In Case of Emergency

I feel like this has been a recurring theme lately - emergencies, what with the emergency sub folders and the Guest Teacher Binder... but here's another helpful tidbit.

It seems like this scenario happens to at least one of us in my grade level every year, and it's happened to me a few times for sure. Let me set it up for you:

You're at school, and you get word that there is an emergency with someone in your family. You need to leave school. NOW. No waiting on a sub, no waiting on someone available to come down to your room. You must leave pronto.

It makes you anxious as you wait for someone to come down to your room. You can't just WALK out on your lovelies, but you need to get going. It's a terrible feeling!

Last year, my mother-in-law had a case of REALLY high blood sugar, and she tried to call my husband and her other son, but she couldn't get ahold of anyone. She was very dizzy and close to going into shock. I had to take her to the doctor or hospital, and it really needed to be quick.

The office was trying to find someone to come in my room so I could go, but even though it may only be a few minutes, when you know there's an emergency, it feels like a lifetime.

We decided to just split my kiddos up amongst the other fifth grade teachers. My sweet teacher friends just took my class and helped me split them up. But what happens if someone's mom comes to check her out? The office needs to be aware of where everyone is at all times. It takes time to make out a list of who went to which classroom. Even more angst in a dire situation!

That's why I made this:

We haven't even started school yet, but if an emergency should come up, then I've already gotten my students separated out. I just went down the list in order, and I divided them up among the other teachers in my grade level.

I made 7 copies of this list, and it will go on my emergency clipboard (which hangs by my outside door; easy to grab for fire drills, etc.). One copy is for me, one is for the office, and the other five are for the other teachers so everyone knows which students are in which teachers' classrooms.

I'm hoping I won't need to use these this year, but if an emergency should arise, I'll have the peace of mind knowing that I can safely disperse my students quickly and be able to take care of the emergency situation as soon as possible.

I'd STRONGLY encourage every teacher to do this. It's fast and easy to do, but if it's needed, it will give you a HUGE comfort!