Civil Defense in Schools (1961)

the threat of disaster is never pleasant long time schools have been improving ways of protecting children from the kinds of disasters and accidents we have come to expect these safety measures are essential today however we are threatened with a new form and magnitude of disaster for this is the age of the atom so long as we are confronted with this unprecedented threat protection of our children must be a basic goal of every educational program we can achieve this goal only by undertaking a comprehensive civil defense program in all of our schools protection from nuclear attack is possible local conditions will dictate the courses of action there is a general concept for every school system to follow in developing a civil defense program first of all the general objectives and main features of the plan must be carefully worked out by the superintendent for presentation to the school board we presented this program to you we could go into a meeting and I need hardly tell you that this proposal to expand our school protection program was worked out with the close cooperation of mr. Miller our city civil defence director the program consists of two main parts protection to take care of our immediate survival needs and a curriculum program to include civil defence in our courses of study before I describe in detail in this meeting the school superintendent is seeking the board's approval of the general proposal before he can proceed with a more detailed plan the board must endorse the proposal and authorize funds for development and implementation of the plan Thank You mr. Douglas the board has already studied the outline of this proposal that you gave us last week those in favor of proceeding with a more detailed plan opposed Carrie and now I think we should a few days later the superintendent meets with his staff and all principals to explain the new directive and to make specific assignments for detailed planning the curriculum coordinator heads the curriculum committee the safety supervisor is appointed chairman of the protection committee the school architect engineer has made chairman of the fallout shelter committee many others such as the chief school nurse and the head building custodian are assigned responsible positions everyone on the staff has an important role the civil defense director is present to explain how the school's fit into the total community survival plan principals are charged with full responsibility for developing and executing both the protection and curriculum programs in their own schools programs which will conform with those established for the entire system before calling a meeting of the entire staff principals in turn discussed the program with some of their key people the school safety supervisor is appointed as the civil defense coordinator and teachers serving on the curriculum committee are told to prepare for special meetings to find ways of building civil defense into the courses of study one of the first steps in developing the protection program is to decide on the best and most economical ways of providing shelter from radioactive fallout with the aid of the local civil defense director the school superintendent and his architect engineer make detailed plans for including dual purpose fallout shelters in all new school construction plans are approved funds obligated and the real work gets underway when this shelter is completed it will also serve as the school cafeteria existing school buildings throughout the system are surveyed to determine what areas within them are best adapted for shelter use or for ready conversion to shelters this area for instance was formerly used for cold storage but now it serves as both fallout shelter and work room for school theatrical productions this school needed more classroom space but to added above ground would have taken away valuable playground area the problem was solved by building dual purpose shelter classrooms underground according to specifications furnished by the Office of civil and defense mobilization alternate plans for evacuating the schools and target areas are also developed if there is enough advanced warning of an attack civil defense plans in many target cities call for sending children home from school some target cities such as this one if there is adequate warning time plan a general evacuation to safer areas with the help of the local civil defense director the school superintendent makes certain that arrangements for evacuating schools in his system are coordinated with those already established for the community at large cooperative arrangements must also be made between school and local government officials at reception areas development of an adequate internal warning system for the schools also is carefully worked out to supplement existing civil defense warning facilities this community has a good outdoor warning system with sirens covering the entire area everyone here knows that the alert signal a steady blaster from three to five minutes duration means to take action as directed by the local government and that the take cover signal a whaling tone or a series of short blasts of three minutes duration signifying attack is imminent means to take cover at once in the best available shelter to supplement these outdoor signals an indoor warning system is needed although there are other approved systems for instantaneous relay of warning bell and lights are used here to alert the school's Public Address systems are installed so that emergency instructions can be given to the students and staff in the shortest possible time here's how the whole system works when a warning is received by the local government through the attack warning system sirens and belen lights throughout the community are activated simultaneously every school in the system receives this signal on receipt of the warning the switchboard operator immediately informs the principal using the public address system he gives appropriate directions to his staff and to the students it cannot be stressed too strongly that any civil defense warning signal used in schools must be clearly distinguishable from other types of alarms no survival plan for schools can be effective without the full cooperation of an informed staff the importance of the role of teachers in conducting shelter