burton the staff provided snacks and found activities for the students who were at school, teachers came back to school when they couldn’t get home, and pitched in to help wherever needed. Outside of the district, local families delivered dinner to schools for those stranded and staff members opened up their homes for sleepovers for other staff who couldn’t get home after all students were home.

"We have started the process of updating our emergency protocols, and gathering recommendations for procedures for circumstances like this or those we haven’t even imagined yet," Burton said.

Some suggestions include:

• Having school “on-call” teams of staff/teachers who may live close enough that they can stay late to help.
• On-call families who would be willing to host children whose parents can’t get home to pick them up.
• Communications team – at the schools and district office to coordinate emails and calls
• Creating a District Advisory Team of administrators, parents, teachers, community leaders to suggest revisions to our emergency response protocols.

Burton said the district wants more feedback on how to handle future emergency situations.

"We are a district of learners, and problem-solvers," Burton said. "Let’s look forward as to how we can work together to best prepare for a situation of any kind to ensure the safety of our students, staff and community."

Those interested in contributing to share their ideas here.

(Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

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