Mid-Del schools implement new crisis training in classrooms
The crisis training simulated a real-life scenario with the parents starting outside the school, then heading inside to the check-in area.
LOCAL NEWS: OKCPD releases Traffic Safety Enforcement results in NW OKC
'We never want anything terrible to happen, obviously, but there has to be a plan,' said Darcy Budde, the Principal at Carl Albert Middle School.
Right now, the school district has a plan they follow in the event of an emergency, but this fall, it will be elevated after partnering with the 'I Love You Guys Foundation'.
It's a group that specializes in school safety after a real situation where a family lost their daughter in a school shooting.
'That's the last text she sent to her parents was I love you guys, so this means a lot because the safety of our students will always be number one,' said Budde.
Whether it's a power outage, a weather-related incident, or something extreme, school administrators said the training can be used in a lot of different scenarios.
At Thursday's real-life simulation, administrators pretended to be parents, students, and crisis response staff.
They practiced going through each station in an emergency, then reunited as a family.
LOCAL NEWS: Family rescued after being trapped by tornado debris
'We wanna take those things that we're doing right, just because they're instinct and add more intentionality behind it,' said Dr. Rick Cobb, the Superintendent of Mid-Del Schools.
The district is hopeful the new training will enhance how they ensure students are safely reunited with their parents in an emergency.
'Patience is really hard when you're scared and worried about your kids, so that's where we're gonna keep communicating with parents that we have a plan and we can give them details once they get to the reunification site,' said Budde.
The district said they will be implementing drills for the new training, similar to a fire or tornado drill, to get students and teachers prepared if the time comes to use it in an emergency.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Got the sniffles? Here's what to know about summer colds, COVID-19 and more
Summer heat, outdoor fun … and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people's minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer. But it is possible to get the sniffles — or worse — in the summer. Federal data released Friday, for example, shows COVID-19 is trending up in many parts of the country, with emergency department visits up among people of all ages. Here's what to know about summer viruses. The number of people seeking medical care for three key illnesses — COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV — is currently low, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu is trending down and RSV was steady this week. But COVID-19 is trending up in many mid-Atlantic, southeast, Southern and West Coast states. The expectation is that COVID-19 will eventually settle into a winter seasonal pattern like other coronaviruses, but the past few years have brought a late summer surge, said Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at University of California Davis Children's Hospital. Other viruses circulating this time of year include the one that causes 'hand, foot and mouth' disease — which has symptoms similar to a cold, plus sores and rashes — and norovirus, sometimes called the stomach flu. Many viruses circulate seasonally, picking up as the weather cools in the fall and winter. So it's true that fewer people get stuffy noses and coughs in the summer — but cold weather itself does not cause colds. It's not just about seasonality. The other factor is our behavior, experts say. Nice weather means people are opening windows and gathering outside where it's harder for germs to spread. But respiratory viruses are still around. When the weather gets too hot and everyone heads inside for the air conditioning, doctors say they start seeing more sickness. In places where it gets really hot for a long time, summer can be cold season in its own right. 'I grew up on the East Coast and everybody gets sick in the winter,' said Dr. Frank LoVecchio, an emergency room doctor and Arizona State University researcher. 'A lot of people get sick in the summer here. Why is that? Because you spend more time indoors.' For people who are otherwise healthy, timing is a key consideration to getting any vaccine. You want to get it a few weeks before that big trip or wedding, if that's the reason for getting boosted, doctors say. But, for most people, it may be worth waiting until the fall in anticipation of winter cases of COVID-19 really tick up. 'You want to be fully protected at the time that it's most important for you,' said Dr. Costi Sifri, of the University of Virginia Health System. People at higher risk of complications should always talk with their doctor about what is best for them, Sifri added. Older adults and those with weak immune systems may need more boosters than others, he said. Last week, the CDC noted emergency room visits among children younger than 4 were rising. That makes sense, Blumberg said, because many young kids are getting it for the first time or are unvaccinated. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in May that the shots would no longer be recommended for healthy kids, a decision that health experts have said lacks scientific basis. The American Academy of Pediatrics still endorses COVID-19 shots for children older than 6 months. The same things that help prevent colds, flu and COVID any other time of the year work in the summer, doctors say. Spend time outside when you can, wash your hands, wear a mask. And if you're sick, stay home.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows States Where COVID Is Rising