drills for instance cannot be overemphasized through the comm efficiency of their teachers youngsters gain confidence in arrangements made for their security while individual schools may have different requirements all must hold periodic drills to assure immediate response to warning signals an adequate school fallout shelter should contain enough provisions to sustain students and staff for at least two weeks in this combination shelter cafeteria the cafeteria manager is in charge of emergency feeding facilities it must be stocked with blankets for everyone assigned to the shelter if the school is dependent on a vulnerable community water system a special well may have to be provided for emergency water supply battery-powered radios with conelrad frequencies 640 and 1240 clearly marked on the dials must be available to receive emergency information a telephone tied in with the city's civil defense Control Center first aid and medical supplies sanitation facilities and means for safe disposal of rubbish and wastes radiological monitoring equipment an emergency electric power generator and adequate ventilation are among the special items which must be provided because children would need some form of recreation an area within the shelter should be available for physical activities and play of course if time would permit they would be in their own shelters at home while the protection program is taking shape civil defense is introduced into the curriculum at all levels this third-grade class for example visits emergency facilities in the community like the local fire station here they learn that the people who protect them everyday are a vital part of civil defense in this fifth-grade class children make posters on home preparedness gradually an awareness develops that civil-defense is as natural as meaningful and necessary as everyday safety rules the conditions of survival are learned preparedness becomes a personal responsibility discussion of the effects of natural disasters leads to a realistic grasp of the consequences of a nuclear war the objective of curriculum planning is to give each student a background in the needs and methods of Civil Defence so that he will be prepared for living in the nuclear age under the supervision of the school nurse First Aid courses are taught as a regular part of the physical education program these young homemakers in the tenth grade are getting some firsthand tips from their cafeteria manager on ways of preparing food for large groups of people they learn that there is a real relationship between good food and good morale civil-defense concept should evolve naturally from existing subject matter as in this 12th grade class in American government services and if we were ever attacked we would need more than ever the help and leadership of our governments most states and many localities have already adopted this program to help us recover and to preserve our constitutional government the first point in this continuity of government program is to establish automatic lines of succession to important positions in a serious disaster many officials may be unable this is a sound peculiar to our time a sound that is meaningful to this 12th grade physics class studying the effects of radioactive fallout these radiological defense instrument kits for use in science classes have been distributed to high schools throughout the nation by the Office of civil and defense mobilization from experiences like this young people grow in their understanding of the problems they must face of the responsibilities they must accept as citizens of the nuclear age if it is to be a successful program in our schools civil defense must also be understood and practiced in our home is vitally important everyone we've been talking about some of the precautions schools are taking to protect our children and to help them meet the challenge of our times but I want to stress that it's just as important that we carry this knowledge these preparations into the home let's take a look at some of the things that we as parents and as citizens are obligated to know warning signals and what they mean your community plan for emergency action protection from radioactive fallout through shelter first aid and home emergency preparedness use of Conrad 640 or 1240 on your AM radio for official directions and these are some of the things that we must do prepare a family fallout shelter and equipment with two weeks supply of food and water a first aid kit and a battery-operated radio since we are in a target area prepare an evacuation kit for your automobile include a supply of food and water a first-aid kit a battery radio and blankets first let's talk about the family fallout shelter this is a model of one of the types of family shelters recommended by the Office of Civil and Defense mobilization it is the protection of our families at home and in schools is basic to the success of any community or national Survival program for the sake of clarity let's review some of the steps in preparing a school civil defense program after outlining a general plan the help of the local Civil Defence Authority the superintendent makes his proposal to the school board with the board's approval he calls a meeting of his staff and principals to explain the new policy starting with the emergency plan a shelter program is developed under the supervision of the architect engineer who works with the civil defense director if evacuation is called for in the community survival plan school procedures are designed to conform with it the entire school system is provided with a reliable warning system individual schools carry out their directives and refine their programs through regular drills and exercises following committee recommendations the curriculum is modified to incorporate civil defense and survival techniques into the existing courses of study and home preparedness is stressed as a necessary extension of the School Survival program approaches to the development of schools civil defense programs will necessarily vary according to local conditions but if these guidelines are followed while working closely with local civil defense officials schools will be better prepared to meet any disaster a nuclear war may never come especially if we are prepared but we cannot ignore the threat the stakes are too high you