(Below was originally emailed out to all small school districts on September 1, 2020)
Yesterday, SSDA hosted a very informative and valuable webinar on School Resources for Dealing with Wildfires. We recorded this webinar and it includes presentations from State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, ACSA Executive Director Wes Smith, County Superintendents Steve Herrington and Mary Sakuma, staff from CDE, CTA, CSEA, and CalSPRA, and a touching update from Paradise Superintendent Tom Taylor.
Many thanks to the panel who joined us and for your continued leadership at your schools!
We still have two to three months of intense fire season ahead. Here are some current statistics about the last 15 days of what California communities are facing -- 16,000 firefighters fighting over 875 fires that have burned 1.5 million acres of land. 2,800 structures have burned down and there has been 7 fatalities. Most of the state of California is dealing with unhealthy air since August 15th.
I highly recommend you watch this webinar as it provides you with information on dealing with a crisis, unhealthy air quality, community wide trauma support and communications. As a Superintendent, I would also have your board watch this webinar as it helps prepare LEA leadership for a crisis. This webinar also shows you the mindset you need to deal with any tragedy or crisis.
Additionally, a variety of resources were mentioned and shared during the webinar, either by speakers or through the chat. Here’s a rundown of those:
- CDE PowerPoint from the Webinar
- Get Smart About Wildfire Smoke -- Clear Guidelines for Schools
- CCSESA Emergency Recovery Guide for California County Offices of Education
- CCSESA Disaster Recovery Resources
- CSEA Member Assistance
- CTA Disaster Relief Brochure 2020
- Teacher Magazine – Bushfire Recovery in Schools
- NASP: Helping Children After a Wildfire: Tips for Parents and Teachers
- The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Wildfire Resources
- Ready.gov: Wildfires
We hope you find this webinar and resources to be of help. Please stay safe and healthy, and do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have need of anything.
Tim Taylor
Executive Director
Small School Districts’ Association