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. COVID-19 cases are reported to be rising in 27 states and "likely growing" in 12 states more as well as in Washington D.C., according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The national health body warned that COVID-19 infections are estimated to be "growing or likely growing in 40 states [including D.C.], declining or likely declining in zero states, and not changing in nine states," as of July 29. "COVID-19 activity is increasing in many Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southern, and West Coast states," the CDC said on August 1. The percentage of positive cases is increasing nationally and while emergency department visits for COVID-19 are low, these visits are rising among all ages. "The current rise in COVID-19 cases is likely multifactorial," Dr. Steven Goldberg, primary care/urgent care physician and chief medical officer at HealthTrackRx—a PCR testing company that works with the CDC to help create fast testing for viruses including COVID-19— told Newsweek. He explained: "Increased summer travel, indoor gatherings due to high temperatures, waning vaccine immunity and the emergence of immune-evasive Omicron subvariants like KP.3 and LB.1 all play a role." "Wastewater surveillance, along with anecdotal reports of increased COVID-19–related ER and urgent care visits, corroborate this increase," Goldberg said. "Notably, real-time transmission estimates (Rt) show values above 1 in most states, indicating active spread." (Rt—the "effective reproduction number"—is an estimate of the average number of new infections caused by each infectious person.) The states with rising cases are each reported to have a more than 90 percent probability that the "COVID-19 epidemic is growing" there. The states with some of the highest probabilities include Florida (99.92 percent), Massachusetts (99.68 percent), Texas (99.52 percent) and Maryland (98.95 percent.) While the current summer wave of cases is less severe than previous peaks, "this surge may intensify further in the fall with back-to-school and return-to-office patterns unless mitigated by vaccine uptake and public awareness," Goldberg warned. The nine states where cases remain unchanged in recent days include Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont. The percent of emergency department visits in these states was reported to be either low or very low, according to the CDC. According to Goldberg, several factors may explain the plateau in these nine states, including lower population density, such as in Montana and Alaska, as well limited large-scale indoor gatherings, and higher vaccine booster uptake. "It's also possible that regional Rt estimates are slightly lagging and may rise in future updates," he noted. The physician says updated vaccines targeting the latest Omicron sublineages, which are expected to emerge in the fall this year, are "essential" for combating rising cases and new variants. He said: "These next-generation vaccines are designed to enhance protection against immune-evasive strains like the Omicron-subvariants KP.3 and LB.1." Goldberg says that while reinstating broad health mandates may not be necessary at this stage, "targeted recommendations are prudent," noting that supporting voluntary masking in healthcare settings, airports, and high-risk indoor gatherings can help reduce transmission. He advises encouraging vaccination, especially for people at high risk as well as those living with high-risk individuals. Newsweek has contacted the CDC for comment via email and its online media contact form. Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about COVID-19? Let us know via health@
The Hill
3 days ago
- The Hill
Where the summer COVID-19 infections are hitting hardest
The number of people with COVID-19 in the U.S. is low but increasing, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Friday. COVID-19 is trending up in many Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southern, and West Coast states. The agency said infections are 'growing or likely growing' in 40 states, based on emergency department visit data as of July 29. Infections were unchanged in nine states. The weekly percentage of emergency department visits among people diagnosed with COVID-19 is low, but growing, CDC said. Visits were highest for children younger than 4 years old, which experts said makes sense because many remain unvaccinated. WastewaterSCAN, which monitors infectious diseases through municipal wastewater systems, categorized national coronavirus levels as 'high' and trending upward since mid-July. According to CDC, the wastewater viral activity level for coronavirus is currently low, and only Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, California, Alaska and Texas reported 'high' or 'very high' levels. Experts say a lack of data is making it harder to track COVID-19 in real time, but the available information indicates the expected seasonal wave is happening. Ever since 2020, COVID-19 has peaked twice a year. Cases rise in the winter and drop into the spring, and then again in the summer as travel peaks and people seek air-conditioned indoor spaces away from the heat. While other respiratory viruses remain at low levels until the winter, experts have said COVID-19's ability to mutate sets it apart and contributes to a much higher baseline infection rate. More cases circulating year-round means more opportunities for the virus to mutate. The vaccine being updated for the coming fall season is targeted to the JN.1 variant, as it was last year. But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has significantly narrowed recommendations on who should get the vaccine, raising significant questions about the availability and affordability come the fall. In May, Kennedy said the shots would no longer be recommended for healthy kids, a decision that health experts have said lacks scientific basis. A coalition of medical groups subsequently sued over the move. In addition, a new policy requires all updated COVID-19 vaccines to undergo extensive placebo-controlled clinical trials, as if it were a new shot rather than an update to one that already exists. The updated Covid shots are expected to be available in the fall to adults 65 and up and kids and adults with at least one medical condition that puts them at risk for severe illness — the groups exempt from the clinical trial requirement.
