ODPS Ohio Emergency Management Agency K-12 School Severe Weather Toolkit

K-12 School Severe Weather Tabletop Exercise (TTX) Toolkit

The Ohio Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation with the Ohio School Safety Center within Ohio Homeland Security, has developed the K-12 School Severe Weather Tabletop Exercise Toolkit. This toolkit was adapted from material provided by Cuyahoga County’s ReadyEx initiative.

The March 3, 2020 tornadoes in Nashville, Tennessee are a reminder of how dangerous severe weather can be. The additional tragedies related to severe weather at schools in Enterprise, Alabama in March 2007 and Moore, Oklahoma in May 2013 are also testaments to the importance of planning prior to a potential disaster.

This free exercise resource is designed to help primary and secondary school staff, first responders, and other partners prepare for strong winds and tornadic events.

This K-12 School Severe Weather Tabletop Exercise (TTX) Toolkit, provides all of the materials and information necessary to easily plan and host a tabletop exercise.

The exercise covers three main objectives:

• Shelter in Place: Define the school's shelter-in-place procedures using designated shelter areas to maximize safety during an emergency.
• Close School: Define the school closing process specifically addressing the notification of relevant parties with consideration to transportation, reunification, and social services.
• Rapid Assessment: Define the protocols for evaluating and assessing a severe weather threat to determine correct course of action during an emergency situation.

Exercise toolkit materials include:

• PowerPoint Presentation for the exercise
• Facilitator's Guide
• Participant Situation Manual
• Planning Timeline
• Meeting & Support Documents

To register and obtain immediate access to the K-12 School Severe Weather Tabletop Exercise (TTX) Toolkit, you will be prompted to provide: your name, your organization, e-mail address and location. This information allows Ohio EMA to see who is accessing the toolkit, as well as where the material is being used. All of the materials in the toolkit to plan and facilitate a Severe Weather scenario tabletop exercise are available to download, free.

To download the materials please click HERE