Sitting in class while learning can be disrupted by a sudden shaking, loud rain, big booms of thunder, and an emergency weather alert from your phone. Would you know what to do? Would teachers have a reasonable plan?

Scientists from “Society for Research in Child Development” have shown that natural disasters show a significant and growing threat to the well-being of children. Science also proves that every year, 175 million kids all around the world are expected to be impacted by some sort of natural disaster, whether it is hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, or earthquakes. 

All schools have certain protocols for certain natural disasters. But are they really effective? Do we practice these protocols enough? According to Mr. Joe Kubal, who is an Assistant Principal of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School, “Preparation, preparation, preparation. By law we have to drill; we have practice throughout the year.” He then described the required drills and how many times a year we have to do each drill.

There is always room for improvement when it comes to preparing for natural disasters. However, Kubal states that “the school is comfortable and solid” when it comes to planning and executing drills that are beneficial for natural disasters. He goes on to say that they try to capture every single natural disaster that is known. He also says that their number-one priority is the safety of the students, staff, and the community that surrounds the school.

If in an event that the school faces damage from a natural disaster, there has to be a plan that will benefit the school in recovery. That can mean having a construction company on speed dial, having insurance, or even placing the students and teachers on remote learning until the situation is handled. Kubal states that BBCHS has insurance for situations similar to this. Kubal also goes on to say, “Depending on the extent of the damage, we would either work within the confines of what occurred (normal procedures),” or seeking out other options for students’ education, and remote learning would be one of them.

BBCHS has a solid action plan for any natural disasters, and Kubal says, “We are always looking to get better.” The safety of everyone is extremely important to BBCHS administration and staff. It is their number-one priority.